Education covers schools, colleges, universities, private training providers and language schools. Sponsored roles include secondary teachers in shortage subjects, university lecturers and researchers, and specialist trainers. Schools and universities sponsor mainly through the Skilled Worker route, and some senior academics use the Global Talent route instead.
There are 3,827 licensed visa sponsors in education, with 3,702 live jobs between them. Sponsor figures come from the official Home Office register and are updated daily.
This list puts the sponsors most likely to hire first. To see which of them had the most certificates of sponsorship, read the top visa sponsors in education.
In the year to June 2026, the Home Office granted 6,048 work visas to people applying from outside the UK for jobs with sponsors in education. Natural and social science professionals not elsewhere classified (SOC 2119) had the most, with 1,240.
Universities, multi-academy trusts, colleges, independent schools and training providers all hold sponsor licences. Filter the live register to education to see which are hiring.
Teaching and academic roles generally use the Skilled Worker visa, which needs a licensed sponsor and a salary at or above the going rate for the occupation. Leading academics and researchers can also apply through the Global Talent route, which does not require a job offer.
Secondary teachers in shortage subjects such as maths, physics, chemistry and computing are among the most readily sponsored, and some qualify for targeted recruitment incentives. Eligibility still depends on the school holding a licence and the role meeting the salary rules, so confirm both before you apply.
| 6 | 2422 Finance and investment analysts and advisers | 246 |
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| 7 | 3221 Youth and community workers | 238 |
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| 8 | 2134 Programmers and software development professionals | 185 |
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| 9 | 2313 Secondary education teaching professionals | 170 |
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| 10 | 3543 Project support officers | 164 |
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These figures cover every sponsored work route, including seasonal and creative workers. They count the workers themselves, not their dependants, and only people who applied from outside the UK.
The sponsor chooses its own industry, so it may not match the work the visa was for.
Figures from January 2026 onwards are provisional and may still change.
Source: Home Office immigration system statistics, year ending June 2026, table Occ_D02 (not accredited official statistics).