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Tier 2 (General)

Employing migrants

This page explains what your sponsor must do before it can employ you to work in the UK under Tier 2 (General) of the points-based system.

A sponsor can employ a migrant to do a job on the shortage occupation list, or to do any other job for which it has complied with the resident labour market test.

Jobs on the shortage occupation list

You can find the shortage occupation list on the right side of this page. The list has been developed with the independent Migration Advisory Committee.

If you are applying under Tier 2 (General) to do a job that is on the shortage occupation list, you will automatically score enough points for your attributes. You will not need to score additional points for prospective earnings or qualifications.

Your contracted working hours must be at least 30 hours a week in the shortage occupation job.

You should check that your sponsor has said the job is on the shortage occupation list on your certificate of sponsorship.

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The resident labour market test

If your sponsor decides to employ you in the UK to do a job that is not in a shortage occupation, the sponsor must comply with the resident labour market test (unless an exemption applies) before it assigns a certificate of sponsorship to you.

You should check with your sponsor that it has complied with the resident labour market test, and has said so on your certificate of sponsorship.

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