Sponsoring PhD Talent on the Skilled Worker Visa
Many UK employers need highly specialist and qualified employees and, in some sectors, the UK recruitment and skills crisis is such that UK companies have no alternative but to look overseas to recruit PhD qualified talent.
Our immigration solicitors look at the immigration rules relating to the UK skilled worker visa and PhD candidates for employers with sponsor licences looking to sponsor specialist migrant employees.
UK Online and London-Based Immigration Solicitors and Sponsorship Licence Lawyers
For advice on sponsor licences and skilled worker visas call the expert London immigration lawyers at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
PhDs and the skilled worker visa
If an overseas-based job applicant has a PhD, it does not guarantee that they will have suitable skills or qualifications for a skilled worker visa. Sponsorship Licence lawyers emphasise that a PhD qualification, or equivalent, is not a ‘pass’ to getting a skilled worker visa. However, with the right job and job candidate, having a PhD can ease the skilled worker visa application process and potentially mean that a sponsor licence holder does not need to pay a PhD holder as much as a non-PhD holder under the fairly complex minimum salary threshold rules for the skilled worker visa.
Eligible skilled worker visa jobs and PhD qualifications
When recruiting a new overseas-based employee who has a PhD qualification the job they are being recruited to fill must be on the government list of jobs that meet the skilled worker visa eligibility criteria and have been allocated a standard occupational classification code.
A sponsor licence holder can then assess whether a PhD qualification affects the minimum salary threshold.
How a PhD qualification affects the skilled worker visa minimum salary threshold
To recap the minimum salary threshold for the skilled worker visa is currently set by the government at whichever is the higher of the following:
- £26,200 gross per year
- £10.75 gross per hour
- The ‘going rate’ for the standard occupational classification code for the job the sponsor licence holder is recruiting to fill
There are several different ways that the minimum salary threshold can be reduced from £26,200 gross per year. For example, if the job is on the shortage occupation list, the job meets the eligibility criteria for the health and care worker visa, or if the applicant meets the definition of a ‘new entrant’. In addition, a PhD qualification may impact the minimum salary threshold.
If a skilled worker visa applicant has a PhD qualification, and the job’s standard occupational classification code attracts a PhD salary reduction, a sponsor licence holder is entitled to offer a salary that is 80 or 90% of the job’s usual going rate, provided that the salary is not set below the minimum salary threshold set out above.
For a relevant PhD job with a going rate salary of £40,000 attached to the standard occupational classification code, this could reduce the minimum salary threshold down to £32,000 utilising a 20% discount or £36,000 with a 10% discount. If margins are tight or your business is employing several overseas-based PhD job applicants it can be important to fully understand the complex minimum salary thresholds and exemptions.
The PhD salary concession on the going rate for the job
The PhD salary concession on the going rate for the job is dependent on the nature of the PhD qualification and whether it is in a STEM subject or not. STEM subjects are defined as science, technology, engineering or mathematics.
- A skilled worker visa applicant with a STEM PhD qualification can be paid 80% of the job’s usual going rate, as long as the minimum salary threshold is at least £20,960 gross per year
- A skilled worker visa applicant with a non-STEM PhD qualification can be paid 90% of the job’s usual going rate, as long as the minimum salary threshold is at least £23,580 gross a year
The definition of a PhD qualification for the skilled worker visa minimum salary threshold
Not every overseas job applicant requiring a skilled worker visa will have studied for their PhD qualification as an international student on a UK student visa. The immigration rules say that for a sponsor licence holder to apply the PhD discount to the minimum salary threshold the overseas recruit must either have:
- A UK PhD or
- An overseas doctorate qualification that is of the same level as a PhD qualification. To check if a qualification meets the PhD criteria an enquiry can be made to Ecctis
In addition to having a PhD qualification the job your company is recruiting to fill must be relevant to the PhD qualification. The sponsor licence holder allocating the certificate of sponsorship to the skilled worker visa applicant needs to confirm this.
PhD qualifications and PhD jobs that impact the minimum salary threshold
The jobs that currently qualify for a PhD salary reduction are set out below by reference to their current standard occupational classification code:
- 1115 Chief executives and senior officials
- 1121 Production managers and directors in manufacturing
- 1122 Production managers and directors in construction
- 1123 Production managers and directors in mining and energy
- 1131 Financial managers and directors
- 1132 Marketing and sales directors
- 1134 Advertising and public relations directors
- 1135 Human resource managers and directors
- 1136 Information technology and telecommunications directors
- 1139 Functional managers and directors not elsewhere classified
- 1150 Financial institution managers and directors
- 1161 Managers and directors in transport and distribution
- 1162 Managers and directors in storage and warehousing
- 1172 Senior police officers
- 1173 Senior officers in fire, ambulance, prison and related services
- 1181 Health services and public health managers and directors
- 1184 Social services managers and directors
- 1190 Managers and directors in retail and wholesale
- 2111 Chemical scientists
- 2112 Biological scientists and biochemists
- 2113 Physical scientists
- 2114 Social and humanities scientists
- 2119 Natural and social science professionals not elsewhere classified
- 2121 Civil engineers
- 2122 Mechanical engineers
- 2123 Electrical engineers
- 2124 Electronics engineers
- 2126 Design and development engineers
- 2127 Production and process engineers
- 2129 Engineering professionals not elsewhere classified
- 2133 IT specialist managers
- 2134 IT project and programme managers
- 2135 IT business analysts, architects and systems designers
- 2136 Programmers and software development professionals
- 2137 Web design and development professionals
- 2139 Information technology and telecommunications professionals not elsewhere classified
- 2141 Conservation professionals
- 2142 Environment professionals
- 2150 Research and development managers
- 2216 Vets
- 2311 Higher education teaching professionals
- 2317 Senior professionals of educational establishments
- 2318 Education advisers and school inspectors
- 2319 Teaching and other educational professionals not elsewhere classified
- 2412 Barristers and judges
- 2413 Solicitors
- 2419 Legal professionals not elsewhere classified
- 2421 Chartered and certified accountants
- 2423 Management consultants and business analysts
- 2424 Business and financial project management professionals
- 2425 Actuaries, economists and statisticians
- 2426 Business and related research professionals
- 2429 Business, research and administrative professionals not elsewhere classified
- 2431 Architects
- 2432 Town planning officers
- 2433 Quantity surveyors
- 2434 Chartered surveyors
- 2435 Chartered architectural technologists
- 2436 Construction project managers and related professionals
- 2443 Probation officers
- 2449 Welfare professionals not elsewhere classified
- 2451 Librarians
- 2452 Archivists and curators
- 2461 Quality control and planning engineers
- 2462 Quality assurance and regulatory professionals
- 2463 Environmental health professionals
- 2471 Journalists, newspaper and periodical editors
- 2472 Public relations professionals
- 2473 Advertising accounts managers and creative directors
- 3111 Laboratory technicians
- 3112 Electrical and electronics technicians
- 3113 Engineering technicians
- 3114 Building and civil engineering technicians
- 3115 Quality assurance technicians
- 3116 Planning, process and production technicians
- 3119 Science, engineering and production technicians not elsewhere classified
- 3121 Architectural and town planning technicians
- 3122 Draughtpersons
- 3131 IT operations technicians
- 3132 IT user support technicians
The PhD qualification impacts whether the salary discount is 80 or 90% of the going rate for the job. For example, with standard occupational classification code 1115 (chief executives and senior officials) a non-STEM PhD qualification reduces the going rate to £53,370 (£27.37 per hour) and the STEM PhD qualification reduces the going rate to £47,440 (£24.33 per hour).
Minimum salary thresholds are based on a 37.5-hour working week. The immigration rules say that if your company is employing a person on a skilled worker visa for less or more than 37.5 hours per week you need to pro-rata the salary using weekly working hours.
Standard occupational classification codes are complicated and understanding how PhD qualifications can affect the minimum salary threshold for skilled worker visa applicants can be equally confusing. For help contact our specialist Sponsorship Licence lawyers. We can assist you with your sponsor licence application or by managing your sponsor licence on a fixed monthly retainer as well as answering your sponsor licence queries.
UK Online and London-Based Immigration Solicitors and Sponsorship Licence Lawyers
For advice on sponsor licences and skilled worker visas call the expert London immigration lawyers at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
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