04 Guidance
Understand the UK sponsorship system before you act.
Plain English guidance on sponsor licences, occupation codes, salary context and safer applications, organised around the decisions skilled workers actually need to make.
GTN provides general information, not personal immigration advice.
Use guidance to answer four practical questions
01 Start here
Follow the information in the same order as the decision.
Understand sponsorship
Learn what a sponsor licence means and what it does not mean.
Check the occupation
Find the closest occupation code and published salary context.
Check the employer
Confirm that the organisation appears on the sponsor register.
Apply safely
Use the source vacancy and avoid job for fee scams.
02 Guidance library
Read the topic you need, then return to the practical tools.
How the Skilled Worker route works
A plain English overview of the main sponsored work route, used across every sector from IT and engineering to healthcare and finance, and how sponsorship fits in.
Salary thresholds and the going rate concept
How the general salary threshold and the occupation specific going rate work together, in general terms.
Skill level and occupation codes
What skill classification means, how occupation codes are grouped and why eligibility must be checked against the current Home Office list.
The B2 English language requirement
A general explanation of the English language standard and common ways to meet it.
The care worker route closure and in country switching
Why new overseas recruitment of care workers closed in July 2025, and what in country switching means during the transition.
Getting your overseas qualifications recognised in the UK
When you may need Ecctis, what UK ENIC and QLS do, and where to start.
03 Check the numbers
Salary and occupation context should be checked together.
Use the Salary checker to identify the closest occupation code and read the published going rate before relying on a vacancy.
Check 01
Find the closest occupation code
Check 02
Check whether the role is eligible
Check 03
Read the published going rate
Check 04
Check any special salary treatment
Check 05
Check the sponsor
Check 06
Check the exact vacancy
Use the guidance
Read, check, then return to the vacancy.
Guidance is most useful when it leads back into the working GTN tools and the original job listing.
General information only
This is general information, not immigration advice. Thresholds and rules change and depend on your specific circumstances. For advice on your own case, consult an adviser registered with the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA) or a qualified solicitor.
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