Is there an age limit for a UK work visa?

You must be 18 or over for most UK work visas. For the Skilled Worker visa, the rules say you must be 18 or over when you apply (SW 1.3) and give no maximum age. The Youth Mobility Scheme is for ages 18 to 30 or 18 to 35. The India Young Professionals Scheme is for ages 18 to 30. This comes from GOV.UK and the Immigration Rules.

Is there an upper age limit for the Skilled Worker visa?

The sources for this guide give no maximum age for a Skilled Worker applicant. They give a minimum age:

• You must be aged 18 or over on the date you apply (SW 1.3).

Two other rules about age are about pay, not about who can apply:

• One option for lower pay is being “under the age of 26 on the date of application” (SW 12.2(a)). It is one of several conditions for the new entrant salary options E and J.
• GOV.UK’s Skilled Worker page lists being under 26 on the date you apply as one of the circumstances for being paid 70% of the going rate. The salary must still be at least £33,400 per year.

See when you can be paid less and the new entrant guide.

Can someone under 18 apply for a UK work visa?

For the Skilled Worker visa, the main applicant must be 18 or over (SW 1.3). A dependent partner must also be 18 or over on the date they apply (SW 26.3).

A dependent child follows a different rule, in Appendix Children:

• The child must be under 18 on the date of application, unless the second rule applies (CHI 1.1).
• The child can be 18 or older if they were last given entry clearance or permission as the dependent child of their parent or parents. That permission must be valid on the date of application, or have expired no more than 14 days before it (CHI 1.2).

For how partners and children join a Skilled Worker, see the partner and children guide.

What is the age rule for each work visa?

Visa	Age rule	Where it comes from
Skilled Worker	18 or over on the date of application; no maximum stated	SW 1.3
Health and Care Worker	No age rule on the GOV.UK Health and Care Worker pages	Not stated
Scale-up Worker	18 or over on the date of application	SCU 1.3
Global Talent	At least 18 years old	GOV.UK; GT 1.4
High Potential Individual	18 or over on the date of application	HPI 1.3
Innovator Founder	At least 18 years old	GOV.UK; INNF 1.3
Senior or Specialist Worker	18 or over on the date of application	SNR 1.3
Graduate Trainee	18 or over on the date of application. The GOV.UK page states no age	GTR 1.3
UK Expansion Worker	18 or over on the date of application	UKX 1.3
Service Supplier	18 or over on the date of application	SSU 1.3
Secondment Worker	18 or over on the date of application	SEC 1.3
Seasonal Worker	18 or over when you apply	GOV.UK; SAW 1.3
Charity Worker	18 or over when you apply	GOV.UK; CW 1.3
Religious Worker	18 or over when you apply	GOV.UK; RW 1.3
International Agreement	18 or over when you apply	GOV.UK; IA 1.3
Creative Worker	No age rule for the main applicant in the sources used	Not stated
Government Authorised Exchange	No age rule for the main applicant in the sources used	Not stated
Graduate	No age rule in the sources used	Not stated
Youth Mobility Scheme	18 to 35 for Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Korea; 18 to 30 for others	GOV.UK; YMS 1.4, YMS 3.4
India Young Professionals Scheme	Indian national or citizen between 18 and 30 years old	GOV.UK

The codes in the last column are rule numbers in each visa’s appendix of the Immigration Rules. For Creative Worker and Government Authorised Exchange, the appendices set an 18-or-over rule for a dependent partner (CRV 10.3 and GAE 12.3) but none for the main applicant.

What are the age limits for the Youth Mobility Scheme and India Young Professionals Scheme?

Youth Mobility Scheme

The age range depends on where you are from:

• Aged 18 to 35 if you are from Australia, Canada, New Zealand or South Korea.
• Aged 18 to 30 if you are from Andorra, Iceland, Japan, Monaco, San Marino or Uruguay.
• Aged 18 to 30 if you are a British overseas citizen, British overseas territories citizen or British national (overseas).
• If you hold a Hong Kong SAR passport or are from Taiwan, you must also be selected in the Youth Mobility Scheme ballot before you apply. GOV.UK lists these applicants in the same section as the 18 to 30 group.

GOV.UK says you can apply before you turn 18, and you can be over the upper age when the visa starts. This applies to both the 35 limit and the 30 limit. If you turn 31 after your visa is issued, you can stay as long as it is valid.

The Immigration Rules say it like this:

• You must be 35 or under on the date you apply if you are a national of Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the Republic of Korea. For all others, you must be 30 or under (YMS 1.4).
• You must be 18 or over on the date your entry clearance becomes valid (YMS 3.4).

You cannot apply if you have children under 18 who live with you, or children you are financially responsible for. The India Young Professionals Scheme has the same rule.

India Young Professionals Scheme

You must be an Indian national or citizen between 18 and 30 years old. You must be at least 18 on the date you plan to travel to the UK. You must first be selected in the ballot. See the Youth Mobility Scheme and India Young Professionals Scheme guides.

Does age change any other work visa rules?

Yes. Age appears in other rules too:

• Criminal record certificates: if you are under 28, you need a certificate from any country you have stayed in for a total of 12 months or more since you turned 18. If you are 28 or over, you need one from any country you have stayed in over the last 10 years. See the criminal record certificate guide.
• English language: Appendix English Language exempts some settlement applicants aged 65 or over or under 18. See the English language requirement guide.
• Healthcare surcharge: the £776 per year rate applies to applicants under 18 when they apply. See UK work visa cost.