The earliest you can apply for a visa is 3 months before you’re due to start work in the UK. The date you can start is listed on your certificate of sponsorship.
You should get a decision on your visa within 3 weeks when you apply from outside the UK.

You’ll also have to pay the healthcare surcharge as part of your application.

You’ll need to pay £19.20 to have your biometric information (fingerprints and a photo) taken.

If you’re applying to extend or switch in the UK you can pay an extra £500 for the priority service to get a decision within 5 working days.
You can pay an extra £800 for the super priority service to get a decision:
• by the end of the next working day after providing your biometric information if your appointment is on a weekday
• 2 working days after providing your biometric information if your appointment is at the weekend
Working days are Monday to Friday, not including bank holidays.
Once you’ve got your decision letter, your biometric residence permit will take up to 10 working days to arrive.

You can come to the UK with a Tier 2 (General) visa for a maximum of 5 years and 14 days, or the time given on your certificate of sponsorship plus 1 month, whichever is shorter.
You can start your stay up to 14 days before the start date on your certificate of sponsorship.
Example Your start date is 15 July – the earliest you can start your stay is 1 July.
You can apply to extend this visa for up to another 5 years, as long as your total stay is not more than 6 years.

You can:
• work for your sponsor in the job described in your certificate of sponsorship
• do a second job in certain circumstances
• do voluntary work
• study as long as it does not interfere with the job you’re sponsored for
• travel abroad and return to the UK
• bring family members with you

You cannot:
• own more than 10% of your sponsor’s shares (unless you earn more than £159,600 a year)
• get public funds
• apply for a second job until you’ve started working for your sponsor

You need to:
• have a valid certificate of sponsorship for your job
• show you’re being paid an appropriate salary for your job
• prove your knowledge of English
• have personal savings so you can support yourself when you arrive in the UK
• show you can travel and your travel history over the last 5 years
• have tuberculosis test results if you’re from a listed country
• provide a criminal record certificate from any country you’ve lived in for 12 months or more in the last 10 years, if you’ll be working with vulnerable people
You need to have an eligible qualification if you’re switching from a Tier 4 visa.

A certificate of sponsorship holds your personal details and information about the job you’ve been offered. It’s an electronic record, not a paper document. Your sponsor will give you a certificate of sponsorship reference number to add to your application.
You can only use your certificate of sponsorship reference number once. You must use it 3 months after getting it.

You’ll usually need to be paid at least £30,000 per year or the ‘appropriate rate’ for the job you’re offered – whichever is higher.

You must have £945 in your bank account for 90 days before you apply. This is to prove you can support yourself.
You do not need to prove this if you have a fully approved (‘A-rated’) sponsor who can give you at least £945 to cover your costs for a month if you need it. Your sponsor must confirm this on the certificate of sponsorship.

You need to:
• have a valid certificate of sponsorship for your job
• show you’re being paid an appropriate salary for your job
• prove your knowledge of English
• have personal savings so you can support yourself when you arrive in the UK
• show you can travel and your travel history over the last 5 years
• have tuberculosis test results if you’re from a listed country
• provide a criminal record certificate from any country you’ve lived in for 12 months or more in the last 10 years, if you’ll be working with vulnerable people
You need to have an eligible qualification if you’re switching from a Tier 4 visa.

A certificate of sponsorship holds your personal details and information about the job you’ve been offered. It’s an electronic record, not a paper document. Your sponsor will give you a certificate of sponsorship reference number to add to your application.
You can only use your certificate of sponsorship reference number once. You must use it 3 months after getting it.

You’ll usually need to be paid at least £30,000 per year or the ‘appropriate rate’ for the job you’re offered – whichever is higher. Check the appropriate rate for the job you’ve been offered.
Check the guidance for situations when you can be paid less – for example if:
• you’ll work as a medical radiographer, nurse, paramedic or secondary school teacher in some subjects
• you’ll work as a pre-registration nurse or midwife

You must have £945 in your bank account for 90 days before you apply. This is to prove you can support yourself.
You do not need to prove this if you have a fully approved (‘A-rated’) sponsor who can give you at least £945 to cover your costs for a month if you need it. Your sponsor must confirm this on the certificate of sponsorship.

You may need to prove your knowledge of the English language when you apply.
You can prove your knowledge of English by either:
• passing an approved English language test with at least CEFR level B1 in reading, writing, speaking and listening
• having an academic qualification that was taught in English and is recognised by UK NARIC as being equivalent to a UK bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or PhD
You may be able to meet the English language requirement in other ways or need a higher level of English in some circumstances.

You will not need to prove your knowledge of English if you’re a national of one of the following countries:
• Antigua and Barbuda
• Australia
• the Bahamas
• Barbados
• Belize
• Canada
• Dominica
• Grenada
• Guyana
• Jamaica
• New Zealand
• St Kitts and Nevis
• St Lucia
• St Vincent and the Grenadines
• Trinidad and Tobago
• USA
You also may not have to prove your knowledge of English in other circumstances.

When you apply you’ll need to provide:
• your certificate of sponsorship reference number
• proof of your knowledge of English
• a bank or building society statement or letter that shows you have enough personal savings (unless your certificate of sponsorship shows your sponsor can support you)
• a current passport or travel document to prove you can travel – you need a blank page in your passport for your visa
• expired passports or travel documents if you need them to show your travel history
• your tuberculosis test results if you’re from a listed country
• a criminal record certificate – if you’re working with vulnerable people
If your documents are not in English or Welsh you’ll also need to provide a certified translation.
You may need to provide additional documents depending on your circumstances.

Criminal record certificate
You’ll need to provide a criminal record certificate if you work in:
• education, for example teachers, education advisers and school inspectors
• healthcare, for example nurses, doctors, managers, pharmacists, dentists, ophthalmic opticians
• therapy, for example psychologists, speech and language therapists
• social services, for example social workers, managers, probation officers
You’ll need a certificate from any country you’ve stayed in for a total of 12 months or more over the last 10 years.

You may be able to apply to extend your stay in the UK under a Tier 2 (General) visa.
You should include any dependants who are on your current visa on your application to extend. This includes children who have turned 18 during your stay.
You should apply before your current visa expires.

You must have current permission to enter or stay on a Tier 2 (General) visa.
You must also meet the following conditions:
• you have the same job as when you were issued your previous permission to enter or stay in the UK
• you’re still working for the employer who assigned your certificate of sponsorship
• you’re still earning an ‘appropriate salary’

You can apply to extend your visa for up to another 5 years, as long as your total stay is not more than 6 years.
If you’ve switched from a Tier 2 (Sportsperson) or Tier 2 (Minister of religion) visa, any time you’ve already spent in the UK counts towards the 6 years.

You may need to make a new Tier 2 (General) visa application if:
• you want to change your job and your new job is with a different employer
• your job changes to a different standard occupation classification (SOC) code, and you’re not in a graduate training programme
• you leave a job that’s on the shortage occupation list for a job that is not on the list
You do not need to apply again if you stay in the same job, but your job is taken off the shortage occupation list.
You will not need to make a new application if you’ll be staying with your current employer but your job will change in other ways, for example you want to change to a job in the same SOC code, or your pay will increase.
You must have a new certificate of sponsorship and you must meet all other application conditions, but you will not need to provide evidence to support your application if you’ve provided it for a previous Tier 2 application.
You can continue working for your previous sponsor until the start date on your new certificate of sponsorship if your current permission to stay is still valid.

You can apply to change (‘switch’) from another visa to a Tier 2 (General) visa.
You should apply before your current visa expires.

You must already be in the UK under any of the following visas or schemes:
• Tier 1 visa
• Tier 2 (Sportsperson) visa
• Tier 2 (Minister of religion) visa
• Tier 2 (Intra company Transfer) visa under the Immigration Rules in place before 6 April 2010 and you’re applying to change sponsor
• Tier 4 visa – if you have an eligible qualification, will complete your course in 3 months, or you’ve done at least 12 months of a PhD
• Start-up visa
• Innovator visa
You can also switch to a Tier 2 (General) visa if you’re:
• a dependent partner of someone with a Tier 4 visa
• a representative of an overseas business
You must leave the UK and make your Tier 2 (General) application from abroad if you’re not in any of these categories.

You must have been sponsored by a licensed tier 4 sponsor to get one of the following qualifications:
• a UK bachelor’s degree
• a UK master’s degree
• a postgraduate certificate in education
• a professional graduate diploma of education

You must have completed at least 12 months’ study during your most recent stay in the UK.
You must also have been sponsored by:
• a higher education provider listed on the Tier 4 register of sponsors as ‘Tier 4 sponsor – track record’
• an overseas higher education institution if you did a short-term study abroad programme in the UK

You can stay in the UK for up to 5 years after switching to a Tier 2 (General) visa.

Your family members (‘dependants’) can come with you when you come to the UK on this visa. Your family members must have a visa if they’re from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland.
A ‘dependant’ is any of the following:
• your husband, wife or partner
• your child under 18
• your child over 18 if they’re currently in the UK as a dependant

You must show that your dependants can be supported while they’re in the UK.
Each dependant must have £630 available to them whether they apply with you or separately. This is in addition to the £945 you must have to support yourself.
You must have proof you have the money, and that it’s been in your bank account or your dependant’s bank account for at least 90 days before you or they apply.

Your dependants can apply to extend or switch their visas to stay with you if they’re already in the UK.
Your family members can apply online if they’re your:
• partner
• child
It’s best for your dependants to apply at the same time as you but they can apply at a later date.
Your family members cannot apply in the UK as your dependant if they hold a visitor visa.

You can take a second job on this visa if you’re working up to 20 hours a week in either:
• the same profession as your main job and at the same level
• a profession on the shortage occupation list
You can also do unpaid voluntary work.
Otherwise, you’ll need to apply for a new visa. You’ll need to be sponsored by your second employer and get a new certificate of sponsorship.