Tier 2 Sponsored Workers Attributes
You must score at least 50 points in the following three sections (Certificate of Sponsorship, qualifications and earnings).
Certificate of Sponsorship
You can score up to 50 points in this section. Points will be awarded in the following way:
| Certificate of Sponsorship | Points Awarded |
| Offer of job in shortage occupation | 50 |
| Intra Company Transfer | 30 |
| Offer of job that passed Resident Labour Market Test | 30 |
Shortage Occupation
The Migration Advisory Committee will publish a list of shortage occupations. Where a migrant is applying to enter the UK to fill a job from this list, they will receive sufficient points to proceed without reference to their prospective earnings or qualifications. The list will comprise skilled occupations where there are shortages that can sensibly be filled by enabling employers to recruit migrants from outside the European Economic Area (EEA).
Intra Company Transfers
Due to the specific nature of Intra Company Transfers, which are for employees of multinational companies being transferred by their employer overseas to a skilled post in a UK-based branch of the company, no Resident Labour Market Test will be necessary. Migrants coming to the UK on Intra Company Transfers must have been working overseas for the sponsoring company for at least the previous 6 months, and while in the UK must earn a salary or remunerative package (including specific permitted allowances) appropriate for that job in the UK.
A Sponsor seeking to be authorised to issue Certificates of Sponsorship under the Intra Company Transfer category must confirm at the time of their licence application that they will comply with this set of criteria.
Resident Labour Market Test
If your job is not on the shortage occupation list or you are not entering under the Intra Company Transfer route, your job offer will need to pass the resident labour market test. This test ensures that resident workers have had the opportunity to apply for the job before it is filled under Tier 2.
To do this the employer must have advertised the job in JobCentre Plus or advertised the job as agreed in a sector specific Code of Practice. The job must have been advertised for at least 2 weeks. This measure ensures that resident workers will first have the opportunity to apply for a job before a migrant is recruited to fill it. If the prospective earnings for the job are over £40,000 then there is less likelihood of undercutting the resident labour market. Nevertheless, it is still important that resident workers have an opportunity to apply first and so even these jobs have to be advertised in JobCentre Plus or as agreed in the Code of Practice for a minimum period of one week.
When a Sponsor issues a Certificate of Sponsorship on the Sponsor Management System (SMS) they are required to confirm that a Resident Labour Market Test has been conducted or that it does not apply to the application.
There is one area where a resident labour market test is not required: those sponsors who wish to provide a Certificate of Sponsorship to an applicant who has spent at least the last 6 months with them under the Tier 1 Post-Study work category.
Qualifications
You can score up to 15 points for your qualifications. Points will be awarded in the following way:
| Qualifications | Points Awarded |
| No qualifications | 0 |
| NVQ level 3 | 5 |
| Bachelors or Masters degree | 10 |
| PhD | 15 |
You will only be awarded points for the highest level qualification you hold.
Prospective earnings
You can score up to 20 points for your prospective earnings. Points will be awarded in the following way:
| Prospective earning (£) | Points Awarded |
| 17,000 – 19,999 | 5 |
| 20,000 – 21,999 | 10 |
| 22,000 – 23,999 | 15 |
| 24,000 + | 20 |
If you wish to have our assistance in any Tier 2 related application, please contact us
