Table Of Contents
- What is losing a job as a Sponsored Skilled Worker
- Losing a Job as a Sponsored Skilled Worker—What to Do Next
- Find a New Job and Apply for the Same Visa
- Switch to a Different Visa
- Leave the UK
- At the End
Losing a job as a sponsored skilled worker can create panic in your mind, as you may be grappling with the question of whether you will be able to remain in the UK. You would want to know your options (we are going to discuss them in this article) if you are losing your job for any reason. Losing your job as a skilled worker in the UK can significantly impact your immigration status. This is because the skilled worker visa is a sponsored route, which means you work for a sponsoring employer in the UK. Therefore, losing your job means your employer has ceased to sponsor you anymore, which will immediately affect your leave to remain in the UK.
In most cases, you will need to consider finding an alternate job and applying for the same visa, or switching to another visa as a matter of urgency; otherwise, you will need to leave the UK.
What is losing a job as a Sponsored Skilled Worker?
Are you currently working in the UK under a UK skilled worker visa (or its predecessor, the Tier 2 (General) work visa)? If yes, your visa’s validity will usually depend on the fact that you remain employed by the same sponsor and continue to work in the same role for which you were granted permission as a skilled worker.
If you are losing your job because, for example, you are being made redundant, dismissed, or you are resigning from your job, this is likely to curtail the validity of your visa and your leave to remain in the UK.
Your employer must notify the Home Office that your employment with them has ended.
Losing a Job as a Sponsored Skilled Worker—What to Do Next?
Your employer has to notify the Home Office within 10 working days of the termination of your job with them. Losing your job also means that your employer has ceased to sponsor you. Once your employer has notified the Home Office, the Home Office may curtail your visa. The Home Office will usually give you 60 days or until your visa’s original expiry date, whichever is shorter, to:
- Find employment with another approved sponsor and apply for a new Skilled Worker Visa; or
- Leave the UK so that you don’t overstay in the UK and breach immigration rules.
Here are your options after losing a job as a sponsored skilled worker.
1. Find a New Job and Apply for the Same Visa
Did you lose your job under a Skilled Worker visa or the older Tier 2 (General) work visa? Well, if yes, you may be able to continue to remain in the UK on the same visa type, provided you get an alternative eligible job role with a different licensed sponsor and apply for fresh leave to remain within the permitted period. Importantly, if you lose your job when you are in the UK on a Tier 2 (General) work visa, you can still apply for a change of employment under the UK Skilled Worker route.
However, under the Skilled Worker Immigration rules, if you change your job with a different employer, you will need to apply to the Home Office to update your grant of leave as a skilled worker.
Your new job must meet the skills and salary threshold requirements for the same category of visa. Your prospective employer must assign you a fresh CoS (Certificate of Sponsorship), which is required to prove that your new job meets the relevant requirements under the Skilled Worker route. You will also need to submit other evidence, such as proof of financial means to support yourself without recourse to public funds (this is only required if you have been in the UK for less than 12 months) and proof of your knowledge of English when you apply.
You can negotiate any notice period with your existing employer in your current job while the Home Office is still assessing your new application, as long as you have applied to the Home Office before the expiry date of your existing leave.
However, until the Home Office approves your application for the skilled worker route, you must not start your new job. You must also not travel outside the UK until you get a decision on your application from the Home Office. If you do so, your application may be withdrawn. You should usually get a decision from the Home Office within 8 weeks after submitting your visa application.
2. Switch to a Different Visa
If you are unable to secure an alternative eligible job role with a different employer (the new employer must be a licensed sponsor), you may consider switching to a different work visa, such as the UK Innovator Founder Visa.
You may also be eligible to apply for different visa routes, for example,
- A spouse visa if you are married to or in a civil partnership with a person who is either a British citizen or has settled status in the UK, and you meet the other requirements of the visa, or
- A student visa if you have received the offer of a place on a course of study by a licensed student sponsor in the UK, and you can pay for that course. You must again meet the other requirements of a student visa.
Whichever visa option you choose, you must meet all the relevant eligibility requirements for that visa and submit the correct supporting documents to avoid the risk of visa refusal. You must also submit your new visa application before your existing leave to remain in the UK expires or 60 days, whichever is shorter, to avoid being an overstayer. If you apply within the time, this will allow you to stay in the UK until the Home Office decides on your application, even if your leave expires during this period.
3. Leave the UK
After losing a job as a sponsored skilled worker, it is for you to decide whether to look for alternative employment and apply for the same visa route, switch to another visa, or make arrangements to leave the UK. You may feel it is the right time to return to your home country or move to a new country if your contract of work with your employer may have reached the end in any event, or for various other reasons. However, whether you decide to make a fresh application to the Home Office for further leave to remain or leave the UK, you must do it within the permitted time period.
If you overstay in the UK, you will be at risk of deportation. At the same time, it may also affect your ability to make a UK visa application in the future, even if you make an application from outside the UK.
Overstaying may also lead to you being banned from re-entering the UK for a long period of time, despite leaving the UK at your own expense.
At the End
Losing a job as a sponsored skilled worker can raise questions in your mind about your immediate course of action. You should consider carefully, as you are given some time to take action. These actions include:
- Finding an alternate job with another approved sponsor in the UK and then applying for the skilled worker visa again; or
- Switching to another visa, or
- Leaving the country before your existing leave to remain expires, or 60 days after your employer has notified the Home Office about the termination of your job, whichever is shorter.
You should seek expert advice as soon as possible from a UK immigration law expert. They will offer you a solution tailored to your circumstances, which can help to maximise the chances of you being able to stay in the UK after losing your job.
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