Work permits

Work permits: quick answers

Who is eligible for a work visa? Employer-led. You need a job offer from a company that holds a sponsor licence or has passed a labour-market test, a role at the required skill level and salary, and the qualifications or experience the route demands. Some talent and working-holiday routes do not need a sponsor.

How much does a work visa cost? ₹805 to ₹2.67 lakh all-in across 52 destinations, government fee plus Vistolane filing fee. Cheapest in the set: Bhutan at ₹805; Australia is the most expensive at ₹2.67 lakh. Government fees are charged at the official rate.

How long does a work visa take? From Same day once filed (Thailand) to 4–9 weeks (Ireland) once the file is complete. E-visas decide fastest; sticker visas add a biometrics appointment and embassy visas add interview wait. Vistolane shows the document deadline and filing date before you pay.

Overview

Work visas are employer-led. The company must hold a sponsor licence or pass a labour-market test, the role must sit on an eligible occupation list, and the salary must clear a published threshold that changes almost every year. The applicant's part is proving qualifications, experience and language.

Because the employer carries most of the compliance burden, work routes on Vistolane are filed by a licence-checked partner who handles both sides, and employers get a compliance check before the offer letter goes out.

Who this route suits

People who already hold, or are about to receive, a written offer from an employer licensed to sponsor foreign workers for a role on the destination's eligible-occupation list, at or above the published salary threshold. It fits IT, healthcare, engineering, finance, hospitality and skilled-trade professionals with recognised qualifications and verifiable experience letters, and employees moving within the same company group on an intra-company transfer. Some countries run employer-free variants — the UAE and Germany's job-seeker visas, the Netherlands orientation year, digital-nomad permits — which suit self-funded professionals with a defined job hunt or remote income.

It does not suit anyone without an offer in a sponsor-led country (the UK, Canada's employer-specific permit, Australia's 482), or whose job title is not on the list even when the salary is. Check the sponsor-licence register before paying any recruitment fee: unlicensed employers are the most common way a work visa fails before it is filed.

Does this route fit you? Three questions:

• Do you have, or expect within weeks, a written job offer from an employer licensed to sponsor foreign workers? If not: Most work visas start with the employer. Browse sponsors that are hiring, or look at employer-free options such as job-seeker visas.
• Is the role on the destination's eligible-occupation list and paid at or above the published salary threshold? If not: Below-threshold roles cannot be sponsored. Points-tested permanent residence does not need a job offer or a threshold.
• Can you document your qualifications and experience, degree, experience letters, licence, and meet the English requirement? If not: Missing evidence is fixable before filing; the check lists what the authority will ask for.

How the process works

1. Employer eligibility. Sponsor licence (UK), LMIA or exemption (Canada), approved sponsor (Australia), or registered entity (UAE, Singapore).
2. Certificate or nomination. The employer issues a certificate of sponsorship, nomination or petition tied to the role and salary.
3. Applicant evidence. Degree and experience proof, language test, police clearance and medicals where required.
4. Visa decision. Priority services can cut decision times to days; standard windows range from three weeks to several months.

Why applications get refused

• Salary below the going rate or general threshold for the occupation code
• Job title matched to the wrong occupation code
• Employer without a valid sponsor licence or with pending compliance action
• Qualification not recognised as equivalent by the destination

Verified work visas route pages, by country

25 work visas routes across 21 countries, each written from the issuing authority's own pages with the government fee, the published processing window, the document checklist and the refusal reasons, and dated when it was last re-read.

Questions, answered