Your UK job search, done in the right order
Step-by-step job-search playbooks for international candidates targeting UK employers that can sponsor visas.
Welcome to Visa Ready UK
Quick answer
A reliable way to find UK roles that could be sponsored is to work backwards: start from employers that hold a sponsor licence, then look at their open roles. A licence is permission to sponsor, not a promise. So the second step is reading each job ad carefully — salary, sponsorship wording, and whether the advertiser is an agency — before you spend time on an application.
What this site covers
Visa Ready UK is a practical playbook for international candidates. We do not reproduce visa rules; we point to GOV.UK for those. We focus on the part that is yours to control: how you search, how you read ads, and how you research employers.
- Where sponsored roles actually get posted.
- How to read sponsorship wording without reading too much into it.
- How to tell a recruitment agency from a direct employer.
- How to check salary against the Skilled Worker floors.
- What to do when an ad is silent about sponsorship.
Who publishes this site
Visa Ready UK is published by a small editorial team. We write step-by-step guides using official sources: GOV.UK, Home Office statistics, and the register of licensed sponsors. We do not accept payment from any third party for coverage. The register is free on GOV.UK, and our guides show you how to use it.
The order that works
- Shortlist employers that hold a licence.
- Find their open roles on job boards and career pages.
- Read each ad for salary, wording, and agency signs.
- Check anything unclear before applying.
- Apply, and track what you learn as you go.
The guides below walk through each step with examples and sources.
Guides for the decision in front of you
UK Job Application Order: Shortlist, Apply, Track, Follow Up
A practical sequence for UK job applications for international candidates: shortlist employers, apply, track everything, and follow up once.
Read guide Job searchHow to Find Sponsor-Licensed Employers on LinkedIn
A repeatable LinkedIn method for international candidates: build a shortlist from the sponsor register, set company alerts, then verify every employer.
Read guide Job searchHow to Search UK Company Career Pages Directly
Job boards show a fraction of UK vacancies. How to search employers' own career pages directly, recognise the system behind them, and run a weekly routine.
Read guide Job searchTiming a UK Job Search Around Sponsorship
When to start a UK job search, how UK hiring windows work, and the published certificate-of-sponsorship deadlines that decide how early a start date can be.
Read guide ApplicationsUK CV Tailoring When You Need Visa Sponsorship
How a UK CV differs from the one you have, what to say about right to work, and how to describe duties so the role's occupation code is obvious to a recruiter.
Read guide InterviewsWhen and How to Ask About Sponsorship at Interview
When to raise visa sponsorship in a UK hiring process, the exact words to use at each stage, and how to read the answer you get back.
Read guide Job searchHow to Find UK Jobs That Sponsor Visas: A 2026 Step-by-Step Guide
A step-by-step 2026 guide to finding UK jobs that can sponsor visas: build a shortlist from the sponsor register, then check every ad.
Read guide Job adsHow to Read a UK Job Ad When You Need Sponsorship
A six-pass method for reading UK job ads when you need sponsorship: salary, wording, advertiser, location, code, and date, in about ninety seconds.
Read guide Job adsWe Cannot Sponsor: What Sponsorship Wording in Job Ads Means
What 'we cannot sponsor', 'must have the right to work', and other sponsorship phrases in UK job ads mean — and how to read the ads that say nothing at all.
Read guide Job adsRecruitment Agency vs Direct Employer: How to Tell
How to spot recruitment agency job ads, why an agency's licence says nothing about the end employer, and who you'd actually work for.
Read guide Job adsUK Candidates Only: What That Job Ad Wording Means
UK candidates only, UK-based only, right to work required: what each phrase actually means, which are about sponsorship, and how to respond to each.
Read guideCheck the employer without leaving the job advert
- See the legal sponsor name, town, routes, rating, and close matches on the page.
- Your checks and job-page text stay on your computer; the extension makes no network requests.
Our product. Sponsor Check is the browser extension sold by THINKINGAI LIMITED, the company identified in this site's footer. The register itself remains free, official, and public. This site is information only, not immigration advice.