Visa Sponsorship Statistics 2026
Official data on employer visa sponsorship across UK, USA, Canada and Europe — sourced directly from government registries and immigration authorities.
United Kingdom
Skilled Worker Visa
Top Industries
- Healthcare & NHS
- Information Technology
- Engineering
- Finance
- Education
Salary Threshold
£41,700 Skilled Worker general threshold (April 2025) / £25,000 Health and Care Worker
Key Facts
- ✓Over 115,000 UK organisations appear on the Home Office Register of Licensed Sponsors (Workers & Temporary Workers, April 2026)
- ✓The Skilled Worker general salary threshold rose from £38,700 to £41,700 on 9 April 2025
- ✓Health and Care Worker visas retain a lower £25,000 threshold (or going rate, whichever is higher)
- ✓Skilled Worker leave can lead to Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) after 5 continuous years
- ✓NHS trusts and IT services firms are the largest sponsor categories by volume
Source: UK Home Office — Register of Licensed Sponsors (Workers), refreshed daily — retrieved 2026-04-22
United States
H-1B Visa
Top Industries
- Technology
- Consulting
- Healthcare
- Finance
- Academia
Salary Threshold
Prevailing wage required (varies by role & location)
Key Facts
- ✓H-1B cap is 65,000 per year, with 20,000 additional for US master's degree holders
- ✓Cap-exempt employers (universities, non-profits) can sponsor year-round
- ✓Top H-1B sponsors include Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Infosys and TCS
- ✓The H-1B lottery acceptance rate has been below 25% in recent years
- ✓H-1B holders can apply for a Green Card through employer sponsorship
Source: USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub & US DOL LCA disclosure data — retrieved 2026-04-22
Canada
LMIA (Temporary Foreign Worker Program)
Top Industries
- Agriculture
- Healthcare
- Technology
- Hospitality
- Construction
Salary Threshold
Median wage for the occupation in the region
Key Facts
- ✓Canada issues over 200,000 LMIA decisions per year across all streams
- ✓The High Wage and Low Wage streams are the most common LMIA pathways
- ✓LMIA-based work permits can be a pathway to Canadian Permanent Residence
- ✓The Global Talent Stream provides expedited 2-week processing for tech roles
- ✓Quebec has its own separate labour market assessment process (LSPQ)
Source: Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) — LMIA quarterly releases — retrieved 2026-04-22
Europe
EU Blue Card / National Work Visas
Top Industries
- Technology
- Engineering
- Healthcare
- Research
- Finance
Salary Threshold
Varies by country — e.g. €46,000+ for EU Blue Card (2024)
Key Facts
- ✓The Netherlands processes Highly Skilled Migrant applications in ~2 weeks
- ✓Germany's EU Blue Card requires a job offer with salary above €46,000/year
- ✓Ireland's Critical Skills permit covers over 50 shortage occupations
- ✓The EU Blue Card allows movement within the EU after 18 months
- ✓France's Talent Passport covers researchers, artists, company founders and more
Source: IND (Netherlands), BAMF (Germany), DETE (Ireland), European Commission Blue Card portal — retrieved 2026-04-22
Download the dataset
Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0). Cite as: SponsorshipJobs (2026). Visa Sponsorship Statistics — UK, USA, Canada, Europe. sponsorshipjobs.io/data.
Last updated 22 April 2026. Each row links to its primary government source.
Methodology
UK Skilled Worker sponsor counts are taken from the Home Office Register of Licensed Sponsors (Workers & Temporary Workers), which is republished daily on gov.uk. We count distinct organisations holding an active A-rated or B-rated licence.
UK salary thresholds reflect the 9 April 2025 rule update: £41,700 general Skilled Worker minimum, £25,000 Health and Care Worker minimum, with going rates by SOC code overriding where higher.
US H-1B figures combine USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub approvals and DOL LCA disclosure data. The annual cap (65,000 regular + 20,000 US master's) is statutory; cap-exempt employers (universities, non-profits, government research) are excluded from the lottery.
Canada LMIA counts come from ESDC's Open Government quarterly LMIA releases. Figures aggregate positive LMIA decisions across high-wage, low-wage, and Global Talent streams, excluding withdrawn applications.
Europe figures blend national registers: IND recognised sponsors (Netherlands), BAMF work-visa employer data (Germany), and DETE Critical Skills permit data (Ireland). EU Blue Card thresholds reflect the 2024 transposition of Directive (EU) 2021/1883.
All numbers include a retrieval date; headline figures are rounded to the nearest thousand for readability. Contact hello@sponsorshipjobs.io to request an exact figure or a corrections link.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many companies sponsor visas in the UK?
Over 115,000 UK organisations appear on the Home Office Register of Licensed Sponsors across the Worker and Temporary Worker routes (April 2026). The count is refreshed daily on gov.uk and has grown substantially since the 2020 points-based system launch.
How many H-1B visas are issued each year in the USA?
The standard H-1B cap is 65,000 visas per year, with an additional 20,000 reserved for applicants with US master's degrees. Due to high demand, USCIS conducts an annual lottery. Cap-exempt employers like universities and non-profits are not subject to this limit.
What is an LMIA in Canada?
A Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) is a document Canadian employers must obtain before hiring a temporary foreign worker. A positive LMIA confirms there is a genuine need for a foreign worker and that no Canadian citizen or permanent resident is available for the job.
Which country is easiest to get a sponsored work visa?
The Netherlands is widely considered one of the most accessible countries for sponsored work visas — the Highly Skilled Migrant permit has no labour market test, no quota, and processes in around 2 weeks. Canada's Global Talent Stream also offers 2-week processing for tech roles.
Open datasets and research tools
Free, citable resources we maintain on the UK visa-sponsorship landscape. CC BY 4.0 attribution welcomed.
UK Sponsor Licence Atlas
All 140k UK sponsor licences mapped by city, county, route and rating. Aggregated from the Home Office register.
Salary Threshold Tracker
Every change to the UK Skilled Worker minimum since 2020 (£25,600 → £41,700), each step sourced to the matching HC document.
Visa Fees Calculator
All-in cost: application fee + IHS + dependants + ILR + sponsor-paid charges. Interactive 2026 figures.
Work-Visa Glossary
21 essential terms with plain-English definitions: CoS, BRP, ILR, ISL, going rate, SOC codes.
Licence Revocations
How UK sponsor licence revocations actually happen, the 60-day rule for affected workers, and how we monitor.
Sponsor Licence Checker
Search any UK company against the live Home Office register.
Ready to find a visa-sponsored job?
Browse thousands of roles from verified sponsors across UK, USA, Canada and Europe.
All statistics sourced from official government data. Last updated 22 April 2026. Licensed CC BY 4.0 — reuse with attribution.