Skilled Worker visa

It may be possible to obtain your tradeable points through Option E as a “new entrant”. This option is designed for those that are new to the labour market in the UK, and this includes those coming from Student immigration permission.

As is the case for all of the tradeable points options, it is your prospective employer that is responsible for evaluating your eligibility for Option E. It is important that you understand what you may be eligible for however, and that any concerns are raised with your employer directly.

There are many benefits to obtaining your tradeable points through Option E such as a lower minimum salary and an extended eligibility period if you leave the UK. You can obtain points through Option E if you meet any one of the following provisions:

• you are under the age of 26 on the date of application
• your most recent visa was a Student visa, your Student visa is still valid or it expired less than 2 years before the date of application, you were sponsored to study a UK bachelor's/UK master's/UK PhD or other doctoral qualification/PGCE/PGDE
• your most recent visa was a Graduate route visa and it is still valid or it expired less than 2 years before the date of application
• the job is a postdoctoral position under specific occupation codes (see Appendix Skilled Worker, ST 12.2)
• you are working towards a recognised professional qualification in a profession listed on the Centre for Professional Qualifications website
• you are working towards full registration or chartered status with the relevant professional body for the job you are being sponsored for

The main benefit of being a "new entrant" is a lower minimum salary requirement. The minimum salary for Option E is as follows:

• Yearly salary of £20,960
• Hourly salary of £10.75
• 70% of the occupation’s going-rate

Let’s revisit the example we used earlier where you have been offered a position of Chief Executive Officer at Company X:

You have a job offer as a Chief executive of Company X. You are hoping to obtain your tradeable points under Option E.

Your job offer must have a salary that exceeds £41,510/year (70% of the going rate) and £21.29/hour (70% of the hourly rate).

Because this occupation already exceeds the minimum salary of the Skilled Worker route (£26,200), you must demonstrate that you will be paid over and above £41,510 per year and £21.29 per hour in a visa application.

You can see that being a new entrant has a major impact on the salary that is required in any particular role. It is unlikely that you will enter into the labour market at the level of chief executive however, so let's take a look at another example of an occupation that can be sponsored under the Skilled worker route. This time, let’s look at “Managers and directors in storage and warehousing”. Remember, as a new entrant, you are able to take a salary at 70% of the going-rate, however for this occupation this salary is £17,570/year and £9.01/hour. This is below the minimum salary required for obtaining tradeable points under Option E and so for a job role in this occupation, you must be earning above the overall minimum:

You have a job offer as a Logistics Manager at Warehousing Limited. You are hoping to obtain your tradeable points under Option E.

70% of the going-rate is £17,570/year, which is below the minimum allowed salary under Option E.

Therefore, to qualify for tradeable points under Option E, your job offer must have a salary over and above £20,960/year and £10.75/hour.

It is important to note that you have a time limit as a new entrant. You can only have 4 years of total immigration permission for the UK under these routes:

• New entrant under Skilled Worker route
• Graduate route
• Tier 2

Deadlines and timeframes for applying for the Skilled Worker route can be found above under "Deadlines". If you come to the UK as a Visitor after your Student/Graduate leave, it will not affect your eligibility as a "new entrant".