Changing Employer on a Skilled Worker Visa

A new job offer can bring better pay, more responsibility or a working environment that suits you better. If you hold a Skilled Worker visa, accepting the offer also means planning an immigration application around your notice period and proposed start date.

You can normally change employer without leaving the UK. For an ordinary move to a different sponsor, you need a new Certificate of Sponsorship and an approved application before starting the new sponsored job. This applies even if your current visa still has several years remaining.

The main difficulty is often the sequence. Your new employer wants a start date, your current employer expects notice, and the Home Office decision may arrive earlier or later than expected.

The move becomes more manageable when the sponsorship, application, notice period and work permission are planned together. Our Skilled Worker visa guidance explains the wider requirements. This article focuses on moving between employers while protecting your immigration position.

Check that the new employer is ready to sponsor you

An employer’s willingness to sponsor you is an important starting point. It should lead to confirmation that the business can sponsor this particular role and assign the certificate needed for your application.

For an application made inside the UK, the new employer normally needs an Undefined Certificate of Sponsorship. Having a sponsor licence does not necessarily mean that an available certificate is ready to assign. The business may need an additional allocation first.

Ask who is responsible for the sponsorship process, whether the allocation is available and when the certificate can be prepared. These questions are particularly useful where the recruitment team and the person managing the sponsor licence are different people.

Your existing certificate is not transferred between businesses. The new sponsor must take responsibility for the proposed employment.

Before you commit to leaving, obtain clear confirmation of the role, salary, hours, sponsorship period and immigration costs the employer has agreed to cover. An offer describing sponsorship as “available” may still leave several decisions outstanding.

Our article on what to check when an employer has promised sponsorship explains how to turn that reassurance into a practical plan.

The new job needs its own eligibility assessment

Your current visa does not establish that the new job qualifies.

The proposed role must have an appropriate eligible occupation code and meet the salary requirements applicable to your application. Under the standard salary option, this generally means at least £41,700 a year or the occupation’s going rate, whichever is higher. Different provisions apply to qualifying jobs and applicants.

A higher salary than you currently receive is not conclusive. The new occupation may have a higher going rate, or the proposed working hours may change the assessment.

Equally, changing employer does not automatically remove every transitional protection. Qualifying workers covered by the pre-4 April 2024 salary arrangements may continue to rely on them when updating their permission, subject to the relevant conditions. Those arrangements currently use updated thresholds and lower going rates, rather than permanently preserving the salary accepted for the first application.

A new employer also does not restart the time available under the new-entrant provisions. Previous relevant permission still matters, and the worker must continue to qualify for the concession.

Where a medium-skilled role, care occupation or other transitional provision is involved, check the specific eligibility conditions before agreeing the move. Some provisions depend on immigration history, and some depend on remaining with the same sponsor.

The assessment should follow the duties you will actually perform. Selecting a convenient occupation code to fit the salary does not resolve a mismatch between the job and the rules.

Agree the application timetable before fixing your last day

There are several dates to coordinate: the expiry of your current permission, the new certificate’s proposed start date, your application date and the end of your contractual notice period.

You can normally apply up to three months before the new job’s start date. The Certificate of Sponsorship also has a deadline for use, so it should be assigned as part of an agreed timetable.

Your current visa expiry date remains a separate deadline. Having a job offer, an assigned certificate or an application being prepared does not extend your permission.

Before agreeing a fixed start date, establish whether the employer has allowed for obtaining the certificate, completing the application and waiting for a decision. If an ATAS certificate or other additional evidence is required, that preparation also needs time.

A useful plan identifies who will confirm each step and what will happen if the decision is delayed. The offer should not depend on an immigration timetable that nobody has checked.

For moves involving a business transfer, restructuring or TUPE protection, different arrangements may apply. Those circumstances should be assessed separately from an ordinary move to a new employer.

You can apply while still working for your current employer

You do not normally need to leave your existing job before submitting the change-of-employer application.

Provided you apply before your current permission expires, you can generally continue working in your existing sponsored job while the application is being considered. This allows the new application to progress while your current employment continues.

Whether to give notice before the decision is a separate practical question.

Resigning early may help meet the new employer’s preferred start date, but it can leave you without employment income if the application takes longer than expected. Waiting for approval may reduce that uncertainty, although the notice period then needs to fit the new sponsorship arrangements.

Consider a hypothetical example. You have a four-week notice period and resign on the day you submit your application, expecting to start the new job immediately afterwards. If the decision has not arrived when those four weeks end, the new employer cannot simply treat submission as permission to employ you in the sponsored role.

Before resigning, understand which parts of the move are confirmed and which remain conditional. Check your employment contract separately, including notice obligations and any immigration-cost repayment clause.

Approval can still allow you to finish a contractual notice period

Receiving the new permission does not necessarily mean you must stop working for your previous employer that day.

The Skilled Worker conditions allow a person to work out a contractual notice period for a job they were lawfully working in on the date of the application. This can permit completion of an eligible notice period after the new permission is granted.

That provision is useful when planning the handover. It should not be treated as unrestricted permission to continue the old employment indefinitely or to work freely for both businesses.

The new sponsor must also consider the start-date requirements attached to its sponsorship. Once permission is granted, the worker should normally start within the applicable 28-day period. Where a longer delay is needed, sponsor reporting and an acceptable explanation may be required. A contractual notice period can be a relevant reason, but it should be addressed properly.

Agree the intended notice arrangements with the new employer before applying. If the notice period is lengthy, do not leave the sponsor to discover that after approval.

The objective is a lawful handover with dates both employers understand.

Wait for permission before starting the new sponsored role

A Certificate of Sponsorship is evidence supporting the application. It is not permission to start work.

The change-of-employment application must be approved, and the new employer must complete the appropriate right-to-work checks, before you begin the new sponsored role. An application acknowledgement or payment receipt does not replace that approval.

Do not assume that work becomes permissible because it is described as induction, training or a trial shift. If the business expects you to perform work before approval, establish whether your current permission independently allows that activity.

Supplementary employment has its own conditions. It should not be assumed to authorise the start of the new main job.

The new employer’s onboarding team should know that the start date depends on immigration permission. Recruitment, HR and the sponsor-management team need a shared understanding of when you can begin.

Once approval arrives, check the decision and immigration status details promptly so that any discrepancy can be addressed before it disrupts the move.

If the old job ends first, check the actual immigration deadline

Sometimes employment ends before a new application is ready. This may follow resignation, redundancy or dismissal.

The sponsor must report that it has stopped sponsoring the worker. That reporting duty is separate from the Home Office’s decision about the worker’s permission. The employer’s report does not itself create a new visa or a guaranteed period in which to find another job.

Do not assume that everyone automatically receives 60 days from their last working day. Cancellation decisions depend on the circumstances, and the Home Office cannot use cancellation to extend permission beyond its original expiry date.

Read any cancellation notice carefully and establish the effective deadline. If no notice has arrived, do not assume that the original visa expiry date makes it safe to postpone planning.

If your employment has already ended, the immediate priorities are your current immigration position, the new sponsor’s readiness and whether a valid application can be made in time.

A planned move is easier to coordinate before the existing employment ends.

Changing employer involves a new application cost

An ordinary change of sponsor involves a new Skilled Worker application. It is not simply an administrative transfer of the unused time on your existing visa.

At the rates checked for this article, the in-country application fees are:

The relevant category and sponsorship period determine which fee applies.

Ordinary Skilled Worker applicants also usually pay the Immigration Health Surcharge at £1,035 per adult per year, calculated for the relevant period. Eligible Health and Care Worker applicants and qualifying dependants are exempt.

Allow separately for any optional priority service, professional fees and family applications that are being made.

The amount you need upfront can therefore be substantial, even where your current permission still has time remaining. Confirm the proposed sponsorship period and payment arrangements before submitting.

Check refunds and employer contributions separately

If you have paid the Immigration Health Surcharge twice for an overlapping period following a successful in-country application, a partial refund may be due.

The overlap must be at least six months, and the refund is rounded down to complete six-month periods. It is normally returned to the account or card used for the original payment. If your previous employer paid, that may be where the refund goes.

Moving to a surcharge-exempt route does not, by itself, qualify for this overlapping-payment refund.

Plan to meet the new payment upfront. An expected refund should not be treated as money already available for the application.

Employer sponsorship charges need separate treatment. The sponsor must pay the Skilled Worker Certificate of Sponsorship fee and any Immigration Skills Charge for which it is liable. Those charges cannot simply be passed to the sponsored worker.

Other payments, including arrangements concerning your visa fee or surcharge, should be clearly agreed. If your current employer seeks repayment when you leave, identify exactly what the demand covers and review the contractual position before accepting it.

Our article on who pays sponsorship costs explains why the different charges should be considered individually.

Allow for processing time and restrictions while waiting

The published standard processing time for an in-country Skilled Worker application is usually eight weeks. Health and Care Worker applications normally have a three-week standard.

The processing period generally begins once the relevant identity and evidence steps have been completed. Further checks can make the application take longer. A faster service may be available, but it should not be assumed when promising a start date.

If a valid application is made before your current permission expires and remains undecided at expiry, section 3C can extend your existing permission and conditions. It does not give you the work rights requested in the new application.

Travel can also affect the position. Leaving the Common Travel Area normally withdraws a pending application for permission to stay. If you are relying on section 3C, leaving the UK ends that leave.

Keep the application acknowledgement, respond to Home Office requests and make sure both employers understand any delay that affects the handover.

Your partner and children do not necessarily need to apply immediately

A change of employer does not normally require every dependant to submit a new application on the same day.

Your partner’s or child’s existing permission generally remains valid until its original end date. They can usually apply alongside you or before their own permission expires, provided they continue to qualify.

Your new grant does not automatically extend their permission. Each family member’s expiry date still needs attention.

Whether to apply together is therefore a household planning decision. Consider the existing expiry dates, application costs, intended travel and the length of your new sponsorship.

If the move involves a care occupation or a medium-skilled job, check the dependant restrictions and any transitional provisions before accepting the role. Eligibility for your own visa does not automatically establish eligibility for future dependant applications.

Our dependant visa guidance explains the wider family considerations.

Changing sponsor does not normally restart your settlement period

You do not normally need to remain with one employer throughout the qualifying period for Skilled Worker settlement.

Qualifying residence can continue across a properly managed change of sponsor. The current rules focus on the relevant permission and continuous residence, rather than requiring five years with the same business. A new employer does not, by itself, restart the five-year calculation.

That does not make the settlement assessment automatic. The relevant residence, salary and other requirements still need to be met, and the employer supporting the settlement application must confirm the required ongoing employment position.

If you are close to settlement, review the timing before changing jobs. Establish whether settlement is already available, whether the proposed role supports the future requirements and what additional application costs the move creates.

Our indefinite leave to remain guidance provides the wider starting point.

Make the move with a clear handover plan

Before committing to your last working day, establish that the new sponsor is ready, the role qualifies, the costs are understood and the application timetable fits your current permission.

Then coordinate the notice period and new start date around the decision and the applicable work conditions.

Knightsbridge can assess the proposed change of employer, review the sponsorship and application requirements, and help identify how the move affects your family and settlement plans.

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