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
Data starts in 2020. The Skilled Worker route launched in December 2020 and the Health & Care Worker visa in August 2020, replacing earlier Tier 2 categories.
In 2025, 1,864 French nationals were granted UK work visas on the Skilled Worker or Health & Care Worker routes, about the same as 2024. About 99% came through the Skilled Worker route, spanning professional, technical, and managerial jobs.
The most common occupation for French nationals in 2025 was Finance and investment analysts and advisers (376 grants), followed by Management consultants and business analysts (140) and Programmers and software development professionals (96). 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
| # | Occupation | Grants | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finance and investment analysts and advisers | 376 | SWSkilled Worker |
| 2 | Management consultants and business analysts | 140 | SWSkilled Worker |
| 3 | Programmers and software development professionals | 96 | 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 | 57 | SWSkilled Worker |
| 8 | Brokers | 44 | SWSkilled Worker |
| 9 | Business sales executives | 42 | SWSkilled Worker |
| 10 | IT business analysts, architects and systems designers | 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: 1,849 grants across 136 occupations.
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, 1,864 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? 1,864: 1,838 through the Skilled Worker route and 26 through Health & Care Worker. Grants have stayed between roughly 1,800 and 2,400 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.