A Skilled Worker visa allows you to work in the UK in a specific sponsored job. If you want to move to a different employer, you cannot transfer your existing visa. A new application is required before you can start the new sponsored role.

You must apply to update your Skilled Worker visa if your new job is with a different employer. Your new employer must be an approved sponsor, your new job must meet the relevant Skilled Worker requirements, and you need a new Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) before you apply.

If you are considering changing jobs, our Skilled Worker Visa Support page can help you organise your questions and understand your next step.

Can You Change Employer on a Skilled Worker Visa?

Yes.

Holding a Skilled Worker visa does not mean that you have to remain with the same employer for the entire period originally granted.

However, your immigration permission is linked to your sponsored employment. If you move to a different employer, you must make a new application to update your Skilled Worker permission before starting the new sponsored job.

Your new employer must:

  • Hold an appropriate Home Office sponsor licence
  • Offer you an eligible job at the correct skill level
  • Assign you a new Certificate of Sponsorship
  • Sponsor you on terms that meet the applicable Skilled Worker requirements

The Home Office considers a change-of-employment application against the Skilled Worker requirements rather than automatically approving it because you already hold a Skilled Worker visa.

Do You Need a New Skilled Worker Visa Application?

You need to apply to update your visa if:

  • You change to a job with a different employer
  • Your job with your existing employer changes to a different occupation code, unless a relevant exception applies
  • You move from a job on the Immigration Salary List to a job that is not on the list in circumstances requiring a change-of-employment application

The application is commonly described as updating your Skilled Worker visa or making a change-of-employment application.

You remain within the Skilled Worker route, but the Home Office needs to approve the new sponsorship and employment.

Do You Need a New Certificate of Sponsorship?

Yes.

If you are changing employer, your new sponsor must assign you a new Certificate of Sponsorship, commonly called a CoS.

A CoS is an electronic sponsorship record containing information about your new job and sponsor. It is not a physical certificate.

The Home Office guidance states that a change-of-employment applicant must provide a new CoS from the new sponsor and meet the suitability and eligibility requirements of the route.

Your new employer should therefore confirm that it holds the correct sponsor licence and can assign your CoS before you make plans based on changing jobs.

Does Your New Employer Need a Sponsor Licence?

Yes.

Your new employer must be approved by the Home Office to sponsor Skilled Workers.

An ordinary job offer from an employer that does not hold the required sponsor licence is not enough to support a Skilled Worker application.

If the employer is not currently an approved sponsor, it would first need to obtain the relevant sponsor licence before it could sponsor you.

This is worth checking early in the recruitment process, particularly if an employer has little previous experience of employing sponsored workers.

Does the New Job Have to Be Eligible?

Yes.

Your new job must meet the Skilled Worker eligibility requirements that apply to your application.

Under the current rules, the job must have an eligible occupation code and meet the applicable skill and salary requirements.

Changes introduced from July 2025 mean occupation eligibility also depends on the skill level of the role and, for some medium-skilled occupations, whether the role appears on an applicable list or the worker qualifies under transitional arrangements.

You should therefore check the new job’s occupation code, rather than assuming that any role offered by a licensed sponsor qualifies.

What If Your New Job Is Classed as Medium Skilled?

Special rules apply to occupations classified as medium skilled.

Under the current GOV.UK rules, if the occupation code for your new job is medium skilled, you can update your Skilled Worker visa under the transitional provision if:

  • The Certificate of Sponsorship for your first Tier 2 or Skilled Worker visa was issued before 22 July 2025
  • You have continuously held one or more Skilled Worker visas since then

For workers outside those transitional arrangements, medium-skilled jobs are only eligible in the circumstances specified in the Immigration Rules, including where the occupation is on the Immigration Salary List or Temporary Shortage List.

This is one area where your immigration history can materially affect whether a new job is eligible.

Does the New Job Have to Meet the Salary Requirement?

Yes.

The salary offered for your new sponsored job must meet the Skilled Worker salary rules applicable to your circumstances.

Under the current standard rules, the salary requirement for many Skilled Worker applications is the higher of:

  • £41,700 per year
  • The relevant going rate for the occupation

However, the Immigration Rules contain alternative salary provisions for some applicants, including certain people with relevant qualifications or characteristics, workers in specified healthcare or education roles and workers covered by transitional arrangements.

Workers who received the CoS for their first Tier 2 or Skilled Worker visa before 4 April 2024 and have continuously held qualifying Skilled Worker permission since then can also be subject to different salary provisions when updating their visa.

For a more detailed explanation, see our guide to Skilled Worker Visa Salary Requirements Explained.

Can You Accept a Lower Salary With Your New Employer?

Only if your new job still satisfies the salary rules that apply to your application.

You cannot assume that because your existing Skilled Worker visa was granted at a particular salary, the same salary will be sufficient for a new job.

A change-of-employment application is assessed under the relevant rules, including any transitional provisions you qualify for.

Under the current standard framework, some applicants can qualify at salaries below £41,700 where a permitted salary option applies, but the relevant minimum salary and percentage of the going rate must still be met.

The correct calculation depends on the occupation, salary option and applicant’s circumstances.

When Should You Apply to Update Your Visa?

You can apply to update your Skilled Worker visa up to three months before the start date of your new job.

You must also make the application before your existing immigration permission expires if you are making an in-time application from within the UK.

Ideally, the sequence will be:

  1. Receive the new job offer
  2. Confirm that the employer is an appropriate Skilled Worker sponsor
  3. Confirm the occupation code and salary
  4. Receive the new Certificate of Sponsorship
  5. Submit the Skilled Worker update application
  6. Wait for confirmation of the new permission before starting the new sponsored job

The timing of your notice period and proposed start date should take the immigration process into account.

Can You Start Your New Job Before the New Visa Is Approved?

You should not start the new sponsored job until you have confirmation of your new immigration permission. GOV.UK states this expressly for Skilled Workers updating their visa because of a change of job or employer.

This is particularly important if your new employer wants you to start immediately after your notice period ends.

Receiving a new CoS or submitting the visa application does not itself give you permission to begin the new sponsored employment.

The safest recruitment timetable should therefore allow for the immigration application to be decided before the new role begins.

Can You Keep Working for Your Existing Employer While You Wait?

Yes, provided you made the new application before your existing visa expired.

GOV.UK states that you can continue working in your current job while the new application is being considered. You can also continue working for your existing employer while completing your notice period.

This can allow a worker to remain employed while waiting for the Home Office to decide the change-of-employment application.

Your current work must continue to comply with the conditions of your existing permission.

Should You Resign Before the New Visa Is Approved?

Immigration rules do not require you to resign before submitting a change-of-employment application.

From a practical perspective, however, applicants should understand the consequences of leaving their existing sponsored employment before the new application has been approved.

Your current sponsor has Home Office reporting duties if your sponsored employment ends earlier than expected. The Home Office can then consider cancelling your existing permission because the sponsored employment has ceased.

For this reason, applicants should coordinate:

  • Their contractual notice period
  • The new CoS
  • The visa application
  • The proposed new start date
  • Their existing immigration expiry date

Professional immigration support may be appropriate where employment has already ended and the applicant has not yet secured new sponsorship.

What Happens to Your Visa If You Lose Your Sponsored Job?

Losing your job does not mean that your Skilled Worker permission automatically disappears on your final day of employment.

However, your sponsor must report relevant changes to the Home Office, and withdrawal or cessation of sponsorship can lead the Home Office to cancel your remaining permission.

Current Home Office cancellation guidance states that caseworkers must consider cancelling permission so that 60 days remain where a sponsored worker has ceased work, unless immediate cancellation or a different expiry date is appropriate. Permission cannot be extended beyond its original expiry date.

This means the often-used phrase “you always get 60 days to find another job” is not technically correct.

The Home Office considers cancellation, and the period remaining depends on the decision and the amount of permission you already have left.

If you receive a cancellation notice, check the new expiry date stated in that notice rather than assuming that you have a fixed 60-day period.

What If You Find a New Sponsor After Losing Your Job?

If you find an eligible new sponsored job while you still have valid permission, you can make the appropriate Skilled Worker application from within the UK if you meet the requirements.

The new employer will need to assign a CoS and the new role must meet the applicable eligibility and salary rules.

Timing becomes particularly important if the Home Office has already issued a cancellation notice shortening your existing permission.

You should make any required application before your current immigration permission expires.

What If You Change Jobs With the Same Employer?

You do not automatically need a new visa application every time your duties, title or salary change.

If you remain with the same employer and move into another job within the same occupation code, you do not generally need to make a change-of-employment application, provided the other relevant conditions remain satisfied.

However, you must apply to update your visa if your new role has different core duties that place it in a different occupation code, unless a specific exception applies.

The actual duties matter more than simply changing the wording of a job title.

For example, a promotion does not necessarily require a new application if the role remains within the same occupation code and continues to satisfy the Skilled Worker requirements.

What If You Receive a Pay Rise?

A straightforward increase in basic pay does not require you to submit a new Skilled Worker application solely because your salary has increased.

Home Office caseworker guidance identifies basic pay increases as a change that can take place without a fresh change-of-employment application.

Your sponsor can still have reporting responsibilities depending on the change.

A reduction in salary requires more care because the job must continue to satisfy the salary and sponsorship conditions applying to your permission.

What If Your Salary Is Reduced?

Some salary reductions may be permitted without a new Skilled Worker application where the circumstances fall within the exceptions in the Immigration Rules and the worker continues to meet the applicable requirements.

The rules also contain specific provisions for certain temporary absences and phased returns to work for individual health reasons.

A salary reduction that causes the sponsored job to fall below the required salary level can create immigration problems.

Workers should therefore check the immigration consequences before agreeing to a permanent reduction in pay or hours.

What If Your Employer Is Taken Over?

A corporate takeover or transfer does not necessarily require the worker to submit a new Skilled Worker application.

Home Office guidance contains provisions dealing with workers moving under:

  • The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations, commonly known as TUPE
  • Equivalent statutory transfer arrangements
  • Specified public-sector staff transfer arrangements

Where the relevant conditions are met, a TUPE or other qualifying business transfer may not require the worker to make a new change-of-employment application. The employers may instead have sponsorship reporting and licensing obligations in relation to the transfer.

Can You Have a Second Job on a Skilled Worker Visa?

Yes, subject to the conditions of your Skilled Worker permission.

Current Home Office guidance permits supplementary employment for up to 20 hours per week, outside the working hours of the sponsored job, where the additional role falls within an eligible occupation under the applicable rules.

You must remain employed in your sponsored job for the supplementary-work provision to apply, subject to the specific GP trainee provision in the guidance.

If the additional employment does not qualify as permitted supplementary work – for example because it involves more than 20 hours per week – a further application and additional sponsorship can be required.

A second job is therefore different from leaving your sponsored employer entirely.

What Happens If Your Second Job Is More Than 20 Hours a Week?

You must apply to update your visa if you take on a second sponsored job involving more than 20 paid hours per week in addition to your existing sponsored employment.

The second job must meet the relevant eligibility requirements, and you need a new CoS for that employment.

If approved, your permission can cover both sponsored jobs.

This is sometimes called secondary employment.

Do Your Partner and Children Need to Update Their Visas?

Your dependant partner or children do not automatically receive updated immigration permission because your own Skilled Worker application has changed.

GOV.UK states that dependants must make separate applications to update their visas. They can apply at the same time as you or before their existing permission expires.

Changes to the worker’s occupation can also affect whether a partner or child is eligible to apply or remain as a dependant, so the rules applying to the new occupation should be checked separately.

This is particularly important if your new job has a different occupation code from your previous role.

Will Changing Employer Reset Your Five Years for ILR?

Changing from one qualifying Skilled Worker employer to another does not, by itself, reset the five-year qualifying period for Skilled Worker settlement.

Appendix Skilled Worker requires a five-year continuous qualifying period and allows qualifying time on the Skilled Worker route, together with certain other specified settlement routes, to count towards that period.

You must still meet the continuous residence and settlement requirements when you eventually apply for indefinite leave to remain.

Changing employer therefore does not mean you necessarily have to start another five years from zero.

What Happens to Your ILR Plans When You Change Employer?

If you are approaching settlement, changing employer requires additional consideration.

At settlement stage, your most recent Skilled Worker sponsor must:

  • Still be approved by the Home Office
  • Confirm that it requires you to work for it for the foreseeable future
  • Confirm that you are and will continue to be paid at least the applicable settlement salary

A job move shortly before an ILR application does not automatically prevent settlement, but your new employment and sponsorship must satisfy the requirements in force when you apply.

How Much Does It Cost to Update a Skilled Worker Visa?

As of August 2026, the standard fee for an application made inside the UK to extend, switch or update a Skilled Worker visa is:

  • £943 where the period covered is three years or less
  • £1,865 where the period is more than three years

Lower application fees apply where the sponsored job is on the Immigration Salary List. The current fees in those cases are:

  • £628 for up to three years
  • £1,235 for more than three years

Different fees apply to qualifying Health and Care Visa applications.

The Immigration Health Surcharge is also payable for most Skilled Worker applications unless an exemption applies. GOV.UK currently states that the standard surcharge is usually £1,035 per year.

Fees can change, so applicants should check the current GOV.UK figures before applying.

Do You Need to Show Maintenance Funds Again?

If you have already been living in the UK with valid permission for at least 12 months at the date of your application, you automatically meet the Skilled Worker financial requirement and do not need to show the standard maintenance funds.

If you are not exempt from the financial requirement, you will normally need to show funds of £1,270.

The requirement can be met by:

  • Holding the required funds for the prescribed 28-day period
  • Having an A-rated sponsor certify maintenance where the requirements are met

Many workers changing employer will already have lived in the UK for more than 12 months, but this should be checked against the applicant’s actual immigration history.

How Long Does a Change-of-Employer Application Take?

GOV.UK currently states that a decision on an in-country Skilled Worker update application is usually made within eight weeks.

The application can take longer where, for example:

  • Supporting documents need to be verified
  • An interview is required
  • The applicant’s personal circumstances require further consideration

Priority or super priority services can be available for eligible applications, subject to availability.

Processing times are not guaranteed decision dates.

Can You Travel While Your New Skilled Worker Application Is Pending?

No.

Once you have submitted an in-country Skilled Worker update application, you must not travel outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man before a decision is made.

If you do, your application will be withdrawn.

This is a fixed consequence and should be considered before booking holidays, business trips or family visits during a job change.

What Documents Might You Need?

A change-of-employment application can require information or evidence including:

  • Your passport or identity document
  • Your new Certificate of Sponsorship reference number
  • Details of your new employer
  • Your new occupation code
  • Information about your salary
  • Evidence relating to maintenance funds where required
  • Evidence of qualifications where relied upon for a salary provision
  • Other documents required by your particular circumstances

How you prove your identity depends on your nationality, passport and application. You can be asked either to use the UK Immigration: ID Check app or provide biometric information through the relevant application service.

The documents required should be checked against the circumstances of the new application rather than copied from the worker’s original Skilled Worker application.

Common Mistakes When Changing Skilled Worker Employer

Problems can arise where applicants:

  • Resign before understanding the effect on their sponsorship
  • Assume their existing visa automatically transfers to the new employer
  • Start the new sponsored job before receiving approval
  • Accept an offer from an employer that does not hold the correct sponsor licence
  • Use the wrong occupation code
  • Assume the salary requirements from their previous job automatically apply to the new one
  • Overlook transitional rules connected with the date of their first CoS
  • Assume every medium-skilled occupation remains eligible
  • Fail to coordinate their notice period and proposed new start date
  • Travel abroad while their application is pending
  • Assume that losing their job automatically gives them a guaranteed 60-day period to find another sponsor

Checking the immigration requirements before finalising the job move can help identify problems before the existing sponsored employment ends.

Visit our Skilled Worker Visa Support page to organise your questions and understand your next step.