🇬🇧 United Kingdom
As of April 2024: Sponsor licence renewals were abolished and are now automatically valid for 10 years.
From July 2025:
The required skill level for sponsorship was raised (jobs now must be at least at bachelor’s degree level or equivalent).
The minimum salary threshold increased from £38,700 to £41,700 per year.
Sponsorship for home care workers and senior care workers was banned, with a transition period until 2028.
Employers are no longer allowed to pass sponsorship costs (such as licence fees) onto workers, starting from April 2025.
📌 Summary: The UK did not abolish sponsorship, but it made it much stricter and more expensive, with fewer eligible professions.
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🇨🇿 Czechia
Since July 2024: Nationals of certain countries (such as Canada, the USA, Australia, the UK, and Japan) no longer need a work permit to enter the Czech labor market.
📌 Summary: This is similar to abolishing sponsorship for specific nationalities, allowing them to work directly without complicated procedures.
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🇪🇺 Rest of Europe
In Sweden: there are ongoing discussions to raise the minimum salary requirement for work permits to 100% of the national average wage.
In Germany and most EU countries:
There is no sponsorship system like in the Gulf or the UK.
What’s required is only a valid job contract with an appropriate salary and meeting certain conditions.
International students can stay after graduation to search for jobs without needing a sponsor.
📌 Summary: Most European countries do not use “sponsorship” at all; they rely instead on job offers and salary thresholds.
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🇹🇷 Turkey
In 2025, the Turkish government introduced new
regulations that ease sponsorship requirements for work permits,
particularly in the fields of technology, R&D, and large companies.
Some businesses are no longer required to comply with the rule of
employing five Turkish workers for every one foreign worker.
The European Union has also made it easier for Turkish citizens to obtain multiple-entry Schengen visas:
The first visa may be issued for 6 months.
Later, they can apply for a 1-year visa, then 3 years, and up to 5 years.
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Summary: Turkey did not abolish sponsorship entirely but significantly
relaxed the restrictions, especially in business and technology sectors,
while also easing travel to Europe.
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🔑 Overall Conclusion
Turkey: Relaxed sponsorship rules in tech/business + easier Schengen access.
UK: Stricter sponsorship system with higher requirements and fewer eligible jobs.
Czechia: Abolished work permit requirements for some nationalities.
Rest of Europe: Sponsorship does not exist; the system is based on job contracts and salaries.