Due to the recent Government announcement relating to upcoming changes to the Skilled Worker Visa, please note this webpage is under review

Sponsorable roles: relevant qualifications

Under the Skilled Worker route, some sponsorable roles are eligible for tradeable points for a relevant PhD qualification.

If you are looking to use a PhD qualification as a ‘tradeable point’ for any role listed as being eligible for PhD points in Table 1 of the Government’s Appendix Skilled Occupations, the recruiting manager will be required to provide a credible explanation of how your PhD qualification is relevant to the role you are being sponsored for. Under the Skilled Worker route, some sponsorable roles are eligible for tradeable points for a relevant PhD qualification.

If you are successful in your application, you will be asked to provide evidence of your PhD qualification following the interview process. The evidence that you will need to provide is as follows:

If relying on a recognised qualification awarded by a UK institution

You will be asked to provide a copy of your certificate. An academic reference, together with an explanation why the certificate is unavailable, may also be accepted. Acceptable reasons for the certificate not being available could include the certificate not having been issued yet, or the university being unable to replace a lost or damaged certificate.

If relying on a recognised qualification awarded by an overseas institution

UK ENIC (formerly known as UK NARIC) must have verified it as genuine and equivalent to a UK PhD. You will need to provide the UK ENIC reference number when prompted so this can be included on your Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS).

If your PhD qualification is in a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) subject, the recruiting manager will need to provide a credible explanation as to how your qualification meets this criterion.