UK Visa Requirements

Candidates from the following countries do not require a work permit in order to take up employment in the UK:

• Nationals from European Economic Area (EEA) member countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Romania, United Kingdom. 
  Please note that if a candidate is from the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia or Slovenia, they will be required to register under the Worker Registration Scheme. Furthermore, candidates from Romania or Bulgaria will need to seek authorisation from the Home Office before starting a job in the UK.

• Citizens of Switzerland.

• Commonwealth citizens who were allowed to enter or to remain in the UK on the basis that a grandparent was born here (ancestry).

• Spouses, unmarried partners and dependants of people who hold UK work permits or whose endorsement in their passport places no restriction on their employment in the UK.
  
  
• Individuals who have permission to work in the UK under the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP)  and who have leave to enter or remain in the UK on that basis.

• Commonwealth citizens, British Dependent Territories citizens and British Overseas citizens eligible to work in the UK under the Working Holiday Maker Scheme.
  
  
• Overseas students studying at UK institutions who meet the conditions under which they are eligible to work in the UK.

 The Work Permit Scheme

UK Work Permits are issued for a specific job with a specific employer for a specified period of time, up to a maximum of 5 years.  It is the employer’s responsibility to apply for a work permit on behalf of the candidate or potential employee. Before a candidate can apply for a work permit they must first have a received a suitable job offer.
Work Permit applicants are not allowed to start work in the UK until their work permit has been approved and leave to enter (or remain) in the UK has been granted on that basis.

 The Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP)

This points-based programme is designed to allow highly skilled and experienced individuals to enter or remain in the UK with a view to seeking and taking work. It is the most preferable means by which a foreign national candidate can seek or take up employment in the UK, largely because unlike work permit holders, HSMP holders are not required to have a job offer and they are not tied to a specific employer.

The Working Holiday Maker Scheme

The working holidaymaker scheme allows Commonwealth citizens aged between 17 and 30 to come to the UK for up to two years with the intention of undertaking paid work as a part of a working holiday. Working holidaymakers are only eligible to work for a maximum period of one year out of the two years they are entitled to holiday in the UK.

You can find detailed information about UK work permits and UK visas by visiting the following websites:

www.visalogic.net – UK work permits and immigration specialists
www.homeoffice.gov.uk
www.workingintheuk.gov.uk