Switching Your Sponsor in the UK

Switching your sponsor in the UK: how changing employer works, when you need a new Certificate of Sponsorship, and the mistakes to avoid.

Introduction

To switch visa sponsorship UK workers already living here must follow a different process from applying overseas: you need a new job with a new licensed sponsor, a new Certificate of Sponsorship, and a fresh visa application — and you must not start the new job until that application is granted. Many refusals and breaches happen because people resign or start work too early. This guide explains the in-UK switching steps, the timing traps, and how the rules treat care workers switching inside the UK honestly.

Who This Guide Is For

  • Skilled Worker visa holders who want to change employer
  • Skilled Worker visa holders changing to a different occupation code, even with the same employer
  • People on other UK visas considering switching into Skilled Worker from inside the UK
  • Care workers (SOC 6135/6136) already in the UK considering a move to a new sponsor

It is not for new overseas care worker applications — that route closed on 22 July 2025 (see Guide 7).

The Core Rule: New Sponsor = New Application

Your visa belongs to one sponsor and one role. Changing either of these key elements usually means:

  1. New job offer from a licensed (A-rated) sponsor
  2. New Certificate of Sponsorship for the new role
  3. New Skilled Worker application (update your visa) submitted before you start the new job
  4. Wait for a decision — your current visa continues on its existing conditions until then

You cannot simply "transfer" a CoS, carry it to another employer, or start on your old visa with a new employer.

Step-by-Step: Changing Employer from Inside the UK

Step 1 — Secure the new role properly. Confirm the new employer is on the sponsor register for the Worker route, A-rated, and the role meets the current salary rules (general threshold and going rate — see Guide 4). Get the offer, SOC code, and salary in writing.

Step 2 — Get your new CoS. Your new sponsor assigns an undefined CoS for in-UK applicants. Check every detail — name, passport, SOC code, salary, start date — before applying.

Step 3 — Apply online from inside the UK. Submit the "update your visa" / change of employment application and pay the fee Updating your visa because you changed sponsor costs £943 (3 years or less) or £1,865 (more than 3 years) when applying inside the UK. and health surcharge where it applies You must also pay the immigration health surcharge again for the new grant — £1,035 per year on the Skilled Worker route. Health and Care Worker visa holders are exempt from the surcharge.. Prove your identity as directed.

Step 4 — Keep working for your old sponsor — carefully. In most cases you can continue in your current sponsored job until your new visa starts, provided you have not left that employment. If you have already left, seek advice — gaps can affect you.

Step 5 — Start the new job only after approval. Your new start date is on your new visa / decision. Starting even one day early with the new employer is working in breach of conditions.

Switching INTO Skilled Worker from Another Visa

Whether you can switch in the UK depends on your current visa. As a general pattern:

  • Many work and study routes allow switching into Skilled Worker in the UK
  • Visitor visas do not allow switching into Skilled Worker from inside the UK — application must be made from abroad
  • Some short-term and dependant categories have specific restrictions

You cannot switch into Skilled Worker if you are in the UK on: a visit visa; a short-term student visa; a Parent of a Child Student visa; a Seasonal Worker visa; a domestic worker in a private household visa; immigration bail; or permission granted outside the Immigration Rules. Most other visa holders in the UK can switch, provided they meet the route requirements.

Always check your exact route — do not rely on someone else's experience on a different visa.

Care Workers Switching Inside the UK — The Honest Position

Overseas care worker sponsorship (SOC 6135/6136) closed on 22 July 2025, but that closure was for recruitment from overseas. Care workers already in the UK in sponsored roles are treated under transitional / in-UK provisions.

Key points to verify for your case:

  • Whether you can switch sponsor in the UK depends on your current visa, how long you have been in the role, and the current transitional wording If you are moving to a new sponsor as a care worker (6135) or senior care worker (6136), you must have been working legally in the UK for that sponsor for at least 3 months immediately before you apply. This 3-month condition does not apply if your last Skilled Worker permission was in occupation 6135 or 6136 and you have held continuous permission as a Skilled Worker since then.
  • Your new sponsor must still be properly licensed and, for care providers in England, meet any additional regulatory registration requirement in force confirmed as written: "Your employer must be registered with the Care Quality Commission if you are a care worker (6135) or senior care worker (6136) working in England.
  • Healthcare assistants (SOC 6131) — mainly NHS roles — are a different occupation and follow the normal Health and Care Worker rules, not the 6135/6136 closure

Because this area is changing, get regulated immigration advice (IAA/OISC) before resigning from a care sponsor.

Timing and Notice Period Traps

  • Do not resign before your new CoS is ready — if the new application fails, you may be left with no sponsor
  • Watch your current visa expiry: apply before it expires to protect your lawful status while the application is decided
  • Allow for the standard in-UK decision timeframe You will usually get a decision within 8 weeks of your application date (the day you applied online, or attended your biometrics appointment, whichever is later). — priority services may be available in some cases

FAQs

Can I work a second job for another employer while switching? Supplementary work is allowed only under strict conditions (same sector / shortage rules, hour limits, and outside your main job hours) and the rules differ by when your visa was granted. Check the current supplementary work rules on GOV.UK — never assume a second sponsored job is allowed without a new visa. You can do additional work of up to 20 hours a week alongside your sponsored job if the other job is in a higher-skilled eligible occupation code, is on the Immigration Salary List, or is in the same sector and at the same level as your sponsored job. Additional work in a medium-skilled occupation is only allowed if your first CoS was assigned before 22 July 2025 and you have held continuous Skilled Worker permission since. Working more than 20 extra hours requires an updated visa and a second CoS.

What happens to my dependants when I switch sponsor? Dependants usually need to apply to extend / update their leave in line with yours. Whether new dependants can join depends on the route and occupation — care worker dependant rules changed separately. Verify on GOV.UK for your SOC code. Your partner and children do not switch automatically — each dependant must apply to extend or switch before their current visa expires, so their permission stays aligned with yours. On the Health and Care Worker route, care workers (6135/6136) can only bring dependants if they have been continually employed as a care worker on a Health and Care Worker or Skilled Worker visa since before 11 March 2024, the child was born in the UK, they are the sole living parent, or the child's other parent is also a sponsored care worker; similar restrictions apply to medium-skilled jobs with a 22 July 2025 cut-off.

My new job has a different SOC code with the same employer. Is that a switch? Yes — a change of occupation code normally requires a new CoS and a new application, even if the employer stays the same.

Internal Links

Source: GOV.UK Register of Licensed Sponsors · Register updated 06 November 2026 · Page built 06 November 2026.