Facts checked on 9 and 17 October 2026 against the sources linked below. Rules change often — check the official page before you act. This is shared experience, not legal or financial advice.

The four ways in

There is no job-seeker visa. Four doors work for Indian citizens:

  • Skilled Worker. A licensed sponsor, a graduate-level (RQF 6) job paying £41,700 or the occupation's going rate, whichever is higher, and English at B2 (salary rules).
  • Graduate visa after a UK degree: £937 plus the health surcharge. Apply on or before 31 December 2026 for two years; on or after 1 January 2027 for 18 months; three years after a PhD (Graduate visa).
  • India Young Professionals Scheme. Ages 18–30, a degree-level qualification and £2,530 in savings; a free ballot, run twice a year, for 3,000 places. £340 plus £1,552 surcharge for 24 months; no sponsor, dependants or extension (ballot).
  • Senior or Specialist Worker, a transfer from an Indian employer with a UK office: £52,500 or more, and 12 months with the group abroad unless paid £73,900 or more. It does not count toward settlement (route).

Salary floors and costs

Lower floors exist (when you can be paid less), including:

  • New entrant: £33,400 or 70% of the going rate, if you are under 26 or on (or recently on) a Student or Graduate visa, for at most four years including Graduate time.
  • Temporary Shortage List, sponsorable until 31 December 2026: electricians £38,800, plumbers £38,100, IT operations technicians £35,200, data analysts £34,900.

From India the visa fee is £819 for up to three years or £1,618 for longer, plus the Immigration Health Surcharge of £1,035 a year paid upfront, and £1,270 in savings held for 28 days unless the sponsor certifies maintenance (costs). A new Home Office fee table is dated 8 October 2026, so check the fee page the week you apply.

Finding a sponsor

The Register of licensed sponsors is public. Filter it for Skilled Worker and an A rating, then search your sector and city; an employer not on it cannot sponsor you.

  • Use sponsors' own careers pages, LinkedIn, Indeed, Reed, TotalJobs and CV-Library (search "visa sponsorship"), NHS Jobs and jobs.ac.uk.
  • UK recruiters are paid by the employer and may not charge you for finding work (what agencies may charge).

Know the employer's side: a licence is £1,682 (£611 for a small firm), each Certificate of Sponsorship £525, and the Immigration Skills Charge £1,320 for the first year and £660 for each further six months. A switch straight from a Student visa is exempt from the charge; a switch from the Graduate visa is not. None of it may be recovered from you. Sponsored searches from India take three to nine months.

Pay and your first weeks

The standard floor sits above the UK median full-time salary, £39,039 in April 2025 (ONS). On £41,700 in England you take home about £2,795 a month in 2026–27, before pension.

  • Your employer checks your right to work with a share code before your first day.
  • Apply for a National Insurance number online once you are in the UK. It is free; anyone charging for one is a fraud.
  • A Skilled Worker may add up to 20 hours a week in another eligible job, but no self-employment or cash-in-hand shifts.

Scams

Nobody can sell you a job or a Certificate of Sponsorship. A "guaranteed CoS" for £10,000–£20,000 is a fraud, and "UK care jobs with visa" adverts sell nothing: overseas recruitment of care workers closed on 22 July 2025. The Home Office never asks for money by phone (fraud guidance). Only IAA-registered advisers or regulated solicitors and barristers may give immigration advice. Report fraud to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.

What to ask here

  • Which employers in your field and city have sponsored people recently?
  • Does a salary or occupation code clear the floor for your role?
  • How long did your NI number, right-to-work check or visa decision take?

Full guides: Jobs in the UK for Indians · Indians in the UK