What Happens to Your Skilled Worker Visa if Your Employer Goes Bust
If your sponsor becomes insolvent, your Skilled Worker visa is not cancelled at once, but it is usually curtailed to 60 days. This guide explains your rights and your options.
- Section
- Skilled Worker Visa
- Reading time
- 9 min
- Last checked
- 2 September 2026
- Source
- The published Immigration Rules and GOV.UK guidance, linked throughout this guide.
- Rowan does not
- Look at your own case, tell you which route to choose, or say what the Home Office will decide. This guide shows the published rules and where to read them.
In short
- Your visa is not cancelled the instant your sponsor becomes insolvent.
- The sponsor or insolvency practitioner must report it, and the licence usually lapses.
- The Home Office normally curtails your visa to 60 days.
- In that window you can find a new sponsor, switch route, or leave.
- Act fast, because the 60-day clock can start with little warning.
When your sponsor goes insolvent, your Skilled Worker visa is not cancelled automatically. The sponsor or the insolvency practitioner must report it, the sponsor licence usually lapses, and the Home Office normally curtails your visa to 60 days. In that window you can find a new sponsor, switch to another route, or leave.
What "insolvent" means for your sponsor
Insolvent means your employer can no longer pay its debts. The company may go into administration, liquidation, or simply stop trading. When this happens, the business that holds your sponsor licence often stops operating.
This matters because your Skilled Worker visa is tied to that licence and to your specific job. If the job ends and the licence falls away, your permission to stay is affected.
Your visa is not cancelled automatically
This is the most important point. Your visa does not vanish the moment the company collapses. You keep your existing permission until the Home Office takes action.
What changes things is the reporting. The sponsor, or the insolvency practitioner appointed to wind up the company, must report the end of your employment to the Home Office. The sponsor licence then usually lapses or is revoked. Once the Home Office knows your sponsorship has ended, it normally curtails (shortens) your visa.
The 60-day curtailment window
When the Home Office curtails your visa, it normally gives you 60 days. This is sometimes called the 60-day rule. The 60 days run from the date on the curtailment letter, or until your visa's original expiry date, whichever comes first.
If your visa already had less than 60 days left, you only get the time that remains. So check your visa expiry date and compare it with the curtailment date.
This is similar to what happens after redundancy or a sponsor licence being revoked. The trigger differs, but the 60-day outcome is usually the same.
Option one: find a new sponsor and switch
The most common route is to find a new employer who holds a sponsor licence. You can then switch sponsors from inside the UK.
- Check the register of licensed sponsors on GOV.UK to confirm an employer can sponsor you.
- The new employer assigns you a new Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS).
- You submit a fresh Skilled Worker application before your current leave runs out.
For the full process, see our guide on changing jobs on a Skilled Worker visa.
Option two: switch to another route
If you cannot find a sponsor in time, a different visa that does not need a sponsor may be open to you. Common examples include a partner or spouse visa and the Global Talent route. The Graduate route is not an option here, because it can only be applied for from a Student visa. You must apply before your current leave expires.
Option three: prepare to leave
If neither switching sponsors nor switching routes works for you, you should plan to leave the UK before your curtailed leave ends. Leaving on time protects your immigration record and makes future applications easier. Overstaying can harm later visa applications.
Section 3C leave: when you can keep working
If you submit a new visa application before your current leave expires, your existing permission usually continues while the Home Office decides. This protection is called Section 3C leave. It keeps your status lawful, but GOV.UK says you should not start the new job until your new permission is confirmed. You must apply in time, because Section 3C does not help if your old leave has already ended.
How this affects ILR
A gap in sponsored work can affect your route to ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain). ILR needs 5 years of continuous lawful residence, and on the date your application is decided you must be sponsored by a licensed employer that confirms it still needs you and pays the required salary.
If you move to a new sponsor quickly and keep lawful status, your continuous residence carries on. What breaks it is a period without permission. Read our guide on a gap in employment on a Skilled Worker visa for the detail.
Practical steps to take now
- Check your email and your UKVI account for any curtailment letter.
- Confirm your visa expiry date and work out your true deadline.
- Make sure the insolvency practitioner has your correct contact details.
- Claim any unpaid wages, notice pay, and redundancy pay you are owed.
- Start applying to licensed sponsors immediately.
- Keep records of every job application you send.
- Get advice from an IAA-authorised immigration adviser if you are unsure.
Next steps
Related guides:
Questions and answers
Is my Skilled Worker visa cancelled the moment my employer goes insolvent?
No. Your visa is not automatically cancelled when your sponsor becomes insolvent. However, the sponsor or the insolvency practitioner must report the end of your employment to the Home Office, and the sponsor licence usually lapses. After that, the Home Office normally curtails your visa to 60 days.
How long do I have to find a new sponsor?
When the Home Office curtails your visa, you normally get 60 days from the curtailment date, or until your visa expiry date, whichever is sooner. You can use that time to find a new sponsor, switch to another route, or prepare to leave the UK.
Can I keep working if the company has stopped trading?
If the company has stopped trading and your job has ended, you cannot keep working for it. To work for a new employer you need a new Certificate of Sponsorship from that employer and a new Skilled Worker application. GOV.UK says you should not start the new job until the new permission is confirmed, although applying before your current leave ends keeps your status lawful under Section 3C while you wait.
What if no one tells me my visa has been curtailed?
The Home Office sends a curtailment letter or email to the contact details it holds for you. If you think your sponsor has collapsed, check your email and your UKVI account. Do not wait. Start looking for a new sponsor straight away, because the 60-day clock can start without much warning.
Will losing my job this way harm my path to settlement?
Not by itself. The 5-year qualifying period for ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain) counts time you hold permission, whether or not you are working. What breaks it is a period without permission. If you find a new sponsor and apply before your curtailed leave ends, your continuous residence carries on. You also need to be sponsored, and paid the required salary, on the date your ILR application is decided. Get advice on your specific dates.
This guide is general information about published immigration rules. It is not advice about an individual application under s.82 Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, and Rowan is not regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority. Immigration rules change several times a year. For advice on a particular situation, contact an adviser authorised by the Immigration Advice Authority or an immigration solicitor. Always check GOV.UK for the authoritative current rules.