Adverts promising UK hospitality jobs with visa sponsorship for waiters, housekeepers, kitchen porters and cleaners are all over social media. Almost all of them are out of date or dishonest. Since 22 July 2025, new Skilled Worker sponsorship generally requires a graduate-level job paying at least £41,700, and cleaning, housekeeping and front-line service roles were never eligible in the first place.
That does not mean the sector is closed to foreign nationals. Tens of thousands of migrants work legally in British hotels, restaurants and cleaning companies on visas that carry their own work rights. A small number of senior and head-office roles can still be sponsored, and chefs who were sponsored before the rule change have transitional protection.
This guide sets out what is still possible in 2026, what is not, and how to tell a real opportunity from a scam.
Can UK hotels, restaurants and cleaning firms still sponsor overseas workers?
For front-line jobs, no. To sponsor a new Skilled Worker, an employer needs a licence, a role on the Home Office’s list of eligible occupations, and a salary that meets the threshold. Cleaners, room attendants, kitchen assistants, bar staff, waiting staff and receptionists have always been classed below the minimum skill level, so no licensed sponsor can issue a Certificate of Sponsorship for them, whatever an agent says.
For skilled kitchen and management roles the answer used to be yes, and is now mostly no. The next section explains why.
How did the rules for chefs and managers change?
Hospitality sponsorship went through three phases, and much of the misleading content online was written during the first.
- 2020 to early 2024: the skill bar was RQF level 3 and the general salary threshold was in the mid-£20,000s. Chefs, restaurant managers and hotel managers were sponsored in large numbers.
- April 2024: the general threshold jumped to £38,700. Most chef de partie and sous chef salaries fell below it, and sponsorship dropped sharply.
- 22 July 2025 onwards: the skill bar rose to RQF level 6 and the threshold to £41,700. Chefs and most hospitality management occupations sit below RQF 6, so they are closed to new overseas applicants unless they appear on the Temporary Shortage List.
The Temporary Shortage List keeps some RQF 3–5 occupations sponsorable until the end of 2026, subject to review. It is weighted towards engineering, technical and construction roles linked to the government’s industrial priorities. At the time of writing hospitality occupations were not a feature of it. Check the current list on the Skilled Worker visa pages of gov.uk, because it can change.
If you are already sponsored as a chef or manager
People who held a Skilled Worker visa in a below-graduate occupation before 22 July 2025 can generally still extend and change sponsor in that occupation under transitional arrangements. Those arrangements are not permanent. If this is you, get advice from a regulated adviser before changing jobs, and watch the settlement reforms now being introduced.
Which hospitality and cleaning roles pay what, and can any be sponsored?
| Role | Typical pay (approximate, 2026) | New Skilled Worker sponsorship? |
|---|---|---|
| Cleaner, room attendant, kitchen porter | £12.71–£13.50 per hour | No, never eligible |
| Waiting, bar and barista staff | £12.71–£13.50 per hour plus tips | No, never eligible |
| Housekeeping or cleaning supervisor | £26,000–£31,000 | No |
| Chef de partie | £28,000–£34,000 | Closed to new applicants since July 2025 |
| Sous chef | £34,000–£42,000 | Closed to new applicants since July 2025 |
| Head or executive chef | £40,000–£65,000 | Salary may qualify, but the occupation is below RQF 6 |
| Restaurant or hotel general manager | £38,000–£90,000 | Depends on the occupation code; most are below RQF 6 |
| Head-office finance, HR, marketing, revenue, data and IT professionals | £42,000–£80,000 | Possible where the code is graduate level and pay meets the threshold |
The last row is the realistic sponsorship opening in this industry. Large hotel groups, contract caterers and facilities management companies employ accountants, analysts, software engineers, procurement specialists and HR business partners, and those occupations are graduate level. The job is in hospitality, but the visa is for the profession.
Eligibility always depends on the occupation code that matches the real duties, not on the job title. A sponsor that labels a restaurant supervisor as a “business development manager” risks its licence, and you risk a refusal and a ban.
Which visas let you work in hospitality and cleaning without sponsorship?
Most migrants in these jobs hold a visa that allows work for any employer. If one of these fits you, you do not need a sponsor at all.
Youth Mobility Scheme
The Youth Mobility Scheme gives young people from countries including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and several smaller states two years of open work rights, with a longer stay for some nationalities. The age range is 18 to 30, or 35 for some countries, and you need £2,530 in savings. Some nationalities apply through a ballot. Indian graduates have a separate, balloted India Young Professionals Scheme. The UK and EU have agreed in principle to develop a youth scheme, but check gov.uk for whether it has opened.
Dependant and family visas
Partners of Skilled Workers, Health and Care Workers, Global Talent holders and eligible postgraduate students can work in any job, including hospitality and cleaning. So can partners of British or settled people; see our UK spouse visa guide for the £29,000 income rule.
Student and Graduate visas
Students on degree-level courses can usually work up to 20 hours a week in term time and full time in official vacations, which is why so many work in bars, hotels and cleaning. They cannot be self-employed. After graduating, the Graduate visa allows two years of unrestricted work; for applications made from 2027 it is being shortened to 18 months.
Other routes with work rights
- UK Ancestry visa for Commonwealth citizens with a UK-born grandparent.
- British National (Overseas) visa for eligible Hong Kong residents.
- Refugee status, humanitarian protection and the Ukraine schemes.
- Settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme.
What you cannot do is work on a visitor visa, or pay someone for a “work permit” that attaches to none of the routes above.
What can you expect to earn?
The legal floor is the National Living Wage: £12.71 an hour from April 2026 for workers aged 21 and over. On 40 hours a week that is roughly £26,400 a year before tax. Employers accredited by the Living Wage Foundation voluntarily pay more, particularly in London.
Two rules protect your pay. Since October 2024, employers must pass on 100% of tips and service charges to staff under the tipping legislation. And if you live in staff accommodation, the employer may only count a capped daily amount, the accommodation offset, towards minimum wage. Official rates are published on gov.uk.
For a fuller picture of wages across entry-level work, see unskilled jobs in the UK and who can legally apply.
How to get hired if you already have the right to work
- Generate a share code from your eVisa account on gov.uk. Employers use it for the mandatory right-to-work check.
- Apply for a National Insurance number if you do not have one. You can start work while it is processed.
- Write a one-page CV listing venues, covers served, systems used (for example Opera or a POS system) and any food hygiene certificate. A Level 2 Food Safety certificate costs little and can be taken online.
- Search where the sector hires: Caterer.com, Indeed, and the careers pages of groups such as Whitbread (Premier Inn), Hilton, Marriott, Accor, Travelodge, Mitchells and Butlers, Greene King and JD Wetherspoon. For cleaning and facilities work, look at Mitie, ISS, OCS, Compass Group and Sodexo.
- Expect a trial shift. Ask whether it is paid, and get your hours, rate and tip policy in writing.
- Plan progression. Supervisors and duty managers are usually promoted from within. Our guide to hotel front desk jobs in the UK maps one common path.
Scam warning and the costs you should really expect
Because genuine sponsorship has all but vanished for these jobs, anyone selling it should be treated as a fraudster until proven otherwise. Warning signs include payment for a Certificate of Sponsorship, a “hotel job” confirmed over WhatsApp without an interview, and employers missing from the Register of Licensed Sponsors. Even a company on the register cannot sponsor a cleaner or waiter. Victims have paid thousands of pounds for certificates that were fake or were later cancelled.
Genuine routes have official fees only. A Youth Mobility visa costs a few hundred pounds plus the Immigration Health Surcharge, which is charged at a reduced rate for that route; most other routes pay £1,035 a year. Add flights, a rental deposit and a month of living costs. Use a reputable international money transfer service to move savings, and take immigration advice only from someone registered with the Immigration Advice Authority (formerly OISC) or a regulated solicitor.
If your goal is a sponsored kitchen or hotel career and you have no other route to the UK, look at countries that still admit vocationally trained hospitality workers. Our guide to hospitality jobs in Germany with visa sponsorship explains one alternative.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get a UK visa for a cleaning job in 2026?
No. Cleaning has never been an eligible occupation for the Skilled Worker visa and is not on any shortage list. You can take a cleaning job only if you already hold a visa with general work rights.
Are chefs still on the UK shortage list?
Chefs were removed from the old shortage list years ago, and since July 2025 the occupation is below the skill level for new sponsorship. Chefs sponsored before that date may be able to extend under transitional rules. Confirm the current position on gov.uk.
Can a hotel sponsor me as a manager?
Only if the role genuinely matches an occupation code that is still eligible and pays at least £41,700 or the going rate. Most hotel and restaurant management codes are below graduate level, so this is uncommon. Corporate professional roles are more likely to qualify.
Can students work full time in hospitality?
Not during term. Degree-level students are normally limited to 20 hours a week in term time and may work full time only during official vacations. Breaching the limit can lead to visa cancellation.
Is the Seasonal Worker visa available for hotels?
No. The Seasonal Worker visa covers horticulture and seasonal poultry work only. We explain it in our guide to legal routes for unskilled jobs in the UK.
Bottom line
New visa sponsorship for UK hospitality and cleaning jobs has effectively ended for front-line and kitchen roles. What remains is sponsorship for graduate-level professionals who happen to work in the industry, transitional protection for those already sponsored, and a wide range of visas with open work rights. Build your plan around one of those, check every claim against gov.uk, and never pay for a job offer.