UK Work Visa Sponsorship for German Citizens
Moving from Germany to the UK for work now means a visa first. For most Germans that's the Skilled Worker route: a job offer from a licensed sponsor, then the application. The data below shows how many make it each year and into which jobs.
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, 1,179 German nationals were granted UK work visas on the Skilled Worker or Health & Care Worker routes, about the same as 2024. About 97% came through the Skilled Worker route, spanning professional, technical, and managerial jobs.
The most common occupation for German nationals in 2025 was Finance and investment analysts and advisers (220 grants), followed by Programmers and software development professionals (105) and Management consultants and business analysts (85). 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 German nationals. Filter by sponsor licence, visa route, or occupation.
Top occupations for German nationals
| # | Occupation | Grants | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finance and investment analysts and advisers | 220 | SWSkilled Worker |
| 2 | Programmers and software development professionals | 105 | SWSkilled Worker |
| 3 | Management consultants and business analysts | 85 | SWSkilled Worker |
| 4 | Chief executives and senior officials | 46 | SWSkilled Worker |
| 5 | Sales accounts and business development managers | 44 | SWSkilled Worker |
| 6 | Other researchers, unspecified discipline | 43 | SWSkilled Worker |
| 7 | Natural and social science professionals n.e.c. | 29 | SWSkilled Worker |
| 8 | Financial managers and directors | 27 | SWSkilled Worker |
| 9 | Marketing, sales and advertising directors | 26 | SWSkilled Worker |
| 10 | Business sales executives | 25 | SWSkilled Worker |
Full occupation distribution for German 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: 1,171 grants across 128 occupations.
Frequently asked questions
Do German citizens need a visa to work in the UK? Yes. Brexit ended freedom of movement on 1 January 2021, and with it the right of Germans to work in the UK without a visa. Unless you have status under the EU Settlement Scheme from living in the UK before 2021, you need a work visa, and in practice that means Skilled Worker sponsorship by a licensed employer. In 2025, 1,179 German citizens got a UK work visa.
How do I move to the UK from Germany? Sort the job before the move. UK work visas are employer-led, so the sequence is: role at a licensed sponsor, Certificate of Sponsorship from them, Skilled Worker visa application, then relocation. If you're a recent graduate of TU Munich, LMU Munich or Heidelberg, the High Potential Individual visa gives you two years in the UK without needing a sponsor first. The Global Talent visa and family routes cover most other cases.
How many German citizens got UK work visas in 2025? 1,179: 1,140 through the Skilled Worker route and 39 through Health & Care Worker. Grants have stayed between roughly 900 and 1,300 a year since 2021.
What jobs do Germans get sponsored for? In 2025 the top three were Finance and investment analysts and advisers, Programmers and software development professionals, and Management consultants and business analysts. Sponsorship works for any occupation on the Skilled Worker eligible list, 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, whichever is higher.
Which UK companies sponsor German citizens? Any employer with a Home Office sponsor licence, and every company listed on Hunt UK Visa Sponsors holds one. For Germans the demand concentrates in finance and software, much of it in London. Use the search below for live roles.
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 Germany — tax, purchasing power and visa costs.