How Route to Sponsor works

Route to Sponsor is a job-discovery companion. It searches the public FreeHire job catalogue and adds a transparent, rules-based assessment of whether a role is plausibly compatible with UK Skilled Worker sponsorship. It is not a job board, an immigration adviser, or an application portal.

What we check

• Licensed sponsor match. The employer name is compared — after conservative normalisation — against the Home Office register of licensed sponsors (workers). We only report a confirmed match on an exact or reviewed-alias match; we never guess.
• Listing signal. Whether the FreeHire listing explicitly marks visa sponsorship, or only appears in FreeHire’s sponsor collection (a small positive only).
• Occupation fit. The job title is matched — by transparent word patterns — to a SOC 2020 occupation code, then checked against the eligible tables in Appendix Skilled Occupations. When we cannot map a title confidently we say “occupation code needs checking” instead of inferring an answer.
• Shortage lists. Whether the occupation is on the Immigration Salary List (including nation-specific entries) or the Temporary Shortage List, quoting the list wording so restrictions stay visible.
• Salary evidence. Only when the listing gives a yearly GBP salary, a confident occupation code and full-time hours do we compare the minimum salary against the relevant going rate or list rate, always with “likely” wording. Missing evidence is reported as unknown — never silently assumed.

Visa-fit bands

• Strong potential — several positive signals including a confirmed licensed sponsor.
• Worth checking — some positive evidence; confirm the rest with the employer.
• Limited evidence — not enough information to say much; verify directly.
• Unlikely fit — evidence suggests the role may not support sponsorship as listed.

Limitations

• Rules change; our data snapshots have dates — check them on the data sources page.
• A sponsor-register match does not mean this specific vacancy will be sponsored.
• Some Immigration Salary List entries only apply in parts of the UK or to specific job types.
• Salary thresholds depend on occupation, route, hours and personal circumstances.

Route to Sponsor helps you find and understand potential sponsorship opportunities. It is not immigration advice, and results do not guarantee visa eligibility or an employer’s willingness to sponsor. Always confirm the role, salary and sponsorship with the employer and check current UK government guidance.