Licensed recruitment of skilled Filipino professionals for British employers. Your company is the direct employer — we run selection in Manila, the British permit process and the Philippine exit formalities end to end. From 1 worker.
Since 22 July 2025 the Skilled Worker route is graduate-level, and sub-graduate trades are sponsorable only on two time-limited lists — the Temporary Shortage List at £41,700 and the Immigration Salary List at £33,400 — for Certificates of Sponsorship issued before 31 December 2026 (last issue date 30 December), without dependants. Nurses remain fully open on the Health and Care Worker visa; care workers have been closed to overseas applicants since July 2025. These guides state what still works, the exact codes and going rates, the NMC calendar for nurses, what care providers can still do, the engineering trades and the vetting reality, the full Government cost stack, and the Philippine side through MWO London.
Every British project runs on the same backbone: you define the roles, headcount and start date; our own DMW-licensed agency in Manila, Prime Search, sources and trade-tests candidates; you approve the shortlist (on-site or online); and the British visa is lodged by an immigration adviser registered with the Immigration Advice Authority (formerly OISC) or a UK solicitor — we prepare the recruitment file and the candidate documents, and coordinate with your regulated immigration adviser while the Philippine side — contract verification, medical, pre-departure orientation and the Overseas Employment Certificate — runs in parallel. The employment contract is signed and verified before departure; your new employee lands, completes local onboarding and clocks in.
The British specifics below are the part that makes United Kingdom different from every other market we serve.
Skilled Worker visa (sponsored) — graduate-level roles, or medium-skilled roles on the Immigration Salary List / Temporary Shortage List. The UK's Skilled Worker route needs a sponsor licence, a Certificate of Sponsorship and a role that clears the current skill and salary thresholds. Since 22 July 2025 the standard skill level is graduate level (RQF 6); medium-skilled roles qualify only while they are on the Immigration Salary List or the time-limited Temporary Shortage List, and overseas recruitment of care workers is closed to new applicants. Pay must be at least £41,700 a year or the occupation's going rate, whichever is higher; the lower £33,400 threshold applies to new entrants, STEM PhD roles and occupations on the Immigration Salary List — not to the Temporary Shortage List, whose roles must still reach £41,700 — and nurses and other listed health occupations on national pay scales qualify from £25,000 plus the going rate. Both lists apply only to Certificates of Sponsorship issued before 31 December 2026 (last issue date 30 December 2026) unless renewed, and workers sponsored in sub-graduate roles on either list cannot bring dependants. Applicants prove English at CEFR B2 (B1 only for extensions of visas granted before 8 January 2026); nurses with a regulator-accepted English test are exempt. The employer pays the Immigration Skills Charge — £1,320 per sponsored year for medium and large sponsors, £480 for small sponsors and charities since 16 December 2025. From 1 October 2026 right-to-work checks also cover workers' contracts, individual subcontractors in a contracting chain and platform workers (section 48 of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025), with civil penalties of £45,000 per worker for a first breach and £60,000 for repeat breaches. We therefore focus UK work on nursing, engineering and other graduate-level roles, and on listed trades while the lists last.
Labour-market test: No labour-market test; the skill level, the salary thresholds and the Immigration Salary List / Temporary Shortage List are the filter.
Shortage occupations: The Immigration Salary List and the Temporary Shortage List allow selected medium-skilled roles at the lower salary threshold for a limited period; the Temporary Shortage List is reviewed by the Migration Advisory Committee and roles can be removed. Nursing remains open with NMC registration; care-worker recruitment from overseas closed on 22 July 2025.
Deploying a Filipino worker abroad is regulated by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW). MWO London verifies employers and contracts for the UK and Ireland. The verified contract, together with the job order approved by the DMW, allows the worker to obtain the Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) — the exit clearance without which no Filipino worker can legally leave for a job abroad. Pre-employment orientation, medical examination at a DOH-accredited medical clinic authorised to examine overseas Filipino workers and pre-departure orientation complete the sequence. Because we operate the licensed agency ourselves, this runs in parallel with the British permit rather than after it.
Typical gate-to-gate time for United Kingdom is 3–5 months from brief to arrival; the visa itself is decided in weeks once the Certificate of Sponsorship is issued from signed engagement to the first arrival, driven mainly by role eligibility (RQF 6 or a listed occupation), the £41,700 / going-rate threshold, English B2, and the sponsor licence where the employer does not yet hold one. Sourcing and trade testing usually take two to four weeks and are not on the critical path. We give you a written timeline for your specific role before you commit.
Sectors where British employers most often hire Filipino workers through us:
Our contractual partner is the employer, and it is the employer we invoice for the service. You receive an individual offer for United Kingdom covering sourcing, trade testing, documentation, the permit process and arrival support — there is no price list, because volumes, roles and the British route differ from project to project. Direct employment means the worker's wage is paid by you under your British contract; there is no intermediary employer.
A British employer briefs us on roles and headcount. Within two to four weeks we present trade-tested candidates from Manila with video assessments; the employer interviews online and approves. Your regulated immigration adviser lodges the Skilled Worker visa — we supply the candidate file, contracts and DMW documents to them while Prime Search completes the DMW documentation. The employment contracts are signed and MWO-verified before departure; on arrival the workers complete registration and local onboarding and start on the floor — with our team reachable for the first months of integration. Whether the project is one specialist or a full shift, the mechanics are identical.
Overseas recruitment for care worker visas closed to new applicants on 22 July 2025; we do not start applications that cannot succeed.
At least £41,700 a year or the going rate for the occupation code, whichever is higher — including for Temporary Shortage List trades. New entrants, STEM PhD roles and occupations on the Immigration Salary List can be paid from £33,400, never below the going rate; nurses and other listed health occupations on national pay scales from £25,000 plus the going rate.
Both the Temporary Shortage List and the Immigration Salary List apply to Certificates of Sponsorship issued before 31 December 2026 (last issue date 30 December 2026). The Migration Advisory Committee recommended in July 2026 a renewed list of 28 occupations for January 2027 to June 2028; the Government had not decided at the time of review. We assign Certificates before the deadline and do not promise the lists beyond it.
Graduate-level (RQF 6) roles — nurses with an NMC pathway, engineers, technical specialists — and medium-skilled roles only while they are on the Immigration Salary List or Temporary Shortage List. We check the lists in force on the day the Certificate of Sponsorship is assigned.
CEFR B2 for new Skilled Worker applications; B1 only when extending a visa granted before 8 January 2026. Nurses who have passed an English test accepted by the NMC do not prove it again.
£1,320 per sponsored year for medium and large sponsors and £480 for small sponsors and charities, since 16 December 2025 — payable by the employer when the Certificate of Sponsorship is assigned.
Section 48 of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 extended the illegal-working regime beyond employment contracts to workers' contracts, individual subcontractors in a contracting chain and online matching platforms. A compliant check must be done and recorded before work begins; civil penalties are £45,000 per worker for a first breach and £60,000 for repeat breaches, and sponsors risk their licence. Genuinely self-employed professionals contracting with their own clients remain outside the regime.
Yes; we can guide you through it if you do not hold one.