Losing Your Job As A Sponsored Skilled Worker
In This Article
1. Introduction to the Skilled Worker Route
2. I Am A Skilled Worker, How Long Do I Have to Decide What To Do?
3. Can I Switch to Another Visa Route?
4. Can I Stay on the Skilled Worker Route?
5. Will This Impact My Indefinite Leave to Remain Application?
6. Can I Travel in the Meantime?
7. Contact Our Immigration Barristers
8. Frequently Asked Questions
9. Glossary
10. Additional Resources
1. Introduction to the Skilled Worker Route
If you are currently on the Skilled Worker route, your permission to be in the UK is dependent on your employment, with the same employer and in the same role. This is also the case if you still have valid permission under the historic Tier 2 (General) worker route.
Therefore, if your employment ends this will impact your permission to stay in the UK. The impact on your permission is the same no matter how your employment was terminated.
2. I Am A Skilled Worker, How Long Do I Have to Decide What To Do?
Your employer, as the holder of a sponsor licence, will need to report that they have stopped sponsoring you as a worker to UK Visas and Immigration within 10 working days of termination of employment. This is done using the Sponsor Management System.
The employer would need to report this change for any reason that they have ceased to sponsor the worker, including the following examples (from the employer’s perspective):
- you become aware the worker’s application for entry clearance or permission has been refused, or their permission has been cancelled, and any administrative review of, or appeal against, that decision has finally been determined
- the worker decides not to take up the post, or you withdraw the job offer
- the worker’s contract of employment or contract for services ends earlier than the date shown on their CoS
- any professional registration or accreditation the worker is legally required to hold to work in the UK in their sponsored employment (such as GMC registration for a doctor) is withdrawn
- the worker is absent from work without pay, or on reduced pay, for more than 4 weeks and this absence is not covered by any of the exceptions specified in section S4 of Part 2: Sponsor a worker •
- you become aware the worker has been granted settlement (indefinite leave to remain), or permission on an immigration route that does not require sponsorship
- the worker resigns or is dismissed, or is made redundant
- we tell you a change in the details of the worker’s employment or salary you have reported is not permitted
Please note that there are additional duties for Sponsors relating to offshore workers.
Your permission on the Skilled Worker route can then be cancelled or curtailed as you would cease to meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules under which you were granted. This is the case if, for example:
- You do not start working for your sponsor; or
- You or your sponsor confirm that your employment, volunteering, training or job shadowing has ceased or will cease before the end date recorded on the Certificate of Sponsorship; or
- The start date for the job, as recorded in the Certificate of Sponsorship, is delayed by more than 28 days; or
- You cease to work for your sponsor.
Following this, you will receive a letter cancelling or curtailing your leave which sets out that you have typically 60 days following the end of your employment to make arrangements, or until the end of your visa, generally whichever is shorter. The 60 days will start from receipt of this letter. In some circumstances, leave can be cancelled immediately but this would be in exceptional circumstances.
Generally, it is best to look for a new job or suitable immigration route as a matter of urgency if you wish to stay in the UK.
3. Can I Switch to Another Visa Route?
There are various business immigration routes you may wish to consider, depending on your circumstances, including:
- Global Talent route – this is for talented or promising individuals working in the fields of science, engineering, medicine, humanities, digital technology and arts and culture.
- Scale-Up route – this requires sponsorship from a company with a Scale-up sponsorship, a highly skilled job offer at the required salary level
- Innovator Founder route – this is for those wishing to establish a business in the UK. You would need an innovative, viable and scalable business idea to gain endorsement from an endorsing body.
You may also wish to consider a personal immigration route, including the spouse route, unmarried partner route or a student visa.
4. Can I Stay on the Skilled Worker Route?
You may be able to stay on the Skilled Worker route by finding a new employer willing to sponsor you. The employer will need a sponsor licence and they should issue and allocate you a certificate of sponsorship. You can then make the immigration application to obtain permission to work in your new job.
You would need to demonstrate that the job is a genuine vacancy, at the appropriate skill level and that it meets the salary requirements. You can find further information on the eligibility requirements for the Skilled Worker route in our article UK Skilled Worker visa.
It is also worth noting that it is possible to set up a business in the UK, or if you own an existing one, which can sponsor you, known as self-sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route. The company would need to first obtain a sponsor licence.
Whether you are staying on the same route or switching to another, it is crucial that the application is submitted prior to the expiry of your existing permission. Once the application is submitted, your permission is automatically extended under section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971, until a decision is made.
5. Will This Impact My Indefinite Leave to Remain Application?
Yes, it may impact your prospects of applying for indefinite leave to remain. You can apply for indefinite leave to remain if you have been in the UK for a 5 year continuous period as a Skilled Worker or under the historic Tier 2 (general) work route. This time can be spent on a combination of the two aforementioned routes, and other specified routes.
To apply for indefinite leave to remain as a Skilled Worker, your employer, who continues to sponsor you, must confirm you are still required to work for them and will be paid a minimum salary for the foreseeable future. This would therefore be challenging to obtain should sponsorship cease.
If you switch to another route, you should check whether you can combine your time spent in the UK with permission under the Skilled Worker route to count towards a settlement application. Alternatively, you may eventually be eligible for indefinite leave to remain on the basis of long residence.
6. Can I Travel in the Meantime?
If you have submitted an immigration application, it is not advisable to travel because of the added element of risk when returning depending on the timings. For example, a Border Officer may access your cancellation letter and not permit you re-entry to the UK as a worker. Further information can be found in our article about travelling outside the UK while waiting for an immigration decision.
If you are eligible to re-enter the UK using the e-gates, you will be entering as a visitor once your sponsorship has ended. As a visitor, your conditions of permission in the UK are different to that of a Skilled Worker.
There is of course the option to leave the UK. This should be done prior to your existing permission expiring to avoid overstaying. It may then be possible to make an entry clearance application at a later stage.
7. Contact Our Immigration Barristers
For expert advice and assistance in relation to options following losing a sponsored job, including a further Skilled Worker application or switching routes, contact our immigration barristers in London on 0203 617 9173 or via the enquiry form below.
