Newbie here

See, but that's exactly why it would be a good idea to discuss it with a pro agent. An Area Manager position falls into SOC 3545, which is on the NQF 6 list. Meaning that it would qualify.

In that case your biggest problem would be getting the UK to give you a visa. The job has to go to someone who is allowed to work in the UK and only if there isn't anyone, then they give a visa to bring someone into the UK. UKVI would have to be convinced that there was nobody in the UK, who could do that job.

The board sits once a month to decide who to issue a restricted COS to as there are only 20,700 issued per year.

If the company has headhunted you and has said they will sponsor your visa, you'll likely be fine.  I would imagine they have their own immigration attorney working on their behalf advising them.

Laura Devine in the US or Victoria Sharkey with Medivisas in the UK are good immigration solicitors/agents.  Though the company should provide one for you.

It's my understanding that the employer needs to confirm that a candidate qualifies based on the job description and salary. Then they need to show that they have advertised the job at least four weeks. And then it has to pass the labour market test.

The first one is not an issue, the second is pretty straight forward, and the third is out of my hands. I'm not sure if there is more steps involved there, but that is my understanding at this point.

@KFdancer: That is my line of thought too. Major companies, with major funds, and their internal HR staff contacting me, and assuring me that they have done it for others in the past. I have to believe that it's possible!

And I also assume they would provide me an agent or liaison of some sort if we proceed. I guess I just feel as though it would be wise to discuss it beforehand to see if anyone could be blowing smoke! Thank you for the referrals.

It's my understanding that the employer needs to confirm that a candidate qualifies based on the job description and salary. Then they need to show that they have advertised the job at least four weeks. And then it has to pass the labour market test.

The first one is not an issue, the second is pretty straight forward, and the third is out of my hands. I'm not sure if there is more steps involved there, but that is my understanding at this point.

Yes, that's correct. The problem is that an Area Manager position is probably not going to pass the resident labour market test because it's unlikely to be highly-skilled enough that there is not a single suitable applicant in the entire UK or EU.

Looking at it another way: what if this job was being advertised in the US? Do you think it would be specialised enough that not a single US citizen would be qualified to do it, meaning that the company would have to source labour from overseas to fill the position?

I have a friend in the US with a masters degree in journalism. She tried to get Tier 2 sponsorship for a journalism position in the UK a few years ago and even came over for interviews and had companies telling her they would love to offer her a job. The problem was that they would not be able to sponsor a Tier 2 visa for her, because the job would not pass the resident labour market test... so they basically said: 'The job's yours, but only if you can get yourself another type of visa that would allow you to work here without us having to sponsor you'. In the end, she couldn't qualify for any other visa, so she had to stay in the US and not move to the UK.

See, but that's exactly why it would be a good idea to discuss it with a pro agent. An Area Manager position falls into SOC 3545, which is on the NQF 6 list. Meaning that it would qualify. But, so as to not waste time or money, a consultation would probably be wise.

Qualification is only half the battle. Many jobs qualify. Very few pass the resident labour market test -- this is where the problem lies, particularly if the company is used to bringing over specific skills, like engineering, design, and research & development. It's not as easy to bring over a sales manager as it is to bring over a scientist because in the whole of the EU, there are many more sales managers that *could* be offered the job first.

Well, it's worth a shot! A few of the jobs I have been discussing have been vacant for several months, so they are obviously struggling to find suitable candidates.

Interestingly enough, the store that I work in currently has around 20 employees. Only 25% of whom are American citizens. Literally everyone else is on some level of immigration, with only one of those being fast-tracked due to marrying a citizen. And these are not skilled positions that we are sponsoring them for. But, of course, immigration here is a completely different situation, so I digress.

13 countries?!? Wow! That is intense. What brought you to so many places? Military, diplomatic, adventure, or?

I love bags of history. That sounds wonderful to me. When I was in London last time, my friends didn't have a lot of time, so I spent the bulk of a week wandering around alone going to historical sights and museums. I barely scratched the surface. It would never tire for an old nerd like myself.

I would love to contact a pro migration agent. Anyone have any recommendations?

Thank you!

I started in the army, but most of my moves have been due to my work as a geoscientist working for multinational mining companies. So, have been sent all across Africa, China, South America and Australia and a bit in Europe

It's my understanding that the employer needs to confirm that a candidate qualifies based on the job description and salary. Then they need to show that they have advertised the job at least four weeks. And then it has to pass the labour market test.

They have to advertise the job in the correct format laid down by UKVI.  If they can't find anyone to do that job and it is a level 6(?) or above, they can offer it to you. You must not be preselected.

The employer (who has a sponsorship licence) then applies for a Restricted CoS, not issue an unrestricted C0S as some employers are doing in error. The unrestricted CoS are for those such as students who have just studied in the UK and are not required to pass the Resident Labour Market Test.

The board sit once a month to issue a set number of R CoS. If it is a job on the UK shortages list or a high earner (somewhere around over 155K or soon to be about 135k) then they are ok as they get issued a CoS first. The rest are only checked to see the sponsor has carried out the RLMT in the correct format, paying at least the minimim wage for that job.

The applicant then takes their CoS and applies to UKVI for a visa. It is then that UKVI check the sponsor has issued the correct CoS. For those with a Restricted CoS, UKVI scrutinise to see how valid the RLMT was, because employers can pay lower wages to foreign workers. In the past, these applications just went through on a nod but now they are investigated because of abuse.

If UKVI think that many would have applied for that job, they will go to the sponsor and ask as to see the CVs of all the applicants. If there are suitable candidates in that pile, then the sponsor will have to prove why none of these people were offered that job. They risk losing their sponsorship licence or having their licence restricted, if UKVI suspect they did no comply with UK rules for hiring foregn workers.

One person reported that he was preselected and his sponsor only showed a few CVs when UKVI investigated. They claimed that that was all that applied. His visa was refused as UKVI didn't agree that a job like that would only have a few applicants.

If you pass all that then you get a limited leave to remain visa, valid while your sponsor agrees to keep sponsoring you.

The RCoS visas have a limited number of 20,700 a year. Under a new law, those employers who get one of these RCos for a foreign employer and then it isn't used for a visa, must now return that RCoS to UKVI. It can go back into the pile to be issued to another sponsor. Under present rules, that unused and not returned R CoS, is counted in that limit of 20,700 a year.

In case I have missed anything, Kate can correct me as she is more up on these Tier 2 visas than I am.

Well, it's worth a shot! A few of the jobs I have been discussing have been vacant for several months, so they are obviously struggling to find suitable candidates.

Just make sure that you are talking to the actual firms and not someone who claims they are acting for these companies. If it is the latter, then check them out. There are a lot of scammers around who prey on people wanting a visa. Some even issue a bogus CoS number. Don't pay any money up front unless it is directly to UKVI with your visa application.

I can only say I am really.....really glad....that I never had to go through a job interview. Is it possible? Yep.

Just make sure that you are talking to the actual firms and not someone who claims they are acting for these companies. If it is the latter, then check them out. There are a lot of scammers around who prey on people wanting a visa. Some even issue a bogus CoS number. Don't pay any money up front unless it is directly to UKVI with your visa application.

Definitely. Third party recruiters are only good for introductions. I am only talking details with internal HR staff for these companies. Thank you so much for all of the detail that you have provided!

Definitely. Third party recruiters are only good for introductions. I am only talking details with internal HR staff for these companies. Thank you so much for all of the detail that you have provided!

Just so you've got it in mind, there are some recruiters who are basically external recruiters and work with multiple companies but are give company email addresses (so, for example, their recruitment company is Joe's Recruiters but they recruit for Google, Microsoft and Haribo and they're given the email address Joe@Google[dot]whatevs, Joe@microsoft[dot]whatevs and Joe@Haribo[dot]whatevs) so it looks like they work there but they don't really.  Not a scam, but definitely tricky.

DH (who works in IT in London and gets contacted by a lot of recruiters) discovered this. He gets contacted by recruiters like this for job openings that are no where near fitting his qualifications or specific line of work. Flattering, but a waste of everyone time.

Hopefully this isn't the case for you, but it's worth doing your own research, even if it's just to confirm what the recruiter's told you. Remember, you're the one moving over the pond, not them, so you're more invested in this. If it doesn't work out with you as a candidate, they'll move on quickly. Visas can't be brute forced into approval.

Just so you've got it in mind, there are some recruiters who are basically external recruiters and work with multiple companies but are give company email addresses (so, for example, their recruitment company is Joe's Recruiters but they recruit for Google, Microsoft and Haribo and they're given the email address Joe@Google[dot]whatevs, Joe@microsoft[dot]whatevs and Joe@Haribo[dot]whatevs) so it looks like they work there but they don't really.  Not a scam, but definitely tricky.

Interesting. Never run into that in my world, but I will keep an eye out. Every recruiter who I have spoken to has been through LinkedIn initially - so I can see who is third party and internal (so far). That is certainly tricky!

Our recruiters were all third party. They have official company emails and run the careers portal, plus manage the linked in page, but they work for a recruitment agency we've engaged. It's not uncommon in the UK.

Our recruiters were all third party. They have official company emails and run the careers portal, plus manage the linked in page, but they work for a recruitment agency we've engaged. It's not uncommon in the UK.

Interesting!

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