Moving from India to UK on Skilled Worker Visa

Moving from India to UK on Skilled Worker Visa

A Skilled Worker visa allows you to come to or stay in the UK to do an eligible job with an approved employer. This visa has replaced the Tier 2 (General) work visa.

Background:

Let me give a little bit of background about myself and how I landed on UK with a work visa. Few years back I was well settled in India working in a large investment bank and leading a team. But like every other IT professional, I always wanted to venture outside India looking for better opportunities. My reasons for this was not only limited to earning a high salary, but to explore different work cultures, better standard of living and to travel around the world.  

Although I had some opportunities to travel onsite for short durations, I was looking for a more extended onsite opportunity or even move permanently to a different country outside India. Since it seemed difficult to get such an opportunity from within the company due to a number of different reasons, I decided to take some difficult decisions in this direction to make this dream a reality.

In the process I took some wrong decisions, suffered some setbacks but finally I managed to get a breakthrough which looked difficult at first. Initially I decided to apply for a visa in countries like Canada and Australia as it seemed easier to get a visa. But based on the points system I needed a very high score in IELTS which I missed by a small margin. I also invested money with a visa consultancy  which promised a lot but delivered very little.

Although I was little disappointed with this early setback, I didn't loose hope and continue to look for other opportunities. After few months I learnt about the new Skilled Worker Visa introduced for UK which only required me to get a job sponsorship from UK company and I could get a Visa without any IELTS score. I started researching and applying for jobs in different UK companies  and after few months I finally got a job offer from one of the large IT company in UK. The process of getting a visa was much simpler after this as the company took care of the whole process. I received my Skilled Worker Visa in couple of weeks and moved to UK with my family.

Key Takeaways:

If you are looking for job opportunities outside India specially in UK, you have to remember that nobody can get a visa for you unless you secure a job which provides visa sponsorship. Do not invest time and money into fake attractive deals which guarantee a job or visa because they will never deliver on their promises. 

Why UK is a great option for Indian IT professionals? 

• India receives the largest share of UK study, work and visit visas. Read More
• UK Visa process is expected to get faster and could be completed in less than 15 days. Priority Visa can be processed in less than 5 days.
• Greater employment prospects for Indian IT professionals in UK. Read More
• Great place to live and work as it provides very high average salary and living standards.
• Visa can last for up-to 5 years after which you can extend visa or apply to settle permanently in UK. Read More

What do you need to qualify for Skilled Worker Visa?

• Certificate of sponsorship from an approved UK employer. (Most important)
• Prove your knowledge of the English Language. (Bachelors/Masters degree is sufficient)
• Do a job which is on the list of eligible occupations. (Software jobs are included)
• Paid more than the minimum salary for the type of work (£25,600).

Conclusion:

This was a very brief summary of my own experiences which I wanted to share so that people who are looking to move to UK for job opportunities can take advantage from it. If you need more information or assistance in obtaining a skilled worker visa for UK, then please contact me at support@qascript.com or visit this page.