If you hold a Skilled Worker visa and want to work for a different employer, you must apply to update your visa, and you need a new certificate of sponsorship from the new employer to do it. You cannot simply hand in your notice and start. The Home Office guidance on updating your visa sets out the rule, and this guide explains what it means in practice: when you need to apply, how to time it, what it costs, and how to avoid the mistakes that leave people without legal status.
TL;DR
- A new employer means a new application. You need a new certificate of sponsorship (CoS) and must meet today’s eligibility rules, not the ones that applied when you first arrived.
- Apply up to 3 months before the new start date, and always before your current visa expires.
- Do not leave the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man while the application is pending, or it is treated as withdrawn.
- Changing employer does not reset your 5-year route to settlement, provided your permission stays continuous.
- Staying with the same employer in the same occupation code usually needs no application, but your employer must still report the change.
Table of Contents
- When you must apply to update your visa
- How the change of employment process works
- Timing: the rules that catch people out
- Eligibility: you are assessed as a new applicant
- What it costs
- Your family and your dependants
- Does changing employer affect settlement (ILR)?
- Other moves that look similar
- Our perspective: what we see go wrong
- Need help changing employer?
- FAQ
- Sources
When you must apply to update your visa
According to the GOV.UK page on changing job or employer, you need to update your Skilled Worker (or old Tier 2 General) visa in three situations:
- Your new job is with a different employer.
- Your core duties change so that the job falls under a different occupation code.
- You move from a role on the Immigration Salary List to one that is not on it.
The first is the one most readers search for, and the one with no exceptions. Even if the new company is part of the same group as your old one, check with the sponsor whether it holds its own licence and will issue its own CoS.
When you do not need to apply
Not every job change needs a new application. UKVI caseworker guidance indicates that if you stay with the same employer and your core duties remain within the same occupation code, you do not need to update your visa, although the employer must still notify the Home Office. That distinction matters, because it can save you an unnecessary fee and a pile of paperwork.
A promotion is the grey area. A new title or a pay rise is usually fine, but a promotion that changes your duties into a different occupation code is not. We cover this in more detail in our article on why a job promotion can need a visa update.
How the change of employment process works
The process is described as an update, but it behaves like a fresh application. The new job is assessed against the current rules, so the same scrutiny applies as when you first applied. In order, this is what happens:
- Find a licensed sponsor. Your new employer must hold a sponsor licence. If the role is in England in the care sector, the employer must also be registered with the Care Quality Commission, as the GOV.UK guidance states.
- Employer assigns the CoS. The employer issues a certificate of sponsorship for your role, with the occupation code, salary and start date. Our explainer on the certificate of sponsorship and the immigration skills charge shows what the employer has to pay and prepare.
- You check the job against the rules. The occupation must be eligible and the salary must meet the current threshold and the going rate for that code.
- You apply online. You submit the update application from inside the UK, with your CoS reference, passport details and supporting documents.
- You wait for a decision, usually while remaining in your current job or serving your notice.
In practice, the step where things most often slip is step 2. A new employer that is slow to issue a CoS, or unfamiliar with the process, can leave a gap between jobs. Ask early, in writing, and agree who is responsible for each step before you resign.
Timing: the rules that catch people out
Apply up to 3 months ahead
You can apply up to 3 months before the start date on your new CoS. You do not need to wait until you have left your old job. The guidance says you should stay in your current role, or work your notice, while the application is processed, provided you applied before your current visa expires.
Apply before your visa expires
This is the rule you cannot break. The application must be made before your current permission ends. If your visa is close to expiry, the change of employer application may double as your extension, and that affects how long your new grant lasts. If you are in this position, speak to a solicitor before you resign.
Do not start the new job early
Do not begin work for the new employer until the application is approved. Working for a different sponsor before the decision is a breach of your conditions. If you want to be certain about the date on which you can start, ask the Home Office decision to be confirmed in writing by your employer before you make any commitments.
Do not travel while the application is pending
If you leave the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man while the application is pending, it is treated as withdrawn. Many applicants plan a short holiday between jobs without realising this. Delay the trip until you have a decision.
Eligibility: you are assessed as a new applicant
The new role must meet the current Skilled Worker requirements. These are set out in the Skilled Worker “your job” page: an eligible occupation, an approved employer, and pay at or above the minimum required.
The general salary threshold in the research we checked is £41,700. Lower thresholds can apply to people under 26, recent graduates and certain roles, but they must still earn at least £33,400 a year. Thresholds change, and the going rate for your occupation code may be higher than the general figure, so check the latest government tables at the moment your new CoS is issued. Using an outdated figure is a common reason for refusal. Our guide to the £41,700 salary test explains how the discounts work, and the full Skilled Worker requirements guide covers the rest, including English language and maintenance.
A quick pre-resignation check
Before you hand in your notice, confirm each of these:
- The new employer’s licence is active and it can assign a CoS now, not “soon”.
- The occupation code on the CoS matches what you will actually do day to day.
- The salary on the CoS meets the current threshold and the going rate for that code.
- Your current visa has enough time left for you to apply before it expires.
- You have no travel booked outside the Common Travel Area while the decision is pending.
- Your dependants’ position has been checked (see below).
What it costs
There are two separate costs: the Home Office application fee and, if you instruct a solicitor, the legal fee.
The Home Office fee
According to the Home Office fees table dated 8 October 2026, the in-country Skilled Worker update fee is £943 for a visa of up to 3 years and £1,865 for more than 3 years. Each person pays their own, so family members applying as dependants pay separately. The research we checked found no extra charge for biometrics. Fees are revised regularly, and different rows of the table apply to different situations (for example, outside-UK applications or Immigration Salary List roles), so check the current table or the GOV.UK cost page for your own case. The same page explains what your employer may be able to cover instead.
Our legal fee
Our published fixed fee for a Skilled / Care Worker Visa application is £1,000, and each additional family member costs £400. A one-hour initial consultation is £120. The full list is on our fees page. Appeals and urgent applications are not priced on the site, so we confirm those individually.
Who pays?
Many employers pay the sponsor’s costs, such as the CoS and the immigration skills charge, and some contribute to the worker’s own application fee. Ask before you accept the offer, and get the answer in your contract or offer letter. Some employers also require you to repay costs if you leave early, so read that clause carefully.
Your family and your dependants
Dependants’ permission is tied to yours. If you change employer and your update is granted, your partner and children will normally need to be dealt with in the same process, and they pay their own fees. Do not assume their visas will carry on automatically. If you have dependants, work out the total cost and timing together before you commit to a start date. For help with family members on your application, see our fees page, where the additional-applicant fee is set out.
Does changing employer affect settlement (ILR)?
No, not by itself. The Home Office ILR guidance says you need 5 years in the UK on qualifying visas, including the Skilled Worker route, and a change of employer does not restart that clock. What matters is continuity. A gap in permission, or more than 180 days outside the UK in any rolling 12 months, can cause problems. The guidance on time in the UK sets out what counts towards the 5 years.
The earliest you can apply for settlement is 28 days before you reach the 5-year point. If you are approaching it, plan your job move around that date, because a new application in the months before ILR needs careful sequencing. Our five-year ILR checklist walks through the evidence you will need.
Other moves that look similar
Some readers arrive here from a different starting point:
- Student to Skilled Worker. The timing is different, and we explain the trap in our guide to switching from a Student visa.
- Graduate visa to Skilled Worker. Our article on moving from a Graduate visa covers it.
- Starting from a job offer. If you are coming from abroad, see our job offer visa guide.
If you are weighing a move to another country instead, the sponsorship logic is similar elsewhere. Australia, for example, has its own Australian skilled visa lawyers handling employer-sponsored routes. For the UK, the rules above are the ones that apply.
Our perspective: what we see go wrong
We handle every enquiry through a qualified solicitor from the first call, not a trainee, and in change of employer cases that matters because the mistakes are rarely about the form. They are about sequence.
The pattern we see is a worker who has a verbal offer, resigns, and only then discovers the new employer cannot issue a CoS for several weeks, or that the occupation code on the certificate does not match the real job. By then the pressure is on. Our advice is simple: no resignation until the CoS exists and the details on it have been checked against your actual duties and the current salary rules.
The second pattern is the short trip abroad. It feels harmless and it can end the application. The third is an assumption that a change of employer is a formality because you have been approved before. You are being assessed again, under today’s rules.
Where time is short, we offer a fast-track service that can prepare an application in as little as 24 hours. Speed only helps if the facts are right, so we check the CoS, the code and the salary first. Fixed fees mean you know our cost before we start.
— michelle
Need help changing employer?
If your visa is close to expiry, your new employer is unsure about the CoS, or you have a refusal in your history, a one-hour consultation with a solicitor can settle the plan before you resign. Our Skilled / Care Worker Visa service is a fixed £1,000 and the consultation is £120, as listed on our fees page. For tight deadlines, see our urgent visa service. If an application has been refused, we also act on immigration appeals. You can read more about what a solicitor does in skilled worker applications, or start from our home page.
FAQ
Can I change employer on a Skilled Worker visa?
Yes. You must apply to update your visa and provide a new certificate of sponsorship from the new employer. You must be approved before you start the new job, and you must apply before your current visa expires.
Do I need to apply again if my duties change but my employer stays the same?
Only if the change moves you into a different occupation code, or from an Immigration Salary List role to one that is not on it. If your duties stay in the same code, no application is needed, but your employer must still report the change to the Home Office.
How much does it cost to change employer?
The Home Office fee in the October 2026 table is £943 for up to 3 years and £1,865 for more than 3 years, per person. Our fixed legal fee for a Skilled / Care Worker Visa application is £1,000, with £400 for each additional family member.
Can I travel while my change of employer application is pending?
Not outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man. Leaving them causes the application to be treated as withdrawn, so postpone any trip until you have your decision.
Will changing employer delay my ILR?
Not if your permission stays continuous. Your 5-year period continues across employers, but gaps in status or long absences can cause problems, so check your dates before you apply for settlement.
Sources
- Update your visa if you change job or employer, GOV.UK
- Skilled Worker caseworker guidance, GOV.UK
- Skilled Worker visa: Your job, GOV.UK
- Home Office immigration and nationality fees, 8 October 2026, GOV.UK
- Skilled Worker visa: How much it costs, GOV.UK
- Indefinite leave to remain, Skilled Worker overview, GOV.UK
- ILR: Time in the UK, GOV.UK
Leave a Reply