What is a genuine vacancy?

A genuine vacancy is a real job that exists and that the sponsoring employer needs filled, not one created mainly so someone can get a visa. The Skilled Worker rules and the sponsor guidance call this the genuine role requirement. If the job is not genuine, the worker's application is refused and the sponsor licence can be revoked.

How the genuine vacancy test works

An employer that wants to hire a worker from overseas on a Skilled Worker visa needs a real job to offer. The phrase “genuine vacancy” is a plain way to describe that test. The current Immigration Rules and sponsor guidance use the words “genuine role” instead.^{[2]UK Visas and Immigration, Workers and Temporary Workers: sponsor a skilled worker (accessible)}

The test sits inside the sponsorship points. The worker must be awarded 20 points for sponsorship. Those points depend on a valid certificate of sponsorship and on the other checks in the Rules.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Worker} One of those checks is that the decision maker must not have reasonable grounds to believe the job:^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Worker}

• does not exist
• is a sham
• has been created mainly so the applicant can apply for entry clearance or permission to stay

The sponsor guidance puts the same rule in plain terms. It says no points are awarded for sponsorship if there are reasonable grounds to believe the role does not exist, is a sham or has been created mainly so the worker can apply for a visa.^{[2]UK Visas and Immigration, Workers and Temporary Workers: sponsor a skilled worker (accessible)}

What else the Rules check about the job

The genuine role test is one of several checks on the job itself. The table sets them out.

These checks come from the Skilled Worker rules.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Worker} The sponsor guidance on working on a contract basis explains the hire-out rule. A sponsor cannot sponsor a worker if it will not have full responsibility for all the duties, functions and outcomes of the job. It also cannot sponsor a worker who will be contracted to do an ongoing routine role or service for a third party.^{[3]UK Visas and Immigration, Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 2: sponsor a worker (accessible)}

The GOV.UK guidance for employers adds that a job must comply with the minimum wage and working time rules. The worker’s visa may be refused and the sponsor may lose its licence if it does not.^{[4]Home Office, UK visa sponsorship for employers: Job suitability}

The job description and salary must be accurate

The sponsor guidance says the role and job description on the certificate must accurately reflect what the worker will actually do. If the role changes after permission is granted and the change does not need a change of employment application, the sponsor must tell UK Visas and Immigration within 10 working days of the date the change takes effect.^{[3]UK Visas and Immigration, Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 2: sponsor a worker (accessible)} The salary entered on the certificate must also be a genuine reflection of what the sponsor intends to pay the worker.^{[2]UK Visas and Immigration, Workers and Temporary Workers: sponsor a skilled worker (accessible)}

The genuine role test is separate from the genuine intention requirement. That second requirement is about the worker. The worker must genuinely intend, and be able, to do the role they are sponsored for and must not intend to take other employment unless their conditions allow it.^{[2]UK Visas and Immigration, Workers and Temporary Workers: sponsor a skilled worker (accessible)}

Example

A software company assigns a certificate of sponsorship to Ravi for a job as a systems analyst. The job description says he will build and test the company’s own internal tools. That matches the work. The pay is above the National Minimum Wage and the hours comply with the Working Time Regulations. The job exists, and the company needs it filled.

A different case shows where the rule bites. Suppose a staffing company assigned a certificate for a job where the worker would fill a routine position at a client’s site, with the client directing the daily work. Rule SW 5.6 says the decision maker must not have reasonable grounds to believe the job amounts to hire to a third party or to contract work on an ongoing routine role.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Worker} The sponsor guidance says a sponsor cannot sponsor a worker in those circumstances.^{[3]UK Visas and Immigration, Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 2: sponsor a worker (accessible)}

What people get wrong

Many sponsors treat the test as met once a job title and salary are on the certificate. The guidance asks for more. The job description must accurately reflect what the worker will actually do, and the sponsor must report a change in duties within 10 working days.

A second mistake is to think the test affects only the worker. The sponsor guidance says that if a sponsor assigns a certificate for a role that is not genuine, UK Visas and Immigration will refuse the worker’s application and will revoke the sponsor’s licence.^{[2]UK Visas and Immigration, Workers and Temporary Workers: sponsor a skilled worker (accessible)}

The bottom line

A genuine vacancy is a real job, matching its description and salary, that the sponsor needs filled. The Skilled Worker rules test this as the genuine role requirement and add checks on hire-out to third parties and on pay and hours law. The rules are in Appendix Skilled Worker, and the consequences for a sponsor are in the sponsor guidance.