United Kingdom
Working in London
The largest professional job market in Europe, and the most expensive city in the UK by a distance that changes what a salary means.
What the city runs on
Finance and insurance, law, consulting, technology, media, and the professional services that connect them. The scale is the defining feature: for most white-collar professions there are more employers here than in the rest of the country combined.
Why the threshold rules bite differently here
The Skilled Worker route asks for the higher of the general salary threshold or the going rate for your occupation code. In London, market salaries for most professional roles sit above both, so the published threshold rarely binds. What binds is the sponsor licence: no licence, no route, regardless of pay.
What to check before you sign
That the employer holds a sponsor licence. And run the arithmetic on commuting: rents fall steeply with distance from the centre, but season tickets rise, and the two do not cancel out neatly.
This page is information, not advice. We are not an employer, a recruitment agency, a visa centre or an immigration adviser, and we are not affiliated with any government body. Rules change — confirm against the official source before you act.