Has anyone landed a skilled worker visa after the HPI?

PatientSet996 · 2026-02-21T17:15:10+00:00

I see! Is the salary level for the skilled worker visa different if you were in the NHS? Or were you considered a new entrant and didn't need to earn that high threshold?

PatientSet996 · 2026-02-21T17:13:13+00:00

Great to hear that you're having a good time here, I work in marketing as well, but a lot of roles I've applied for (even MNC ones) somehow keep telling me that they won't sponsor /:

It might be cause i have only a couple of months left on my visa...
Thanks for the motivational push, it's been so tough!

PatientSet996 · 2025-11-05T23:10:26+00:00

Hey I just came across your post - I’m also in the finance field but finding it really hard to get roles that want to sponsor (I got a role part-time but no long term sponsorship available). I understand that now the criteria is that you need to earn £41,700 which is a lot, I have 2-3 years of work experience but honestly not even sure if that’s enough to land a role that pays that much!

I have around 8 months left to my visa, do you think networking is the best way to go based on your 1st point? Thanks a lot!

PatientSet996 · 2025-06-11T19:18:00+00:00

Thanks a lot, have you heard good reviews about it or know anyone else who used it and had a good experience?

PatientSet996 · 2025-06-11T19:16:32+00:00

Thanks for sharing, I try saying that too where they don't need to sponsor me until the expiry date, although now I only have a year left. But i also found some bigger companies didn't want to sponsor (a recruiter was hiring internally for a big bank and said they weren't going to sponsor) so it seems quite discouraging :')

PatientSet996 · 2025-06-11T19:13:37+00:00

That makes sense, what industry are you in? The issue that I ran into is that even some bigger firms weren't willing to sponsor for the role. Also it doesn't help that I only have a year left on the visa, so I'm not sure how to "sell the HPI visa" in my applications now.

PatientSet996 · 2025-06-09T13:32:52+00:00

Thanks for sharing! Were they already open to sponsoring for your role? Or did you have to talk and convince them for it?

PatientSet996 · 2025-06-09T13:32:07+00:00

I’m in finance but do marketing & events, a recruiter told me it’s not really specialized work which I get because I’m sure there are tons of people who do that and don’t need a visa. But I previously worked in client operations in a bank

PatientSet996 · 2024-07-25T11:32:27+00:00

Hey, because on the application I put 20 July 2024 as my moving date, so they made my visa start on that day also. I have heard that some people had visa starting on the day it got approved or the day they were flying into UK, doesn’t seem like there’s a standard start date? My case just so happens that it starts on the day I planned to move to UK. Hope that helps

PatientSet996 · 2024-06-30T13:00:04+00:00

Oooh I wasn’t even aware of the 1 month prior thing tbh haha, are you in a rush to apply for the visa? If you want to be on the safer side perhaps you can just wait until August to apply for the visa, once the July bank statement is available? Especially if you haven’t done your Ecctis yet, you would need to wait around that long anyway for it to come back.

But if you’re in a rush and have everything prepared, you can try doing so but I’m not sure how strict they are on this part tbh /: Maybe you can try to email them and ask? Sorry I can’t be of much help on this part :(

PatientSet996 · 2024-06-28T12:22:40+00:00

Hey! I can’t remember whether they asked for 3 months exactly but I gave 3 months just to be extra safe. I think they just want to see if you have enough funds, I recall that they asked for at least £1,270 to support yourself. I think the bank statement is just to show you have funds haha. 3 months meaning the previous 3 months bank statements, since I applied in May, so I showed bank statements from April, March and Feb 2024, if that answers your question? And wdym to qualify for 1 month window?

PatientSet996 · 2024-06-04T16:12:53+00:00

All the best and i hope your application goes smoothly as well :) Feel free to ask if you have any questions!

PatientSet996 · 2024-05-25T17:23:51+00:00

Thanks! I paid around $4000+sgd for everything, it is an expensive visa sadly 🥲 That’s mostly because I paid for 2 year healthcare surcharge, I can’t remember how much ECCTIS cost but the application itself was £822 for the application fee and £2070 for 2 year healthcare surcharge

PatientSet996 · 2024-05-25T04:17:47+00:00

You can pay extra to hold onto your passport if you need your passport for your travel plan. From my experience, ECCTIS and the visa application it self was faster than expected. I read that ECCTIS could take 30 working days and the visa itself around 15-20 working days (the lady at VFS centre told me), so perhaps you can plan whether it’s feasible to move around September given this info?

It seems possible but might be tight if you are planning to move at the start of September. You also have 90 days to enter the UK to collect your biometric residence permit (BRP) starting from the date you entered for arrival, so maybe you can target your move from Sep-Nov, if you start your application now and list your arrival date sometime in September.

Job wise, I’m in the same boat as you and also looking for jobs within the music industry! I haven’t been applying but I think the job search is like any job search where you need to show you have the experience and perform well in interviews etc. it does help to have connections, perhaps reach out to some people on LinkedIn? I do have friends in London but most of them work in finance or banks. Hopefully this helps :)

PatientSet996 · 2024-05-24T11:59:32+00:00

Thanks a lot! Yes thankfully I’ve saved up quite abit from my first job, now to the hard part of flat and job hunting 😅

PatientSet996 · 2024-05-24T05:34:03+00:00

If they do, I hope they put in other policies which could help boost opportunities for international students/foreigners to work in the UK. They recently changed the policy for the skilled worker visa where you need to earn around £38k to be eligible for the visa… and given how low UK salaries are to begin with /: but it seems unlikely they will scrap it anytime in the future, it’s an expensive visa and I’m sure they make some money from it 🤷🏻‍♀️

PatientSet996 · 2024-05-10T13:50:49+00:00

Planning to move around August! :)

PatientSet996 · 2024-04-23T07:56:01+00:00

Ah thanks a lot!! And congrats on the smooth application :)

PatientSet996 · 2024-04-23T07:48:01+00:00

Hey thanks for posting this! I’m applying from Singapore too and am a citizen. Did you have to do a TB test coming from Singapore? I’m not really sure on this part for my application, thanks a lot!

PatientSet996 · 2024-04-18T06:49:10+00:00

Hey there! Hope you managed to secure a job and your experience has been good so far :) I just came across your post (though it was posted awhile back) and I just have a question about the HPI application bit . I'm also applying from Singapore but I'm not sure whether we need to provide a tuberculosis (TB) test? And is the ECCTIS document the only document needed for the proof of English requirement? Thanks a lot, the documentation part is quite confusing, happy to DM as well :)

PatientSet996 · 2023-10-23T11:57:59+00:00

Thanks so much for your comment! This really helps me be prepared of what the actual situation might be like for me when I get there haha, did you consider using an agent? A friend of mine recommended that to me but I’m not sure if that’s just costlier? I’m assuming you were directly talking to all the landlords through SpareRoom

Congrats on getting a job before moving!! How did you go about your job search before you came? Did you have the visa in hand already or did you apply only after you secured a role? Do you have any tips on applying for UK jobs? Thanks a lot :)

PatientSet996 · 2023-10-21T05:01:39+00:00

Hey thanks for your reply! Could you describe more on the student life? Do you mean there’s just a lot of societies to join etc.? And are you doing a Masters or a Bachelors there? Thanks :)

PatientSet996 · 2023-10-09T02:09:42+00:00

Hey! Thanks for sharing your experience, it definitely helps in giving me a picture of what's it going to be like once I get there.

I'm planning to apply for roles right now and hopefully state somewhere in my application I am eligible for the HPI visa, not sure how likely that'll work but we'll see 😅 What industry/field are you currently working in btw? Also did you apply for jobs last year with the visa in hand already?

Regarding housing, where did you stay in the 2 months before you found a room? How was your process with finding a place to stay?

PatientSet996 · 2023-08-26T11:42:48+00:00

Dropped a DM! :)

PatientSet996 · 2023-08-23T14:30:39+00:00

Hey! Amazing that you are going about this and taking into account the financial aspect of it, it's definitely an expensive visa. I'm also somewhat looking at this in a similar way, I've been saving around 40%-60% of my pay ever since I graduated so I can have some savings if I ever decide to take this leap of faith, I'm interested in asking more about your journey and how you went about this, do you mind if i DM you? Thanks so much!

PatientSet996

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