UK Visa Sponsorship Requirements: What Nigerian Applicants Need to Know

What "sponsorship" actually means

Sponsorship is not a favour an employer does for you informally. It is a legal arrangement: the company must be approved by the UK Home Office and appear on the public register of licensed sponsors, and it must assign you a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) for a specific job, at a specific salary, with a specific start date.

The CoS is an electronic record, not a paper certificate you can be handed or sold. It comes with a reference number that you enter into your online visa application. Once assigned, it is normally valid for a limited window — commonly three months — so you need to apply promptly.

Crucially, the CoS alone does not get you a visa. It only allows you to apply. The Home Office still assesses your job, your salary, your English, your documents and your personal history before deciding.

Step one: confirm the employer can legally sponsor you

Before you send documents or money anywhere, search the employer's name on the Home Office register of licensed sponsors, published on GOV.UK. If the company is not listed, or is listed for a different route than the one you were promised, treat the offer with serious caution.

Check that the licence covers the route you need — for example the Skilled Worker route — and that the business looks like a real operating employer with a traceable address and website. Many Nigerian applicants are targeted by agents claiming to "have" sponsorship slots at firms that are not on the register at all.

Also note that a sponsor must offer you a genuine vacancy they actually need filled. If the "job" exists only so you can get a visa, the application can be refused and the sponsor can lose its licence.

The job itself has to qualify

The Home Office does not sponsor people, it sponsors roles. Each job is matched to an official occupation code, and that code must sit at the required skill level for the route. Since July 2025 most new Skilled Worker applications must be for graduate-level roles (broadly RQF level 6), which narrowed the range of eligible jobs considerably.

A limited set of lower-skilled roles remains open through a temporary shortage arrangement, but these come with extra restrictions — including, for some roles, not being able to bring family members. Overseas recruitment into care worker and senior care worker roles was also closed to new applicants from abroad in 2025.

Because these lists are reviewed and changed, never rely on a blog post or an agent's screenshot. Look up the occupation code and current eligibility on GOV.UK before you commit to a process.

Salary thresholds: two numbers, not one

Your pay must normally clear two tests at the same time: a general minimum salary for the route, and the "going rate" set for your specific occupation code. Whichever is higher is the one that applies to you.

At the time of writing the general Skilled Worker threshold is around £41,700 a year for most new applicants, having been raised in 2025. Lower thresholds exist in defined situations — for example new entrants early in their careers, certain PhD-level roles, eligible health and care jobs and some shortage roles.

Only guaranteed basic pay counts. Overtime, bonuses, allowances, tips and the value of accommodation are generally excluded, so a contract that reaches the threshold only with extras is a problem. Salary figures change with policy updates, so confirm the current numbers on GOV.UK rather than assuming last year's figures still apply.

English language: the requirement has been tightened

You must prove English ability in reading, writing, speaking and listening. For years the Skilled Worker standard was CEFR level B1, but the government has moved to raise it to B2 for this route, and to introduce a basic English requirement for adult dependants. Check the exact level that applies on the day you apply.

Proof usually comes from a Secure English Language Test taken at an approved provider, a degree taught in English with confirmation from Ecctis where required, or nationality of a majority-English-speaking country. Nigerian nationality does not by itself exempt you, which surprises many applicants.

Many Nigerian graduates do qualify through a degree taught in English, but the documentation must be in the format the Home Office accepts. If in doubt, sitting an approved test is often the cleaner route.

Nigeria-specific documents: TB certificate, funds and police checks

Applicants from Nigeria applying for a visa longer than six months must provide a tuberculosis screening certificate from a clinic approved by the Home Office. Use only a clinic on the official approved list, because results from anywhere else will not be accepted. Allow time for the appointment and for the certificate to be issued.

You also need to show maintenance funds — commonly £1,270 held in your account for 28 consecutive days ending no more than 31 days before you apply — unless your sponsor certifies maintenance on your CoS. Extra amounts apply for each family member joining you.

For certain roles, including many in healthcare, education and work with children or vulnerable adults, you must supply a criminal record certificate from every country you have lived in for 12 months or more in the last ten years. In Nigeria that means a police character certificate, which takes time to obtain. Any document not in English needs a certified translation.

What it costs before you travel

Budget for three main costs: the visa application fee, the Immigration Health Surcharge and incidentals such as the TB test, English test, translations and courier or appointment charges. Skilled Worker application fees from outside the UK typically fall in the region of several hundred to about one and a half thousand pounds, depending on the visa length and route.

The health surcharge is charged per person per year of visa and is usually the largest single item — currently around £1,035 a year for most adults, payable upfront for the whole visa period. For a three-year visa with a spouse, that alone runs into several thousand pounds.

By law a sponsor cannot pass its sponsor licence or CoS costs on to you, and charging you a fee to find you sponsored work is prohibited. Anyone demanding payment for a CoS is not operating legitimately.

Family members and the application process

Partners and children under 18 can usually apply as dependants on the same route, with their own fees, health surcharge and evidence of relationship. Some newer categories of sponsored work — including certain temporary shortage roles — do not allow dependants at all, so confirm this before making family plans.

You apply online, pay, then book a biometrics appointment at a UK visa application centre in Nigeria, with centres in cities including Lagos and Abuja. Standard processing for work visas from outside the UK is around three weeks once biometrics are done, though this can slip during busy periods.

Decisions are now issued largely as an eVisa linked to your passport, accessed through a UKVI account, sometimes alongside a short travel permission. Follow the instructions in your decision letter exactly, and verify every rule and fee on GOV.UK before you pay anything to anyone.

Common questions

This article is general information only, not immigration advice; immigration rules, fees and salary thresholds change frequently, so confirm all requirements on GOV.UK or with a qualified adviser before applying.