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Codes of practice for the sponsored skilled workers tier

This page explains the codes of practice that you must use to check the skill level and appropriate rate for the job you want to employ the migrant for, and advice on where to advertise the job.

This section is under development and we will be adding to the content in the coming weeks. The current content is provisional and may change before the launch of the sponsored skilled worker tier. If you think any information in the codes of practice is wrong, use the email address below to tell us.

Sponsoring skilled workers
Before you can sponsor a skilled migrant, you need to check that the job you are sponsoring them to do meets the conditions of the sponsored skilled worker tier.

the job must be skilled at N/SVQ level 3 or above; and
the job must be paid at the appropriate rate or above; and
you must normally have carried out a resident labour market test for the job before sponsoring a migrant.
If the job does not meet the conditions of the code of practice, you cannot issue a certificate of sponsorship.

See the resident labour market test for more information about the types of application where you do not have to carry out the test. Even if you do not have to carry out the test, you need to check the codes of practice to check that the job is skilled and that it is paid at the appropriate rate.

The migrant will still need to score enough points to qualify under the skilled migrant tier. If the job meets the conditions above, this does not necessarily mean that the migrant’s application will be approved.