Tier 1 (General)
Maternity or adoption-related absence
This page explains what proof of maternity or adoption-related absence you must send to support your application to the highly skilled worker category (Tier 1 General) under the points-based system to work in the United Kingdom.
On this page
Full details of these requirements are in the immigration rules at paragraph 245A-F of part 6, which you can find on the right side of this page. You must read the policy guidance before you apply under this category. You can download the guidance and application form from the Applying section.
What documents you must send
If you want us to consider earnings from a period outside the last 15 months, because of a period of maternity or adoption-related absence from the workplace, you must send us two pieces of specified evidence to prove the absence was for maternity or adoption reasons.
The documents are:
- the birth certificate or certificate of adoption (as appropriate); and
- a letter from your employer; or
- wage slips or other payment or remittance advices.
The birth certificate or certificate of adoption
This should be the original birth certificate or certificate of adoption for the child for whom you took the period of maternity or adoption-related absence.
A letter from your employer
This should be on the company headed paper, and must confirm the start and end dates of the period of maternity or adoption-related absence.
Wage slips or other payment or remittance advices
These should cover the entire period for which the maternity or adoption-related absence is being claimed and should show statutory maternity or adoption payments made to you.
Other documents
In certain circumstances you will be unable to supply two of the documents specified (for example, if no birth certificate has been issued). In these cases, you should fully explain the reasons and supply alternative documents as evidence of the maternity or adoption-related absence for the period claimed. The alternative documents must be from an official source and must be independently verifiable.
Where two out of the three specified documents listed are not available, we will normally accept the following alternative documents or types of documents:
- official adoption papers issued by the relevant authority;
- any relevant medical documents that the applicant is content to let us see; or
- a relevant extract from a register of birth provided it is accompanied by an original letter from the issuing authority.
We will not normally accept the following documents or types of documents:
- personal letters of confirmation;
- newspaper announcements; or
- other unofficial documents.
We can only accept other documents as evidence of maternity or adoption-related absence if we are satisfied that the specified documents cannot be provided.