EU nationals now need sponsorship like any other non-UK hire, which puts a licence between the offer and the start date. What the process requires and how long it takes.
- Sponsor licence required for every non-UK hire
- Per-pay-period salary check from 8 April 2026
- Do EU citizens still have the right to work in the UK without a visa?
The United Kingdom applies a 25% main rate of corporation tax on profits above £250,000, with a 19% small profits rate below £50,000 and marginal relief tapering the effective rate between the two bands — a structure unchanged for the 2026/27 financial year, but one where profit within the marginal band is taxed at an effective rate of approximately 26.5% on each additional pound, higher than either headline rate. VAT is charged at a standard 20%, with a £90,000 registration threshold — among the more straightforward tax regimes across HTLC's country practices.
What a foreign hire has to satisfy in United Kingdom. Every figure below is published on the United Kingdom country page.
| United Kingdom | |
|---|---|
| Main work-permit route | Skilled Worker visa is the primary route for non-UK hires — EU nationals included since Brexit — requiring an employer-held sponsor licence; general salary threshold £41,700/year or the occupation-specific going rate, whichever is higher; per-pay-period salary compliance required from 8 April 2026 |
| Official language | English |
| Minimum wage | £12.71/hour — National Living Wage, ages 21+ (from 1 April 2026); £10.85 ages 18–20; £8.00 under-18s and apprentices |
| Legal forms | Private Limited Company (Ltd) · Public Limited Company (PLC) · LLP |
| Corporate tax rate | 25% main rate (profits > £250,000) · 19% small profits rate (profits < £50,000) · marginal relief between the two (effective ~26.5% at the margin) |
What makes it complex in United Kingdom
- Sponsor licence required for every non-UK hire — — including EU nationals, who lost automatic right to work when free movement ended on 1 January 2021; without a licence there is no legal route to employ them.
- Per-pay-period salary check from 8 April 2026 — — sponsors must show the Skilled Worker salary threshold is met in each pay period, not as an annual average, closing the gap that bonus- or commission-weighted packages previously used.
Do EU citizens still have the right to work in the UK without a visa?
No. Free movement ended on 1 January 2021. Any non-UK national, including EU citizens, now requires a Skilled Worker visa sponsored by a UK employer holding a valid Home Office sponsor licence, unless they already hold settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme.
What changes on 8 April 2026 for sponsors?
Sponsors must demonstrate the salary threshold is met in each individual pay period, not as an annual average. Compensation structures relying on bonuses, commission or irregular payments to meet the threshold over a year may fail the check in individual months.
Sponsor licence required for every non-UK hire is one of the points HTLC Network handles for clients operating in United Kingdom, within a single engagement that covers every other country they operate in — executed locally, governed centrally.
In United Kingdom the scope is: Skilled Worker sponsor licence applications and per-pay-period salary compliance for non-UK partners, managers and key staff — EU nationals included since Brexit ended free movement.
See Workforce Mobility in United Kingdom for the full scope, or the United Kingdom country page for the statutory framework across every service.
Figures as published on the HTLC Network country pages, reviewed September 2026 and collected from public sources. They are not a substitute for advice on a specific case and should be verified before being relied on.