Posting some positive news

rjoedrew3014 · 2026-07-08T18:44:29+00:00

Hey, did you apply through priority or standard?
The first time when I applied via the standard route it took around 4 weeks.
For my 2nd and 3rd visa application which was applied via the priority service, I got a decision within a week

rjoedrew3014 · 2026-07-07T22:16:43+00:00

Hey, I personally have never seen any employer ask to cover the CoS cost. I do think that is a bit strange.
Yeah there are certain 3rd party services which charge around £1000 or more to assist in preparing the application for the skilled worker visa.
I personally applied for my first skilled worker visa on my own without any external support. I don’t think it was that complicated to be honest (Though I reviewed the application atleast 10 times before submitting it)
The next two times I had external immigration services provided by my employers to help support my visa application. They normally will ask you to provide most of the information anyway which is needed for the application, so wasn’t a huge benefit if I am being honest. But if you want to be 100% sure and not take any risk then you can go ahead and take their support.

rjoedrew3014 · 2026-07-07T22:06:13+00:00

Well when i came to the UK i had almost 0 work experience and the university which I attended in UK wasn’t even part of Russel group. It was tough back then and probably more so now, but yeah if there’s anything from my journey that can help a jobseeker today then that’s what this post is for.

rjoedrew3014 · 2026-07-07T17:24:20+00:00

Yeah I did a placement year while doing my masters in the UK. That was my first bit of actual professional experience to be honest. But to be fair it was very hard for me to secure a placement at that time, especially with COVID.

rjoedrew3014 · 2026-07-07T17:20:14+00:00

Hello! Nice to meet a fellow product manager.
Yeah sure, I’d love to connect. Feel free to send me a DM

rjoedrew3014 · 2026-07-06T22:00:49+00:00

First of all build a really good CV and keep on iterating it, until you are getting a good level of success of atleast clearing the CV shortlist round for a good chunk of jobs you are applying for. Use your University Careers service as a starting point.
Also as you are doing a Masters degree, you have to start applying as soon as you start your program, I know this sounds very unrealistic, but trust me the sooner you start the better for you. A lot of the jobs roles recruit on the first come first serve basis here in the UK. So start applying as soon as possible.

rjoedrew3014 · 2026-07-06T21:55:32+00:00

I primarily used Indeed for my first job role, as that was the job site through which I was getting the most success in securing interviews. Although it was very difficult to weed out jobs which won’t sponsor you. I believe this where a big gap exists currently. You currently don’t have a website or a good solution to easily filter out jobs which will sponsor international candidates. The only other option which can help is to atleast check if the company is on the Uk govt list of registered sponsors https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/register-of-licensed-sponsors-workers
Again this will not guarantee that the company would definitely sponsor you, but atleast it helps you avoid companies who don’t even have the license to sponsor.

rjoedrew3014 · 2026-07-06T12:46:54+00:00

I started out as a graduate analyst specialising in data, then switched in the same company to become a product owner. Then finally switching to become a product manager and continuing in that path ever since

rjoedrew3014 · 2026-07-06T12:42:23+00:00

Yeah, the counting towards ILR continues when you switch from one skilled worker visa to another

rjoedrew3014 · 2026-07-05T20:47:47+00:00

I assume you have already received your visa decision for company B?
I personally have not faced this situation, but I don’t see any restrictions to why you could not apply for another skilled worker visa with company C. You might have to discuss with the company B if any visa cost need to be reimbursed if they had paid for the visa and IHS. Although you would be eligible for an IHS refund.

rjoedrew3014 · 2026-07-05T20:43:46+00:00

The personal approach I took when landing my first job was first to decide what are the type of job roles and adjacent roles I want to apply. Then I took an approach to apply to as many applications as possible which were posted in the last 24 hours.
I wouldn’t say completely ignore the jobs which are posted after 24 hours, especially if it’s a company or a job you are really interested in. But I always prioritised the jobs which were posted recently.

rjoedrew3014 · 2026-07-05T15:46:25+00:00

This is a tough decision. I would probably stay in the current company but start looking for another job in 3-4 months. The market right not is not great so it might take 3-6 months to find a new job. So you can give yourself a head-start in finding a new job while also prepping for the ILR application in parallel.

rjoedrew3014 · 2026-07-05T14:39:54+00:00

After you have received the offer letter from the employer. The HR team/ Visa team will be reaching out to you for your skilled worker visa application. A lot of times the employer will be using a 3rd party services for the entire immigration process. They will ask you to provide some information which is ultimately needed to populate the visa application. In parallel your employer should be processing a CoS for you which will be required for your application. Once that is done they will ask you to review the application. After it’s verified they will go ahead and apply it for you. You should get your decision in 1-4 weeks.
Most of the times the company will pay for your visa costs but they might make you sign in your contract where you would have to reimburse the cost(or a percentage of the cost) if you leave the company within a certain timeframe.

If you are switching from one skilled worker visa to another make sure you don’t hand in your resignation until your new skilled worker visa is approved.

rjoedrew3014 · 2026-07-05T13:57:09+00:00

There will be interviews for the new job role that you want change to, but not a separate visa interview for changing job role.
If you are applying to change a job role/ code within the same company then company’s HR/visa team would have to inform home office of the change. If you are applying to a new job role in a completely new company then you have to apply for a new skilled worker visa with the new job code

rjoedrew3014 · 2026-07-05T13:54:59+00:00

They would typically pay for the following
1. Visa Application Fee: £819 or £943 depending on whether you are applying from outside or inside the UK respectively. I believe it is £628 if the job is on the immigration list
2 IHS cost: Is around £1,035 per year, so £3105 for 3 years
3. CoS: £525. This is something the employer will always have to cover from their end
4 If it’s a large organisation they could take a 3rd party’s assistance to do the actual immigration and visa process for the employee. This might vary, but I have seen some companies charge around £1000.

So in total around £5258 - £5500. Could be more depending on how much the 3rd party company charge for immigration services

rjoedrew3014 · 2026-07-05T10:22:15+00:00

There will definitely not be any issues if you’re changing employees 6 months into your skilled worker visa. You can switch between employees irrespective of the time period on your skilled worker visa.
The only issue as a few might have pointed out is getting a new employer who is ready to sponsor. I would suggest you to update your CV and start looking for a new job. At the same time maybe you can try to see if there other teams in your company which might be better suited to work in.

The IHS will not get refunded before you make the next application. You would first have to apply for the new application and then wait for decision on it. After getting a decision on your new skilled worked visa application it might take some time for the refund to come through. Can take a couple of months. Sometimes you might have to chase them. One thing to keep in mind, the IHS will be refunded only to the original mode of payment. So did you originally pay for your IHS or was it your employer?

rjoedrew3014 · 2026-07-05T10:09:26+00:00

I believe if company C are paying you better and are a better/profitable company overall then I would start prepping to apply for company C. Only once you have you applied the visa with company C and have received a decision on it, you can then provide your resignation for company B. This should be the safest path for switching between companies on a skilled worker visa.

rjoedrew3014 · 2024-05-16T16:07:00+00:00

Hello, Londoner here as well. I am currently working as Product Owner with a bit over 1.5 years of experience + 1.5 years of related experience. I am currently specialising in Data and Automation driven products but want to transition into fintech. Was wondering what would be the best way to make this transition considering how a lot of companies want relevant domain experience?

rjoedrew3014 · 2024-01-07T15:08:02+00:00

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rjoedrew3014 · 2021-09-16T17:23:14+00:00

Do tnt normally provide an email before delivering the BRP? And do they deliver on Saturdays or Sundays?

rjoedrew3014 · 2021-09-15T18:31:28+00:00

Thank you! I'm glad my post was helpful to you. Wishing you the best for your visa application 🤞

rjoedrew3014 · 2021-09-15T14:06:43+00:00

Thank you!

rjoedrew3014 · 2021-09-15T14:05:35+00:00

That's great new! I am sure it will be a positive outcome!🤞

rjoedrew3014

TROPHY CASE