US Citizens: Get your United Kingdom Work Tier 2 visa with the TDS New York Office

You can apply for a visa up to 3 months before the day you’re due to start work in the UK. This date is listed on your certificate of sponsorship.

How Long can You Stay:

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.

Your stay must start no more than 14 days before the start date on your certificate of sponsorship.

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.

What You Can and Cannot Do:

You can:

• work for your sponsor in the job described in your certificate of sponsorship
• do a second job in the same profession and at the same level as your main job for up to 20 hours per week
• do a job which has a shortage of workers in the UK for up to 20 hours per week
• do voluntary work
• study as long as it doesn’t interfere with the job you’re sponsored for
• travel abroad and return to the UK
• bring family members with you

You can’t:

• own more than 10% of your sponsor’s shares (unless you earn more than £155,300 a year)
• get public funds
• start working before you get the visa
• apply for a second job until you’ve started working for your sponsor

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A certificate of sponsorship is a reference number which holds information about the job and your personal details. It’s not an actual certificate or paper document.

Your sponsor will give you your certificate of sponsorship reference number.

They must also give you some other information to help you to apply, for example how much you’ll be paid.

You’ll need to add your certificate of sponsorship reference number to your application form - you can only use it once.

Your certificate of Sponsorship is valid for 3 months from the date it's assigned to you.

You’ll usually need to be paid at least £25,000 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:

Your certificate of sponsorship was assigned to you before 24 November 2016

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 won’t get an annual salary

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

Read the guidance on dependant applications before you apply.

They’ll also have to pay the healthcare surcharge as part of your application. Check how much they’ll have to pay before they apply.

They must complete their visa application by 5 July if they’ve already paid the immigration health surcharge or they might have to pay it twice. They’ll get a refund for their first payment.

Savings

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.

You won’t need evidence of your savings if you have a:

• fully approved (‘A-rated’) sponsor
• certificate of sponsorship stating that your sponsor will give each of your dependants at least £630 to cover their costs for a month if they need it

Dependants applying from outside the UK

Your family members must apply online.

They’ll need to have their fingerprints and photograph taken at a visa application centre to get a biometric residence permit as part of their application.

They’ll have to collect their biometric residence permit within 30 days of when they said they’d arrive in the UK.

They may be able to get their visa faster or other services depending on what country they’re in - check with the visa application centre.

North Korea

Your family members can’t apply online if they’re from North Korea.

To apply from North Korea they must:

• download the form and guidance
• read the instructions on how to apply

Dependants applying in the UK on their own

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

They can also ask to use the priority service.

You can get a same-day decision at a premium service centre.

It’s best for your dependants to apply at the same time as you but they can apply at a later date.

Biometric information

Each person applying must also provide their biometric information (fingerprints and a photo).

They can give biometric information at:

• certain Post Office branches if they applied online (this costs £19.20)
• a premium service centre if they applied in person

They’ll get a biometric residence permit if their application is successful.

Children born while you’re in the UK

If you have children while you’re in the UK, you can apply for permission for them to stay.

You must do this if you want to travel in and out of the UK with your child.

When you apply you must send a full UK birth certificate showing the names of both of your child’s parents.

Travel Document Systems can submit United Kingdom visa applications for priority service 10+ business day processing only.

This requires an Additional priority service processing fee (determined by nationality) payable to the UK government that must be paid online directly through the VFS Global website. This "Priority Processing Fee" is in addition to the visa fee paid directly on the visa application form.

Click here to enter VFS Global visa application payment website, select the United States as the country of residence and your visa category.

The payment receipt from VFS Global must be included with the visa application materials.

Your visa application form (below) must be completed prior to processing the Priority processing fee.

Applications submitted directly to the UK government for a visa process without priority service take on average 20+ business days to be issued.

This Priority Processing Fee is required for traveldocs to be able to assist you, however it does not guarantee 10+ business processing as the UK consulate reserves the right to take additional time at their discretion.