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Skilled Worker Visa
The Skilled Worker route ties your permission to a specific employer and a specific role. What that means for you later depends on decisions taken now.
A Skilled Worker visa is sponsored permission to do a particular job for a particular employer. Eligibility depends on the role, the salary, your English language ability and your sponsor holding a valid licence. Those are the requirements most guidance covers.
The questions that matter more over time are rarely about eligibility. They are about what happens when the job changes, when the employer restructures, when you want to move, and whether the time you are accruing counts towards settlement.
We advise on the application in front of you and on the position it creates.
Who this is for
- Workers holding an offer from a licensed sponsor
- Employees moving from another route into sponsored work
- Sponsored workers changing employer or role
- Workers whose sponsor has lost or may lose its licence
- Anyone weighing sponsored work against a longer-term settlement plan
Common questions
Can I change employer on a Skilled Worker visa?
Usually yes, but it requires a new sponsor, a new Certificate of Sponsorship and a further application. Timing matters: the gap between roles, and when your current permission expires, can affect both your right to work and your continuous residence. Take advice before resigning.
Does time on a Skilled Worker visa count towards settlement?
Time in the route generally counts towards the qualifying period, provided the conditions of your permission are met throughout. Absences, gaps between sponsors and periods in other routes can affect the calculation, which is why the record matters as much as the time.
What happens if my employer loses its sponsor licence?
Your permission is normally curtailed and you are given a limited period to find a new sponsor, move to another route where you qualify, or leave. That period is short, so your position needs assessing immediately rather than waiting for the outcome of your employer’s own matter.
Can I bring my partner and children?
Dependants can usually apply, either at the same time or later. Their permission is tied to yours, so decisions you take about your own route affect theirs.
What are the salary requirements?
Salary and going-rate requirements are set out in the Immigration Rules and are revised periodically, sometimes significantly. We check the position in force at the date of your application rather than relying on figures published earlier.
This page is general information and is not advice on your circumstances. Immigration Rules and Home Office guidance change; where a specific requirement, fee or threshold affects a decision you are taking, check the position in force at that date or ask us. Information on this page last reviewed August 2026.
Sponsored work is a five-year decision, not a one-year permission.
Book a consultation for advice on your own position, or send an enquiry if you would rather speak to us first.