Employer guide
Hire from India to the UK
How recruiting skilled workers from India into the UK actually works, at both ends: the Certificate of Sponsorship here, the paperwork there, the trade test in between, and how long it takes. Fixed fee, no retainer, nothing charged to the worker.
Why India
What you get from this corridor
India supplies more employment permit holders to Ireland than any other country, most of them in ICT and health, but its engineering and manufacturing base is enormous: fitters, machinists, welders, electricians and HGV drivers with formal ITI or diploma training and often Gulf experience.
How we test
Tested at partner test centres in India
Every trade candidate is assessed on the tools by a qualified assessor before you interview them, on the process and positions your job needs, and you see the result. Drivers are assessed on a practical drive and their licence route into the UK is confirmed before anyone books a flight.
The process
From India to the UK, both ends
Two sets of rules run at once: the UK's, which decide whether the worker may come, and India's, which decide whether they may go. Most delays come from running them one after the other. We run them together.
The UK side
- 1
A sponsor licence
To hire from outside the UK you need a Home Office sponsor licence, or to have one already. If you do not, we walk you through the application; it is a one-off and most employers who hire this way once hire again.
- 2
The job and the rate
The role has to sit in an eligible occupation code and pay at least the going rate for it. We check the code and the rate against the published rules before anything is advertised.
- 3
Certificate of Sponsorship
You assign a Certificate of Sponsorship to the candidate you have chosen. The candidate then applies for the Skilled Worker visa from India.
- 4
Arrival and onboarding
The right-to-work check on day one and the reporting duties every sponsor carries, which we brief you on so nothing is missed.
The India side
- 1
Emigration clearance
Indian workers going abroad for certain categories of work need emigration clearance through the government's eMigrate system, and employers may need to be registered there. We handle this through our sourcing partner where it applies.
- 2
Qualifications
ITI, diploma and degree certificates are verified with the issuing institution and, where the route needs it, assessed for equivalence.
- 3
Police clearance and medical
Police clearance certificates and medicals are arranged around the permit timeline.
- 4
Testing before travel
Trades are tested at a partner centre near the candidate, on the process and positions the job actually needs.
The UK requirements on this site are checked against the official source; the current list is on the requirements block. The India side is set out in outline; the current detail is confirmed with India's eMigrate system and the destination country's permit rules for each hire.
How long
The honest answer is that the Certificate of Sponsorship sets the pace and the India paperwork runs alongside it. Testing and selection are the quick part, and the brief decides how quick. When you tell us the roles, you get the current visa processing time as it stands that week, not a figure from a brochure.
Sponsor register
The UK register: who can sponsor
BS`Brunswick Stores LimitedLeamington Spa · Warwickshire · RetailSince 2018 · Retail sale in non-specialised stores with foo…Skilled Worker- GE???£ ESS LTDManchesterSkilled Worker
- LNSkilled Worker
- ESGlobal Business Mobility: Senior or Specialist WorkerInternational Agreement
- OVSkilled Worker
- KL"K" Line Energy Shipping (UK) LimitedLondon · Transport and logisticsSince 2005 · Sea and coastal freight water transportGlobal Business Mobility: Senior or Specialist WorkerSkilled Worker
- AU(A1F1 Limited T/A ) Ultrasound Direct LondonCroydon · London · Health careSince 2005 · Other human health activitiesSkilled Worker
- IC(IECC Care) Independent Excel Care Consortium LimitedColchester · Social care and care homesSince 2013 · Other social work activities without accommoda…Skilled Worker
- AI[ai] Infiniti LimitedCroydon · England · IT, software and mediaSince 2018 · Business and domestic software developmentSkilled Worker
AR@ Architect UK LtdWest Horndon · Essex · Professional and technical servicesSince 2012 · Architectural activitiesSkilled Worker
Questions
What employers ask about hiring from India
Can an employer in the UK hire directly from India?
Yes, in the sense that there is no accreditation regime on the India side stopping you. In practice the work is finding, testing and verifying the right people and getting the Certificate of Sponsorship through, which is what you are paying us for.
Who pays for what?
You pay us a fixed fee per placement, with no retainer; the fee and exactly what it covers are in the proposal, alongside the government fees for the Certificate of Sponsorship and visa and the travel, so there are no surprises. The worker pays nothing to us, at any stage, for anything. That is a licence condition in Ireland and our rule everywhere.
How do I know they can actually do the job?
Because they have done it in front of our assessor before you see them. Trades are tested on the tools at partner test centres in India, drivers on a practical drive, and you get the result and the assessor's notes with the CV. If you want to set the test piece yourself, you can.
What about English?
Every candidate is interviewed in English by us before they reach you, and you interview them yourself on video before any offer. Where a role or a permit type needs a formal language level, we tell you which one and arrange the test.
What happens if it does not work out?
Most placements that fail do so in the first weeks, and it is usually about settling in rather than skill. We stay involved after arrival, with the worker and with you, and what happens if a placement does not hold is written into the proposal in plain words.
Can I hire people already in the UK instead?
Often, yes, and we will always show you those first: workers already in the country with the right to work, or already on a permit and eligible to move. Switching sponsor is quicker than a first visa. The overseas route is for the numbers you cannot find here.
For employers in the UK from India
Tell us how many skilled workers you need and when
You get candidates we already have trade tested, the sponsorship timeline as it stands, and a fixed fee. No retainer, nothing charged to the candidate, and nothing to sign until you have seen people.
Martin, Lance or another member of our team will get back to you. Who we areLooking for work? This form is for employers. Register here instead, it is free.
We work directly with employers. We do not take on other recruitment agencies, labour suppliers or sub-agents.
Prefer to lay it out yourself? The hiring planner takes the roles, numbers and start date and gives you a plan on the spot.
Same country, other side
Other countries
Worth following
Who we placed, and where the market is going
Monthly figures on who is hiring overseas, what the Department published, and the trades that are getting hard to fill. No sales posts.
Source: UK Visas and Immigration, Register of licensed sponsors: workers. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Being on the register means an organisation holds a sponsor licence. It does not mean it has a vacancy or that it will sponsor you.
Is this your organisation? To update what is shown here, or for more information, email us. The figures come from the published register; we cannot change the register itself, only how it is presented here.