I share with you a list of jobs in the UK occupations (other than those in healthcare) that offer UK visa sponsorship.
There are a lot of jobs in the UK that have shortage of labour meaning there aren’t enough specialised skilled workers domestically. This means that these UK jobs are on the UK shortage occupations list and as such individuals can apply for the UK Skilled Worker 2021 visa (which replaced the Tier 2 (General) work visa) enabling them to go to the UK and legally work as a foreigner at an eligible job with an approved employer.
If a job is on the UK shortage occupation list, you can be paid 80% of the job’s usual going rate to qualify for a Skilled Worker visa.
I will focus solely on those unusual and unexpected occupations that are listed as having shortage of skilled personnel in the UK, thus making you eligible to work in the UK.
What's Covered in This Article
Secondary education teaching professionals
There is a shortage of secondary school teachers in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland.
For the job to be eligible for sponsorship, you must be a teacher of maths, physics, science (where an element of physics will be taught), computer science and modern foreign languages.
Overseas teachers can apply for a Skilled Worker visa up to 3 months before they start work in the UK under the following conditions:
- you, as the overseas teacher can speak, read, write and understand English
- the role pays at least £20,480 or the relevant minimum rate for teachers in England, whichever is higher (minimum rates for teachers are in the School teachers’ pay and conditions document 2021 and guidance on school teachers’ pay and conditions) – if the role is part-time, pro-rata rates will apply as long as the salary is at least £20,480 a year
Where to find fully funded visa sponsorship teaching opportunities UK – Fully funded visas
Teachers can check out secondary school teaching roles in the UK with visa sponsorship on DfE’s Teaching Vacancies service.
There are different arrangements for overseas teachers who want to get qualified teacher status (QTS).
If the teacher has a degree but has limited teaching experience, they can train to teach on a course that will give them QTS. There is also guidance on becoming a qualified teacher if they’re not a graduate.
If they have a degree and more than 2 years teaching experience, they can achieve QTS by completing the assessment only route without doing more training.
Employing overseas teachers without QTS (the 4-year rule)
Overseas teachers can teach in maintained schools and non-maintained special schools in England without qualified teacher status (QTS) for up to 4 years. This is called the 4-year rule.
The 4-year rule applies to international teachers who meet all of the following conditions:
- they have qualified as a teacher in a country outside of the UK
- they have completed a course of teacher training that is recognised by the competent authority of that country
- they are employed in maintained schools and non-maintained special schools, but not a pupil referral unit
If you are a teacher of any of the above 5 subjects, then you are probably eligible for a UK skilled work visa. So why not give it a try😊.
Veterinarians – all jobs
In the whole of the UK (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland) there are currently shortages of skilled and qualified veterinarians in both farm veterinary medicine and small animal medicine.
In the UK, the shortages are so acute that all veterinarian related jobs are on the UK shortage occupations list in a bid to fill the skills gaps and to ensure that Tier 2 UK skilled visa applications for veterinary professionals from non-EEA countries go ahead without delay.
The sort of titles that would be eligible for a Tier 2 UK skilled visa application include:
- Veterinarian (“vet”)
- Veterinary practitioner
- Veterinary surgeon.
Where to find Veterinary Surgeon opportunities UK – Fully funded visas
CVS Group plc
CVS is one of the largest integrated veterinary groups in Europe with over 500 veterinary practice sites across the UK, Ireland and The Netherlands and over 7000 employees.
They have fantastic opportunities for you to relocate to the UK to join them as a vet, where you will benefit from Visa sponsorship. CVS offers fully supported and funded visa sponsorship to work in the UK.
Artists and Arts officers, producers and directors
There is a shortage in the UK of Arts officers, producers and directors as well as artists – all jobs.
Foreign workers in these occupations can thus come to work in the UK under visa sponsorship.
You will need to have a salary of at least £16,800(£8.28 per hour) for the artist role and £24,000(£11.83 per hour) for the Arts officers, producers and directors role to be eligible for a UK work visa.
Art Council lists adverts for a range of job opportunities within the UK art and culture sector.
Build a Rocket – They have offices in Edinburgh, Budapest and consider WFH candidates.
Rockhunter is a creative agency specialising in Architectural and Interior visualisation. They are currently accepting applications from candidates located anywhere in the World as long as they can operate within UK working hours.
Graphic designers — all jobs
This is another job with an acute demand for skilled international workers in the UK.
International candidates with skills and experience in these occupations can thus come to work in the UK under visa sponsorship.
Roles that may fall under this occupation include the following among others:
- 3D design
- communication design
- film and television
- fine art
- graphic design
- illustration
- photography
- visual art.
You will need to have a salary of at least £18,800(£9.27 per hour) for this role to be eligible for relocation as an international candidate on a skilled work visa.
Welding trades
Another job on the UK skilled worker occupation list is welders.
For this occupation though, only high integrity pipe welders are eligible for a UK visa sponsorship, where the job requires 3 or more years’ related on-the-job experience.
Additionally, this experience must have been gained strictly through legal working.
Where / how to find Tier 2 sponsored jobs in the UK for foreigners
There are multiple ways and places where to find Tier 2 skilled work in the UK as an international worker:
- Ask your friends and/or relatives in the UK to help you to find an employer from UK willing to offer you a visa sponsored job in the UK.
- Consider going through reputable recruitment agencies in the UK
- Use Google search engine. Use keywords: tier 2 visa sponsored job, vacancy, UK + ‘job title’
- Create a free account and register your CV/resume on online job search websites for UK visa sponsored jobs:
