Work Visa Applications: Frequently Asked Questions

Many non-UK nationals can visit the UK as a Standard Visitor for permitted activities (including to attend interviews) without the need for a visa. However, depending on your nationality you may need to apply for a Standard Visitor visa.

More information can be found here:

Visit the UK as a Standard Visitor: Overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Who needs a UK visitor visa? | Workpermit.com

If you have applied for a position with Diamond and been offered the position following an interview, Diamond, as a visa sponsorship license holder, will apply for a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) if the criteria for sponsorship has been met, and once you have signed and returned all of the job offer documentation. If the CoS is successfully granted we will issue this to you and you will be responsible for following the process to apply for a visa.

Please see here for up-to-date guidance on visa fee costs: https://www.gov.uk/skilledworker-visa/how-much-it-costs

As part of the visa application, you will be asked for your intended travel date to the UK. The visa will then be valid from that travel date, which can be a maximum of 14 days before the employment start date as declared on the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS).

The CoS is only valid for 3 months, so your visa application must take place within this time, or you will not be able to obtain your visa.

You cannot enter the UK before the start date as recorded on your visa.

This will vary depending on the country in which you submit your visa application. For guidance on location specific timeframes, see here: https://www.gov.uk/visa-processingtimes

Unfortunately, we are unable to check the progress of your application, please contact the UK Home Office who may be able to help with your query.

The payment of the Immigration Health Surcharge is an additional charge, over and above the visa fee, and must be made up-front at the time of the visa application. Payment of the surcharge will ensure that you have full access to the UK National Health Service. 

The surcharge will cost an additional £624 per person per year that your visa is valid. Children aged under 18 pay a reduced fee of £470. 

For further guidance, please see the UKVI webpages: https://www.gov.uk/healthcare-immigration-application

Once you have joined Diamond, you will be able to submit a claim via our internal system, Agresso. You can find details on costs Diamond will reimburse on our Work Visa Reimbursement Policy and Procedure. All claims must be submit with an itemised receipt before they can be approved.

When making a Skilled Worker visa application, the individual is required to provide evidence that they have at least £1,270 in a bank account in their name for the 28 days before the application. Alternatively, the sponsor can tick a box on the CoS to confirm that it certifies the employee’s maintenance. As Diamond agrees to reimburse visa and relocation costs, in line with our policy, we tick this box to confirm that we will maintain and accommodate the employee up to the level of at least £1,270 up to the end of the first month of sponsorship/employment, if required, through provision of reimbursed expenses.

Please refer to your Certificate of Sponsorship.

Typically, roles at Diamond do not require an overseas criminal record check as they are not within the education, health and social care sectors. 

As Diamond does not hold a license to sponsor students (only a Skilled Worker license and Tier 5 license) the ATAS requirement does not apply to us and so we tick ‘No’ on the CoS. The Immigration Rules state: ATAS 1.2: An applicant… requires a valid ATAS certificate if they are applying in a work route which requires a Certificate of Sponsorship, that Certificate of Sponsorship is issued by a work sponsor that is also a licensed student sponsor, and the role set out in the Certificate of Sponsorship.

While a PhD may be a requirement of Diamond to be considered for this position, it is not a requirement of the UK points based immigration system for you to be issued with a CoS. Your application has gained enough ‘mandatory points’ already without the need for any additional ‘tradable points’, such as a PhD. By stating that a PhD is required during the CoS application this would have incurred additional time and costs for both parties through the need to apply for a NARIC code, which isn’t required in this instance.

The UK Skilled worker dependent visa is for dependent family members of Skilled Worker Visa UK holders who wish to come to the UK.

Your dependants can apply at the same time as you to enter the UK. Alternatively, they can wait until you have entered the UK and started work before they apply (please see Diamond’s policy for timeframe details)

Your dependants must apply here: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/your-partner-andchildren

Where a Skilled Worker's dependent visa is granted, they will be permitted to live in the UK while the main visa holder remains here. Skilled Worker dependent visa holders can also study and access the National Health Service while in the UK.

Skilled Worker dependents are able to work while in the UK. There are few restrictions meaning that dependents can typically work for any employer and in any type of role. Further information can be found here - Dependent family members in work routes (publishing.service.gov.uk)

 If your application is granted, the visa you initially receive inside your passport will be valid for 90 days. This is known as an ‘entry vignette’ and will facilitate your entry into the UK. You must enter the UK before the vignette expires or you will have to re-apply for your visa.

Within ten days of your arrival in the UK, you are required to collect your Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) from a UK Post Office. The BRP will state the full length of leave you have been granted and will supersede the entry vignette. 

Full details of how you arrange collection of your BRP will be provided to you by UKVI at the point your application is approved. For further guidance, please see the UKVI webpages:

https://www.gov.uk/biometric-residence-permits

Please notify your Diamond HR contact at your earliest opportunity.

If you are refused, there is no separate appeal process, but you may be able to lodge an ‘Administrative Review’. Please see any correspondence from the Home Office that accompanies your refusal letter.

Please also see the Diamond Work Visa Reimbursement Policy and Procedure regarding cost implications of a failed visa application.

After you have spent five years in the UK on a Skilled Worker Visa you are eligible to apply for Settlement (also known as Indefinite Leave to Remain). If you are successful in gaining settlement, you are no longer subject to visa restrictions in the UK and you will have the unlimited right to work.