Changing Jobs on a Skilled Worker Visa: When You Need a New CoS

Not every change at work needs a new visa application. Some do, some only need the sponsor to file a report, and some need nothing at all. Getting the category wrong is serious in both directions: an unnecessary application costs four figures, and a missing one can mean working without valid permission.

This guide sorts the common changes into the right buckets.

Changes that need a new application

GOV.UK states that you must apply to update your visa if:

• you want to change your job and your new job is with a different employer;
• your job changes to a different occupation code, and you are not in a graduate training programme; or
• you leave a job that is on the Immigration Salary List for a job that is not on the list.

Each of these requires a new Certificate of Sponsorship from the sponsor of the new role, and a new application, paid at the in-country rate.

Changing employer

The most common case, and the least ambiguous. A new legal employer means a new sponsor, a new CoS and a new application, even if the job title, the duties and the salary are identical.

Check the legal entity, not the brand. A move between two companies in the same group, or a rebrand that changes the employing entity, is still a change of employer if the name on the contract changes. Confirm the new entity holds a current licence for the route in question before you resign from anything.

Changing occupation code

A promotion or a lateral move within the same employer can still trigger an application, if the new role sits under a different four-digit occupation code. This surprises people, because nothing about the employer has changed.

The code follows the actual duties. A software developer moving into a management role, a nurse moving into a specialist clinical role, or a care worker moving into an administrative role may all be crossing a code boundary. Ask your employer which code it intends to use for the new role, in writing, before you accept.

The graduate training programme exception exists precisely because rotational schemes are designed to move people across roles. If you are on one, confirm with your sponsor that your programme falls within it.

Moving off the Immigration Salary List

If your current job is on the Immigration Salary List and your new job is not, you need a new application. The list affects both eligibility and which salary option is available to you, so leaving it changes the basis on which your permission was granted.

Changes that do not need a new application

GOV.UK is equally specific about what does not require one:

• you stay in the same job, but your job is taken off the Immigration Salary List. The list changing underneath you does not invalidate your permission;
• you stay with the same employer in the same occupation code, including an ordinary promotion or pay rise inside that code; and
• additional work of under 20 hours a week in an eligible occupation, alongside your sponsored role.

A pay rise inside the same code is a good example of a change that feels significant but is not an immigration event for you. It is, however, something your sponsor deals with on its side.

What your sponsor must report, even when you do not apply

Your sponsor has its own reporting duties, and they run in parallel to your application obligations. The Home Office sponsor guidance requires a sponsor to tell the Home Office within 10 working days if the worker's role changes after permission has been granted, and to report a reduction in salary through its sponsor management system. Absences and unauthorised absences have their own reporting thresholds.

Two practical points follow.

First, a salary reduction is not a private matter between you and your line manager. If a pay cut, a reduction in hours, or an unpaid arrangement takes your salary below the threshold that applies to your occupation code and salary option, it can put your permission at risk. Raise it before agreeing, not afterwards.

Second, if your duties drift substantially over time without anyone updating anything, the job on the CoS and the job you actually do can diverge. That gap is exactly what a compliance visit looks for.

The two mistakes that cost people their permission

Starting the new job too early

GOV.UK is explicit: "You should not start your new job until you've got confirmation of your new permission."

An offer letter is not permission. A submitted application is not permission. A new CoS is not permission. Employers, especially ones without much sponsorship experience, will sometimes push for an earlier start date because they do not understand this. The consequence of starting early falls on you as well as them.

Decisions on in-country applications are usually made within 8 weeks, so plan notice periods and start dates around that, and agree the start date in writing as conditional on the decision.

Travelling while the application is pending

GOV.UK states: "You must not travel outside of the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man until you get a decision. Your application will be withdrawn if you do."

Withdrawn, not paused. A family emergency, a wedding, or a conference booked months earlier will not preserve the application. If travel is genuinely unavoidable, take regulated advice before you book, not after.

Timing your move

A workable sequence looks like this.

1. Verify the new employer's exact legal entity holds a current sponsor licence for the route.
2. Confirm the occupation code the new employer will assign, and check the role and salary against the rules for that code.
3. Confirm the salary meets both parts of the salary option being used, after any adjustment for the weekly hours on the CoS.
4. Get the new CoS assigned.
5. Submit the application, then avoid all international travel until you have the decision.
6. Start the new job only once the new permission is confirmed.
7. Resign from your current role at the point in that sequence that keeps you covered, taking advice if the timing is tight.

For the eligibility checks at steps 2 and 3, our companion guides cover them in detail:

How to check if your job is still eligible for sponsorship

Skilled Worker salary thresholds explained

If the change is not voluntary

Redundancy, dismissal and sponsor licence revocation are different situations with their own deadlines, and the sequence above does not apply cleanly. If your employer's licence has been revoked, your permission may be curtailed and the clock is much shorter than a planned move.

Sponsor licence revoked: what to do in your 60 days

Search licensed sponsors before you move

Sources and verification

This guide was checked on 25 August 2026 against:

• GOV.UK: update your Skilled Worker visa if you change job or employer;
• Sponsor guidance Part 2: sponsor a worker, including the reporting duties on role and salary changes;
• Immigration Rules, Appendix Skilled Worker; and
• GOV.UK: register of licensed sponsors, workers.

This is general information, not legal advice. Whether a specific change requires a new application depends on the occupation codes involved and your own permission history. Confirm the current position on GOV.UK, and take regulated advice before resigning, starting a new role, or booking travel while an application is pending.