DJ listed among job roles eligible for UK skilled worker visa

A list of specialist jobs which entitle overseas residents to apply for UK Skilled Worker visas has been revealed. Alongside more traditional roles in nursing, care work, and the civil service, DJs also made the cut.

Ahead of a UK government white paper which intends to cut the number of people entering the country for work, a list of more than 300 “eligible occupations” has been uncovered by a by an academic at the University of Oxford. Professions including homeopaths, yoga teachers and lifestyle coaches are all included as well as DJs. Analysis of Home Office data over three years up to March 2024 indicated hat 334 visas were granted for “animal care service occupations” such as dog walkers and groomers, while 869 people were granted the right to work as “air travel assistants” – meaning cabin crew and check-in staff.

Robert McNeil, of the University of Oxford’s Centre on Migration, Policy and Society, made the discovery, and expressed his own surprise at the nature of some eligible skills. In an interview with The Guardian, he said that while “they might not be the sort of things that are front of mind for most people when they imagine roles that are critical for UK employers to recruit from overseas,” they are “challenging and require particular skills”.

Posting a blog on Tuesday, the academic explained that these jobs were added to the list after the UK left the EU and legislation was updated to reflect this, effectively reducing “the threshold to allow middle-skilled jobs to qualify for work visas”. Under the previous regime, European Union citizens enjoyed freedom of movement to all member states, including Great Britain, but residents from outside the bloc would only be given permission to work in graduate positions. 

“When people think about such middle-skilled jobs, roles like plumbers, bricklayers or engineering technicians spring to mind. But defining what is actually middle-skilled is not straightforward,” he said. 

A Skilled Worker visa allows successful applicants to remain in the UK for five years. DJs are also eligible to apply for the Creative Worker visa concession, which permits them to live and work in the country for up to three months.

The Home Office has responded to questions about its “eclectic” list of eligible working visa roles by expanding on details about the right to work process. Visa applications are the first step in a much longer process, which also includes sponsorship by an employer. Once in the UK, successful applicants must then earn a minimum of £38,700 per year. Lower paid positions can be accepted in specific circumstances, including when a person is aged under-26.

The news comes at a sensitive time for UK politics and the issue of immigration. Nigel Farage’s far right Reform party recently polled second among the electorate, ahead of the Labour government’s traditional Conservative Party opposition, largely through campaigning for tighter border control.  In the wake of the poll, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has pledged to toughen up on rules governing who can and can’t enter the UK, and taken the decision to begin broadcasting deportations in a bid to prove steps are being taken. This has been widely criticised by human rights organisations. Since taking power last July, Labour has removed 16,400 failed asylum seekers and undocumented foreign citizens – the highest rate of deportation in five years.