Getting a UK visa to work in IT

Information Technology, or IT for short, is one of the most popular job sectors in the UK with opportunities from web developers to data analysts becoming more readily available.

The first step in obtaining a visa to work in the UK is to know your visa type. In this instance, working in IT is usually associated with a Tier 2 type visa.

 You can apply for a Tier 2 (General) visa if:

• You’ve been offered a skilled job in the UK
• You’re from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland

Getting sponsored

You will need to have a certificate of sponsorship from a licensed sponsor before you can apply to work in the UK. The work must also relate to the sponsor organisation. If you’re unsure of what employers have this you can discuss with your careers advisor or recruitment agency.

How long will it take?

You should get a decision on your visa within 3 weeks. Applying for a visa work in the UK is a big process and can take up to 3 months to finalise once sending off an application. The process varies from country to country but the best way to start is to visit VGS Global and pick your country from the list to find out more about the steps required to apply for a visa.

Applying for visa online

Most countries allow you to apply online using Visa4UK which is an online application that has been designed to make the process simpler and clearer. If your country doesn’t allow you to apply online you are able to print the appropriate forms out to complete by hand. It is important that you’re aware that the forms are in English only and you cannot have someone do this for you although you are able to nominate someone to help fill the form out for you.

Finding your Visa Application Centre

The next step is to visit a visa application centre that may require further details such as enrolling your fingerprints and photograph (known as biometric information collection). You may also needed to be tested for tuberculosis if you plan to stay in the UK longer than 6 months and are from any of the listed countries on the Gov.UK website. You can find your visa application centre by searching for it online or visiting VGS Global and finding it there.

For more information you can visit the official Governmental website for visa’s or VGS Global website for information on the process in your own country.