Self Sponsorship Visa UK

Key takeaways

• Self-sponsorship is not a separate visa: your own UK company gets a sponsor licence and sponsors you for a Skilled Worker visa.
• Since 22 July 2025 the role must normally be at RQF level 6 and pay at least £41,700 or the going rate, whichever is higher.
• A licence is refused without a UK operating or trading presence, or where the company appears set up mainly to obtain its owner’s visa.
• You cannot assign your own Certificate of Sponsorship, and normally at least one Level 1 User must be a UK-based settled worker.
• Money you invest in your company is averaged over the sponsorship period and subtracted from your salary when the thresholds are checked.
• For a five-year sponsorship from abroad through a small company, Home Office costs are about £10,850, excluding set-up, legal fees and family.
• Under current rules, self-sponsored Skilled Workers can apply for indefinite leave to remain after 5 years.

The UK self-sponsorship visa is the informal name for the way a founder or business owner can work in the UK through their own company. There is no separate visa category: your UK company obtains a Skilled Worker sponsor licence, assigns you a Certificate of Sponsorship, and you apply for a Skilled Worker visa like any other sponsored employee.

The route is lawful, but since 22 July 2025 it has become harder: your role must normally be at graduate level (RQF 6) and pay at least £41,700 a year or the going rate, whichever is higher. The company must also be genuinely trading, and the Home Office will refuse a licence where it has reasonable grounds to suspect the company was set up mainly to bring its owner to the UK. Self-sponsorship works best for owners of real businesses with customers, a UK team or a credible plan to build one.

Sterling Law’s immigration solicitors assess whether self-sponsorship is realistic for you before you spend money, help you set up and structure the company, prepare the sponsor licence application and handle the Skilled Worker visa for you and your family. If the route is not right for your business, we tell you which alternative is.

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Is there a self-sponsored visa in the UK?

No. “Self-sponsorship visa” is an informal name, not a Home Office category. The visa you hold is a Skilled Worker visa, and your sponsor is the UK company you own or control. The Home Office applies the same rules to you as to any sponsored worker, and it also looks closely at whether the business and the job are genuine.

This means two separate applications have to succeed. First, your company applies for a sponsor licence and must show that it is a real, trading UK business with suitable people managing the licence. Second, you apply for the Skilled Worker visa and must meet the skill, salary, English and financial requirements of that route.

Can you sponsor yourself in the UK?

You can be sponsored by a company you own, including as its sole shareholder and director. You cannot, however, run the sponsorship yourself. The sponsor guidance does not allow anyone using the Home Office sponsorship system to assign a Certificate of Sponsorship to themselves, a partner or a close relative, and the Home Office will revoke the licence if this happens.

The Home Office is also alert to companies created only to obtain a visa. Its sponsor guidance gives a specific example: a foreign national living abroad registers a company and employs a UK-based worker as Level 1 User, so that this worker applies for the licence and assigns a Certificate of Sponsorship to the owner. The Home Office considers it unlikely that such a company would exist without the owner’s wish to come to the UK. Where it has reasonable grounds to suspect that a company was set up mainly for this purpose, it will refuse the licence.

Self-sponsorship is therefore most realistic if you:

• own an established business abroad and are opening a UK company with real clients, contracts or staff;
• are already in the UK, for example on a Graduate or other visa, and have built a trading business here;
• are buying an existing UK business that already trades and employs people;
• have co-founders, investors or senior staff in the UK who can hold the key licence roles.

If your business is still an idea, the Innovator Founder visa or another route may suit you better. We compare the options below.

How self-sponsorship works: the four stages

Self-sponsorship follows a fixed order, and each stage depends on the one before it:

1. Set up and build the UK company. Register a limited company, open a UK business bank account and start trading, so the business has evidence of real activity.
2. Apply for a sponsor licence. The company applies to the Home Office for a Worker licence covering the Skilled Worker route, with its supporting documents and nominated key personnel.
3. Assign a Certificate of Sponsorship. Once licensed, the company requests and assigns a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) for your role, paying the CoS fee and the Immigration Skills Charge.
4. Apply for the Skilled Worker visa. You apply from abroad or, if your current visa allows it, switch inside the UK. Your partner and children can apply as your dependants.

In our experience, most delays and refusals happen at stage two, so most of the preparation should go into the company and the licence application.

Setting up a UK company for self-sponsorship

You can set up a company in the UK without living here. Directors do not have to be UK residents, but the company needs a physical registered office address in the UK. A sole shareholder can also be the sole director. Online incorporation with Companies House costs £100, and the company is usually registered within 24 hours. Every director and person with significant control must verify their identity with Companies House, which can be done online.

Registering the company is the easy part. For a sponsor licence, the company has to show that it is operating or trading in the UK. If it has been trading for less than 18 months, it must send the most recent statement from its UK business bank account, held with a bank authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, together with other documents from the official list, such as PAYE and VAT registration or employer’s liability insurance.

The Home Office looks at where the money comes from. A company whose income comes mainly from its owner or a related company, or whose invoices are mostly with businesses under common control, is likely to be treated as having no real trading presence. Before applying, it helps to have a business plan that explains the market, the customers and why the business needs your role at the salary offered.

Sponsor licence requirements for a founder-owned company

Your company applies for a sponsor licence like any other employer, but several requirements weigh more heavily on a small, owner-led business. The Home Office checks that:

• the business is genuine and trading in the UK, supported by the documents in Appendix A to the sponsor guidance;
• the role is an eligible role, meaning the company can and genuinely intends to offer work that meets the skill and salary rules of the Skilled Worker route;
• the role is credible for the business: a small company with no skilled staff, or a senior management post with no clear need, attracts doubts;
• the salary is affordable: it must be in line with the company’s turnover and finances, and you must be able to explain how it will be paid over time;
• the key personnel are suitable and have the systems to meet sponsor duties, such as record keeping and reporting changes.

The key personnel rules matter most for founders. The Authorising Officer, Key Contact and Level 1 User must all be based in the UK while they hold the role and have a National Insurance number. The Authorising Officer must also be the most senior person responsible for recruiting sponsored workers, so a sole director living abroad cannot fill the role. Normally at least one Level 1 User must be an employee, director or partner of the company who is a settled worker, for example a British citizen or a person with indefinite leave to remain; limited exceptions apply where the Authorising Officer holds certain permissions, such as Innovator Founder. A user cannot assign a CoS to themselves, a partner or a close relative, so a founder applying from abroad usually needs a trusted, settled person in the company who is not a family member to manage the licence.

The Home Office may carry out a compliance visit or video interview before deciding. If the business operates with little or no office space, the guidance says a check with the Authorising Officer is highly likely. Our page on Skilled Worker sponsor licence applications explains the process and documents in more detail.

Skilled Worker requirements for the founder

To get a self-sponsorship Skilled Worker visa, you must meet the same requirements as any employee once the licence is granted. The main ones are:

• a Certificate of Sponsorship from your company for a genuine role; a role created mainly so that you can apply leads to refusal of the visa and revocation of the licence;
• a job at RQF level 6 or above in an eligible occupation code; jobs at RQF 3 to 5 qualify only if they are on the Immigration Salary List or the Temporary Shortage List (for certificates issued before 31 December 2026), or under transitional rules for people already on the route, and such jobs do not normally allow you to bring dependants;
• a salary of at least £41,700 a year or the going rate for the occupation, whichever is higher, paid as guaranteed basic gross pay (dividends and allowances do not count); new entrants can be paid 70% of the going rate, with a minimum of £33,400, for up to 4 years in total including time on the Graduate visa;
• English at level B2 in reading, writing, speaking and listening, for applications made from 8 January 2026;
• £1,270 in savings held for 28 days, unless you have lived in the UK with permission for at least 12 months or your A-rated sponsor certifies your maintenance;
• a tuberculosis test certificate if you live in a listed country, and, if you apply from outside the UK, a criminal record certificate when the job is in education, health or social care.

One rule catches many founders. Under paragraph SW 14.2A of the Immigration Rules, certain money you pay to your sponsor or a related organisation counts against your salary: investments in the company, deductions from your salary and loan repayments are subtracted and averaged over the sponsorship period. Optional benefits you genuinely choose, such as salary sacrifice, are not deducted. If you put £50,000 into the company to fund a five-year sponsorship, the Home Office will treat your salary as £10,000 a year lower.

How much does self-sponsorship cost?

Self-sponsorship costs more than a standard visa, because the company pays sponsor fees on top of your personal visa costs.

Example. A small company sponsors its founder for five years, and the founder applies from outside the UK. The visa is granted until 14 days after the end of a five-year certificate, so the health surcharge is charged for five and a half years. The Home Office costs are £611 for the licence, £525 for the CoS, £2,400 for the Immigration Skills Charge, £1,618 for the visa and £5,692.50 for the health surcharge: about £10,850 before company set-up, priority services or legal fees. A partner adds £1,618 plus £5,692.50, and each child adds £1,618 plus £4,268. Check the exact surcharge with the official calculator before you pay.

The company must pay the licence fee, the CoS fee and the Immigration Skills Charge itself and must not recover them from you. It must also pay your salary at the required level for the whole sponsorship. For other routes, see our overview of UK visa fees.

How long does self-sponsorship take?

The Home Office stages are fairly quick; building a company that can pass the licence checks usually takes longer.

The Home Office can extend these times, for example if it decides to visit the business before granting the licence.

Can you self-sponsor from inside the UK?

Yes, if your current visa allows you to switch to Skilled Worker inside the UK. People on the Graduate visa often use this route after building a business following their studies. Student visa holders cannot be self-employed or run a business, although they can switch to Skilled Worker in some circumstances. Visitors cannot switch and must apply from abroad.

Being in the UK helps in practice: you can open accounts, sign contracts and build the trading record yourself. It does not remove the key personnel rules. You still need at least one settled Level 1 User, and you still cannot assign your own CoS.

Buying an existing UK business

Buying a UK company that already trades, employs staff and may already hold a sponsor licence can be a stronger starting point than a new company. The business has accounts, customers and a track record the Home Office can check. A sponsor licence cannot be transferred, though. A sale of the business or of a controlling shareholding must be reported to the Home Office within 20 working days; the existing licence is then revoked or made dormant, and the new owners must apply for a new licence if they want to continue sponsoring workers. Your own role must still meet the Skilled Worker rules.

Can you bring your family?

Yes. If your job is at RQF level 6 or above, your partner and children under 18 can apply as your dependants. The restrictions on dependants apply only to care workers (since 11 March 2024) and to other roles below RQF level 6 (since 22 July 2025). Each dependant pays the same visa fee as you and the health surcharge, and if they apply from abroad they need funds of £285 for a partner, £315 for the first child and £200 for each other child, unless your sponsor certifies maintenance. Read more on the Skilled Worker dependant visa.

Self-sponsorship and indefinite leave to remain

Under the current rules, Skilled Workers, including self-sponsored founders, can apply for indefinite leave to remain after 5 continuous years in the UK, with no more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12 months. At that point your company must still hold its sponsor licence, still need you and pay you at least £41,700 or the going rate, whichever is higher; a new-entrant salary is not enough. You also need to pass the Life in the UK test, and applications made on or after 26 March 2027 will need English at level B2 in speaking and listening, unless an exemption applies.

Self-sponsorship or another route?

Self-sponsorship is one of several options for founders. The right choice depends on the stage of your business, where it is based and whether you want to settle in the UK.

For example, an overseas company that wants to send a senior manager to set up its UK branch often starts with the UK Expansion Worker route and later moves staff to Skilled Worker once the UK entity trades. For a wider comparison, see UK visa options for entrepreneurs.

Is there a self-employed visa in the UK?

No. There is no UK self-employment visa, and no general visa for self-employed people or freelancers. A Skilled Worker’s main job must be employment with the sponsor, although you can also work up to 20 hours a week in another job or for your own business if that work meets the occupation rules. Founders who want to work for themselves usually look at the Innovator Founder visa, which allows you to work for your own business, the High Potential Individual visa, which allows self-employment, or the Global Talent visa. Partners of British citizens and people with indefinite leave to remain can also be self-employed. Self-sponsorship is different: you become an employee of your own company.

Why self-sponsorship applications are refused

In our experience, most refusals come from the licence stage. The common reasons are:

• no real trading activity, or income that comes mainly from the owner, investors or linked companies;
• a company that appears to exist mainly to obtain a visa for its owner;
• a role that the business does not credibly need, or one below RQF level 6;
• a salary that the company’s turnover cannot support, or one reduced by the founder’s own investment under SW 14.2A;
• key personnel who are not based in the UK, or no settled Level 1 User;
• missing or inconsistent documents from Appendix A.

What happens if the licence or visa is refused?

There is no appeal against the refusal of a sponsor licence. If the refusal results from a caseworker error, or evidence you sent was not considered, the company can send an error correction request within 14 calendar days. Otherwise it normally has to wait for a cooling-off period, usually 6 months from the refusal, before applying again, and the reasons for the refusal must be fixed first. Fees are not refunded.

If the licence is granted but your Skilled Worker visa is refused, you may be able to ask for an administrative review or make a new application. Because a refusal costs time and money at either stage, a careful review before the licence application is the most effective step.

How Sterling Law can help

Our immigration solicitors work with founders and business owners at every stage of self-sponsorship. We can:

• assess honestly whether self-sponsorship is realistic for your business and compare it with other routes;
• advise on structuring the company, shareholdings and the key personnel roles;
• review your trading evidence and Appendix A documents before you apply;
• prepare the sponsor licence application and support you through a compliance visit;
• check that your role, occupation code and salary meet the Skilled Worker rules;
• prepare the Skilled Worker visa applications for you and your family;
• keep the company compliant with its sponsor duties after the licence is granted, including a compliance audit.

If you are considering self-sponsorship, contact us with a short description of your business, where it trades and your current immigration status. We will tell you whether the route is viable and what the next steps are.

Submit your enquiry

FAQ

Can I sponsor myself for a UK visa?

Not directly. Your own UK company can sponsor you for a Skilled Worker visa, but it needs a sponsor licence, and you cannot assign the Certificate of Sponsorship to yourself. Normally a settled person in the company must hold the Level 1 User role, and the CoS must be assigned by someone who is not you, your partner or a close relative.

How much does a self-sponsorship visa cost?

For a small company sponsoring its founder for five years from outside the UK, Home Office costs are about £10,850: the £611 licence, £525 CoS, £2,400 Immigration Skills Charge, £1,618 visa fee and £5,692.50 health surcharge, charged for five and a half years because the visa lasts 14 days beyond the certificate. Legal fees and family members are extra.

What salary do I need to pay myself?

At least £41,700 a year or the going rate for your occupation, whichever is higher, for a job at RQF level 6. New entrants can be paid 70% of the going rate, but not below £33,400. Investments you make in the company, salary deductions and loan repayments to it are subtracted from your salary when the Home Office checks these thresholds.

Does my company need to be trading?

Yes. The Home Office refuses a licence if the business has no operating or trading presence in the UK. Funding that comes mainly from the owner or related companies, or trading only with linked businesses, is unlikely to be accepted as real trading.

Can I apply for self-sponsorship from inside the UK?

Yes, if your current visa allows a switch to Skilled Worker, as the Graduate visa does. Visitors must apply from abroad. You still need a settled Level 1 User in the company.

Can I get indefinite leave to remain through self-sponsorship?

Yes. Under the current rules you can apply after 5 continuous years in the UK, usually on the Skilled Worker route, if the company is still licensed and employs you at the required salary.

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