Moving to the UK From the USA on a Work Visa - The 2026 Route and Costs

There is no general work visa for the United Kingdom. There is no points test you can take on your own, no skilled migration pool you can enter and wait in, and no route that rewards you for being well qualified in the abstract.

The UK system is employer-led. With very few exceptions, you cannot move to the UK to work unless a specific British employer, holding a specific government licence, has offered you a specific job that pays above a specific salary. Everything else follows from that.

For most Americans, that means the Skilled Worker visa. This guide covers what it requires, what it costs in full, and the three things that most often go wrong.

The structure, in one paragraph

A UK employer applies to the Home Office for a sponsor licence. Once licensed, that employer can issue you a Certificate of Sponsorship, which is not a paper certificate but a reference number in a government database. You then apply for the visa, using that number, and must separately satisfy the salary rule, an English language requirement, and a maintenance requirement. If granted, your permission to be in the UK is tied to that employer and that job. Change either, and you need a new Certificate of Sponsorship.

This is the part Americans find alien. The visa is not yours in the way a green card is yours. It is attached to a job.

The salary rule, which is where plans die

As of 2026, the general salary threshold for a Skilled Worker visa is £41,700 per year.

But that is only half the test. You must be paid the higher of:

• £41,700, or
• the published going rate for your specific occupation code.

If the going rate for your occupation is £45,000 and your offer is £42,000, you fail — even though £42,000 clears the general threshold comfortably. The going rates are published by occupation code and there are hundreds of them. Your employer's HR team will know the code they intend to use, and it is worth asking early, because the code determines the number you have to beat.

There is a lower threshold of £33,400 that applies in certain cases outside healthcare and education, and a separate arrangement for jobs on the immigration salary list. Prison officers switching or extending have their own figure of £31,300, with certificate deadlines of 31 December 2026 for switching and 31 December 2027 for extending.

One historical point that still trips people up: extensions for certain medium-skilled jobs are only available where the first Certificate of Sponsorship was issued before 22 July 2025. If you are looking at an older guide that describes a wider range of eligible occupations, that is why.

A figure to ignore. You will find many pages quoting a £44,000 threshold. That number comes from a recommendation made in 2026, not from the Immigration Rules. It is not the law. The operative figure is £41,700 and the going rate for your code.

What it actually costs

The visa fee is the smallest part. Budget for the whole package.

Application fee, applying from outside the UK:

• £819 for a visa of up to 3 years
• £1,618 for a visa of more than 3 years

Applying from inside the UK (extending, switching or updating):

• £943 for up to 3 years
• £1,865 for more than 3 years

Jobs on the immigration salary list pay a reduced fee of £628 or £1,235 respectively.

Immigration Health Surcharge: £1,035 per year. This is the one people underestimate. It is charged per person, per year, for the full length of the visa, and it is paid up front. A five-year visa for one adult is £5,175 in surcharge alone. A couple with two children on a five-year visa is over £19,000 before the visa fee.

The surcharge buys you access to the National Health Service on the same basis as a resident. That is genuinely valuable if you are coming from the American system, but it is a large cheque to write at the start.

One caution on sources. The government's own migrant health guide has, at times, continued to display older surcharge rates of £624 and £470. Those figures are out of date. The current rate is £1,035 per year for most applicants.

Maintenance: £1,270. You must have held at least £1,270 in your account for 28 consecutive days, with day 28 falling within 31 days of your application. Money that arrived last week does not count, no matter how much of it there is. Alternatively, your employer can certify that it will cover your costs for your first month, up to £1,270, which removes the requirement.

Running the numbers

A single applicant, three-year visa, applying from the United States:

Add a partner and the same again. Add a child and the same again. Families routinely find that the move costs more than the first month's salary.

Some employers pay these costs. Many do not, and nothing obliges them to. It is a legitimate thing to negotiate at offer stage, and the best time to raise it is before you accept, not after.

English language

You must prove knowledge of English to level B1 on the Common European Framework. Nationals of a list of majority English-speaking countries are exempt, and the United States is on that list. If you hold a US passport, you will generally satisfy this through nationality and will not need to sit a test.

If you hold a different nationality but have lived in the US, nationality is what counts, not residence.

The three things Americans get wrong

Thinking the job search comes first. It does not — the sponsor search does. A brilliant offer from an employer without a sponsor licence is worth nothing, and licences take time and money to obtain, so most employers who do not already have one will not get one for a single hire. Before you invest in an application, check whether the employer appears on the register of licensed sponsors, which the Home Office publishes.

Assuming the salary converts. A salary that looks modest in dollars may be a perfectly good London salary, and a salary that sounds generous may still miss the going rate for its occupation code. Do the comparison in pounds against the code, not in dollars against your American expectations.

Forgetting that the clock has a destination. The Skilled Worker route can lead to settlement, but the rules on how long that takes have been under active review. A government response published in late 2026 set out an intention to move the standard qualifying period for settlement from five years to ten. At the time of writing that change is not yet in force, and the position for people already in the UK on the route is one of the open questions. If settlement is the reason you are making the move, follow this closely and take advice on your specific circumstances rather than relying on a figure you read once.

Other routes worth knowing

Global Talent. For people with a track record in academia, research, arts and culture, or digital technology. It requires endorsement by a recognised body rather than a job offer, which means it is not tied to an employer — a significant advantage if you want freedom to move between jobs or to found something. The endorsement bar is high and the application is a body of evidence rather than a form.

High Potential Individual. A two-year unsponsored visa for recent graduates of a defined list of overseas universities. Several American institutions appear on the list. It does not lead directly to settlement, but it buys time in the country to find a sponsor.

Innovator Founder. For people establishing an innovative business, requiring endorsement from an approved body. It is not a passive investment route and the endorsement process is rigorous.

Family routes. If you have a British or settled partner, the family route is separate from work immigration entirely and has its own financial requirement. Note that the minimum income requirement on the partner route remains £29,000 — the increases to £34,500 and £38,700 that were announced were never brought into force, and a great deal of published material on this is simply wrong.

Youth Mobility Scheme. Open to nationals of participating countries and territories, generally aged 18 to 30 or 35 depending on the country. The United States is not a participating country, so this is not available on a US passport.

Timing

Work backwards from your intended start date. The sequence is: employer obtains or confirms its sponsor licence, employer assigns a Certificate of Sponsorship, you apply online and pay, you attend a biometrics appointment, you receive a decision, you travel.

Each step has a queue, and the queues move at different speeds at different times of year. Published processing times are indicative and are the thing most likely to be out of date in any guide you read, this one included — check the current service standard on the day you apply rather than planning around a number from a blog.

Bringing family

Your partner and children under 18 can apply as dependants. Each pays the application fee and the full health surcharge. A dependent partner on the Skilled Worker route generally has the right to work, which materially changes the household finances, though certain occupations are restricted.

Children born in the UK to parents on temporary visas do not automatically acquire British citizenship. This surprises Americans more than almost anything else in the system, because the US rule is the opposite.

The first month in the UK

Americans arrive expecting the admin to be familiar and find that almost none of it is.

Your immigration status is digital. The UK has moved from physical biometric residence permits to an online record. You prove your status by generating a share code through the government's view-and-prove service and giving it to a landlord, employer or bank. Set up your UKVI account before you need it, not on the day a letting agent asks.

National Insurance number. The UK equivalent of a Social Security number for employment and contributions. You may be able to work before it arrives, with your employer using a temporary arrangement, but apply immediately because it affects your tax code.

Register with a GP. You have paid the Immigration Health Surcharge, which gives you NHS access, but access is mediated through a general practice. Registering takes a short form and proof of address, and the time to do it is before you are ill. You will not be charged per visit and there is no insurance claim — this is the part Americans find hardest to believe.

Banking. A UK bank account generally requires proof of address, and proof of address generally requires a UK bank account or a tenancy. The usual ways through are an employer letter confirming your address and start date, a bank that offers accounts to new arrivals specifically, or one of the app-based banks with lighter onboarding. Several large banks run dedicated newcomer processes.

Credit history. Yours does not transfer. You will be treated as having no record, which affects phone contracts, rental applications and any borrowing. Register on the electoral roll if you are eligible, and expect to pay larger deposits for the first year.

Driving. A US licence can generally be used for a limited period after you become resident, after which you need a UK licence, and there is no exchange arrangement for US licences — you take the theory and practical tests. Start early; waiting lists for practical tests have been long.

Tax, which is the thing Americans most underestimate

The United States taxes its citizens on worldwide income regardless of where they live. Moving to the UK does not end your US filing obligation; it adds a second one.

You will generally be filing in both countries. Relief from double taxation comes through the US-UK tax treaty and through mechanisms such as the foreign earned income exclusion and foreign tax credits, but these require filing to claim — they are not automatic, and the choice between them has long-term consequences.

Additional complications that catch people:

Reporting foreign accounts. US persons with foreign financial accounts above threshold amounts have annual reporting obligations separate from the tax return. The penalties for non-filing are severe, and the rules apply to ordinary current accounts, not just investments.

UK pensions and US tax. The treatment of UK workplace pensions under US tax rules is technical and the treaty provisions matter. Do not assume a UK pension is tax-advantaged from a US perspective.

ISAs and similar products. Tax-free savings wrappers in the UK are not recognised as such by the IRS, and some common UK investment products are treated as passive foreign investment companies, which creates punitive US reporting.

Social security. There is a totalisation agreement between the two countries intended to prevent double contributions and to allow periods to be combined for benefit purposes.

None of this is a reason not to go. It is a reason to engage a cross-border accountant before your first filing season rather than after, because the mistakes compound.

Before you commit

Ask the employer three questions, in writing, before you accept:

1. What occupation code will the Certificate of Sponsorship use, and what is the going rate for it?
2. Will the company pay the visa fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge, and for dependants as well?
3. What happens to my immigration status if the role is made redundant in the first year?

The third question is the one people never ask, and it is the one that matters most. Losing a sponsored job does not give you an indefinite period to find another. There is a limited window, and it is short.

Frequently asked questions

Can I move to the UK without a job offer? Only through the unsponsored routes — Global Talent, High Potential Individual, Innovator Founder, or a family route. There is no general skilled migration pool.

Does my US degree count? For the Skilled Worker route, qualifications matter mainly to the extent they get you the job. The visa test is about the job and the salary, not your credentials in the abstract.

Can I switch employers once I am there? Yes, but the new employer must be a licensed sponsor and must assign you a new Certificate of Sponsorship, and you must apply to update your visa.

Do I pay tax in both countries? Likely yes, with relief. The US taxes citizens on worldwide income regardless of residence, and there is a US-UK tax treaty plus foreign tax credit mechanisms. This needs a cross-border accountant, not a guide.

Is the health surcharge refundable if I leave early? Partial refunds are possible in some circumstances where the visa is curtailed. Apply for it; it is not automatic.

How long until I can apply for settlement? Historically five years on the Skilled Worker route. A move to ten years has been set out in a government response but is not yet in force. Take current advice.

Sources: Skilled Worker visa: your job, GOV.UK · Skilled Worker visa: how much it costs, GOV.UK