UK Work Visa Sponsorship for French Citizens
Freedom of movement ended in January 2021. French citizens now need a sponsored visa to take a job in the UK, and the usual route is a Skilled Worker offer from a licensed employer. The numbers below show how that works out in practice.
Grants by year
Of the 3,269 grants in 2025, 1,862 went to people applying from outside the UK and 1,407 to people already here who switched route or extended (43%).
| Year | Outside the UK | Inside the UK | Skilled Worker | Health & Care Worker | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,784 | 38 | 1,822 | ||
| 2022 | 2,449 | 356 | 2,805 | ||
| 2023 | 2,020 | 619 | 2,639 | ||
| 2024 | 1,890 | 1,149 | 3,039 | ||
| 2025 | 1,862 | 1,407 | 3,269 |
† The Home Office published in-country grants for these years as one combined figure, so the route columns cover the visas granted outside the UK only. The combined amount is in the “inside the UK” column and in the total.
Select a Skilled Worker or Health & Care figure to see where those visas were granted. Grants to main applicants, not dependants. Counting starts in 2021, the first full year of these routes: the Skilled Worker visa opened in December 2020 and the Health & Care Worker visa in August 2020, replacing earlier Tier 2 categories. 2020 itself covers only those opening weeks, so it is left out rather than shown as a year.
Refusals and grants for French applicants in 2025
Of the 1,848 Skilled Worker decisions on applications French main applicants made from outside the UK in 2025, 12 (0.6%) were refusals, against 20% across all nationalities. Inside the UK, 1 of 1,383 (under 0.1%) was a refusal, against 2.1%.
Show the numbers for French applicants
| Route | Granted outside | Refused outside | Withdrawn outside | Share outside | Granted inside | Refused inside | Share inside |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skilled Worker | 1,836 | 12 | 78 | 0.6% | 1,382 | 1 | under 0.1% |
This is what happened to decisions in 2025. It is not your chance of a visa. Counts are main applicants, not dependants.
See how often Skilled Worker visas are refused, for every nationality
In 2025, 3,269 UK work visas on the Skilled Worker or Health & Care Worker routes went to French nationals, about the same as 2024. About 98% came through the Skilled Worker route, spanning professional, technical, and managerial jobs.
1,862 of those went to people applying from outside the UK. The other 1,407 went to people already here, switching from a Graduate, Student or other visa, or extending a sponsored job they already had. That second group is the larger one for most nationalities, and it is worth knowing about: if you are already in the UK on another visa, you are on the more common path, not the rare one.
Among the visas granted outside the UK, the most common occupation for French nationals in 2025 was Finance and investment analysts and advisers (380 grants), followed by Management consultants and business analysts (140) and Programmers and software development professionals (95). The Home Office publishes no job breakdown for the visas granted inside the UK, so these counts cover the entry clearance half only. Other eligible Skilled Worker occupations are sponsorable too, as long as the employer holds a Home Office sponsor licence and the role clears the salary and skill-level thresholds for its SOC code.
Search the roles below to see who's currently hiring French nationals. Filter by sponsor licence, visa route, or occupation.
Top occupations for French nationals
Visas granted outside the UK only: 1,862 of the 3,269 granted to French nationals in 2025 (56%). The Home Office publishes no job breakdown for the visas granted inside the UK.
| # | Occupation | Grants | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finance and investment analysts and advisers | 380 | SWSkilled Worker |
| 2 | Management consultants and business analysts | 140 | SWSkilled Worker |
| 3 | Programmers and software development professionals | 95 | SWSkilled Worker |
| 4 | Sales accounts and business development managers | 67 | SWSkilled Worker |
| 5 | Chief executives and senior officials | 66 | SWSkilled Worker |
| 6 | Actuaries, economists and statisticians | 65 | SWSkilled Worker |
| 7 | Financial managers and directors | 58 | SWSkilled Worker |
| 8 | Brokers | 44 | SWSkilled Worker |
| 9 | IT business analysts, architects and systems designers | 42 | SWSkilled Worker |
| 10 | Other researchers, unspecified discipline | 42 | SWSkilled Worker |
Full occupation distribution for French nationals
Each rectangle is one occupation, sized by grant count and grouped by SOC major category. Color shows year-over-year change vs 2023. Total: 1,860 grants across 136 occupations, counting visas granted outside the UK only. That is 56% of the 3,269 granted to French nationals in 2025. The Home Office publishes no job breakdown for the visas granted inside the UK.
Frequently asked questions
Do French citizens need a visa to work in the UK?
Yes, since Brexit. Freedom of movement ended on 1 January 2021, so a French passport alone no longer lets you take a job in the UK. The exception is people with status under the EU Settlement Scheme, which required UK residence before 2021. Everyone else needs a work visa, usually the Skilled Worker visa, sponsored by a licensed employer. In 2025, 3,269 French citizens got one.
How do I move to the UK from France?
Line up the job before the move. UK work visas are employer-led: you find a role at a company with a sponsor licence, they issue a Certificate of Sponsorship, and you apply for the Skilled Worker visa from France. Without a sponsor, the options narrow to the Global Talent visa, the High Potential Individual visa for recent graduates of listed universities (the Sorbonne, PSL and Paris-Saclay are on it), or joining a British or settled partner.
How many French citizens got UK work visas in 2025?
3,269: 3,218 through the Skilled Worker route and 51 through Health & Care Worker. 1,862 were granted outside the UK and 1,407 to people already here, switching route or extending. Grants have stayed between roughly 1,800 and 3,300 a year since 2021.
What jobs do French citizens get sponsored for?
In 2025 the top three were Finance and investment analysts and advisers, Management consultants and business analysts, and Programmers and software development professionals. Any occupation on the Skilled Worker eligible list can be sponsored, as long as the employer holds a licence and the pay clears the threshold for that occupation code, usually £41,700 or the going rate for the role, whichever is higher.
Which UK companies sponsor French citizens?
Any employer with a Home Office sponsor licence. Nationality makes no difference, and every company listed on Hunt UK Visa Sponsors holds a licence. For French applicants the occupation data points at finance, consulting, and software as the biggest recruiters. Use the search below to see who's hiring now.
Keep exploring
Current openings from Home Office licensed sponsors. Filter by visa route, salary, and occupation.
Visa trends and top occupations for every nationality, browsable by region.
See what a UK salary is really worth compared with France — tax, purchasing power and visa costs.