Student to Skilled Worker Visa

Eligibility Requirements

To switch from a Student visa to a Skilled Worker visa, you must meet all the standard Skilled Worker requirements:

• Job offer from a licensed sponsor: Your employer must hold a valid sponsor licence.
• Certificate of sponsorship: Your employer must assign you a valid certificate of sponsorship confirming the job details and salary. It must be used within 3 months of being assigned.
• Skill level: since 22 July 2025 the job must be at level 6 on the Regulated Qualifications Framework — roughly degree level — for new applicants. Jobs at levels 3 to 5 can only be sponsored if they are on the Immigration Salary List or the Temporary Shortage List, and Temporary Shortage List roles cannot bring dependants.
• Salary: at least £41,700 a year or the going rate for the job, whichever is higher, unless one of the published lower rates applies (see below).
• English language: B2 for new Skilled Worker applications made on or after 8 January 2026. B1 is still accepted for an extension on the same route.

GOV.UK adds a condition for anyone currently in the UK on a Student visa. One of these must apply:

• you have completed the course you were sponsored to study
• your job start date is after your course has finished
• you are studying for a PhD full time, and have been for at least 24 months

You must also currently hold valid Student visa permission, or be within the period covered by Section 3C — that is, your visa has expired but you applied before it did.

Salary Thresholds for Recent Graduates

GOV.UK publishes a lower salary rate for people it calls new entrants: those who are "under 26, studying or a recent graduate, or in professional training".

• General threshold: £41,700 a year, or the going rate for the occupation, whichever is higher.
• New entrant rate: 70% of the standard going rate for the job, provided the salary is at least £33,400 a year.

The published criteria are that one of the following applies:

• you are under 26 on the date you apply
• you are currently in the UK on a Student visa studying at bachelor's degree level or above, or have been in the last 2 years and a Student or visit visa was your most recent visa
• you are currently in the UK on a Graduate visa, or have been in the last 2 years and a Graduate or visit visa was your most recent visa
• you will be working towards a recognised qualification in a UK regulated profession
• you will be working towards full registration or chartered status in the job you are being sponsored for

GOV.UK says a total stay in the UK on that basis cannot be more than 4 years, and that this includes any time already spent in the UK on a Graduate visa. After that, the salary must meet the general threshold.

There are separate PhD discounts: 80% of the going rate with a floor of £33,400 for a science, technology, engineering or maths doctorate relevant to the job, and 90% with a floor of £37,500 for a non-STEM one. An overseas doctorate needs an Ecctis assessment to confirm it is equivalent to a UK PhD.

For more on salary thresholds, see our Skilled Worker salary threshold guide.

The Application Process

1. Secure a job offer. Find an employer with a sponsor licence who is willing to sponsor you.
2. Employer assigns a certificate of sponsorship. Your employer requests it through their sponsor account and assigns it to you. It must be used within 3 months.
3. Apply online. Submit your Skilled Worker visa application on GOV.UK. Choose the option to apply from within the UK.
4. Pay fees. From inside the UK the application fee is £943 for permission of 3 years or less and £1,865 for more than 3 years, or £628 and £1,235 for a job on the Immigration Salary List. The healthcare surcharge is £1,035 a year. See our Skilled Worker cost guide.
5. Prove your identity. Either use the "UK Immigration: ID Check" app to scan your identity document, or give fingerprints and a photograph at a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services service point. GOV.UK tells you which applies when you start the application.
6. Wait for a decision. Usually 8 weeks for an application made inside the UK. Paying £500 for the priority service normally gives a decision within 5 working days, and £1,000 for super priority the next working day. See our processing time guide.
7. Receive the decision. If approved, you get an eVisa — an online record of your immigration status, accessed through a UK Visas and Immigration account. Biometric residence permits stopped being issued at the end of 2024.

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

Impact on Your Settlement Timeline

Time on a Student visa does not count towards settlement (indefinite leave to remain) on the Skilled Worker route.

The published qualifying period is 5 years of continuous residence on the Skilled Worker route. It runs from the date the Skilled Worker permission begins, not from the date you first arrived in the UK on a Student visa.

So 3 years on a Student visa followed by a switch leaves 5 full years to complete on the Skilled Worker route: 8 years in the UK in total. Two years on the Graduate route in between would make it 10.

The government has proposed extending the standard qualifying period from 5 years to 10 years. That is a proposal, not law, and the published period is still 5 years. Separately, the English requirement at settlement rises from B1 to B2 from 26 March 2027 for the Skilled Worker route and several others.

Student, Graduate and Skilled Worker: the Published Rules

These are the three routes people move between after finishing a course, set side by side.

Switching directly to Skilled Worker

Requires a job offer from a licensed sponsor and a certificate of sponsorship. The permission is tied to that sponsor, and changing employer needs a new application. The time counts towards settlement.

Graduate route first, then Skilled Worker

The Graduate route needs no sponsor and no minimum salary. It lasts 2 years for an application made on or before 31 December 2026, 18 months from 1 January 2027, and 3 years after a PhD or other doctorate. It cannot be extended or granted twice, and its time does not count towards settlement. See our Graduate to Skilled Worker guide.

Applying for Skilled Worker from outside the UK

The same salary and skill rules apply. The fee outside the UK is £819 for permission of 3 years or less and £1,618 for more than 3 years, and a decision usually takes 3 weeks.

English Language Requirement

New Skilled Worker applications require B2 English from 8 January 2026. B1 is still accepted for an extension on the same route. The Student route already requires B2 for a course at degree level or above, so the level itself is the same.

How you prove it: a test result must have been awarded in the 2 years before the date of application. A bachelor's degree, master's degree or doctorate awarded in the UK meets the requirement outright, with a certificate, transcript or official letter from the awarding institution as evidence. A degree awarded outside the UK that was taught or researched in English needs an Ecctis assessment as well.

The rules also treat the requirement as met if you already showed the level required for your current application in a previous successful application. Note that a Student route sponsor's own assessment of your English is specific to that route.

Common Mistakes

• Applying after your Student visa expires. You must apply before your visa expires to benefit from Section 3C leave. If your visa has expired, you may not be able to switch from within the UK.
• Assuming any employer can sponsor you. Only employers with a valid sponsor licence can assign a certificate of sponsorship. Check the Register of Licensed Sponsors on GOV.UK before accepting a job offer.
• Not checking the going rate. Even if your salary meets the general threshold, it must also meet the going rate for your specific occupation code. Check both.
• Forgetting the healthcare surcharge. It is £1,035 a year on the Skilled Worker route — the standard rate, not the £776 a year students pay — and it is paid upfront on top of the application fee.
• Missing the skill level change. Since 22 July 2025 the job must be at level 6 on the Regulated Qualifications Framework for new applicants. Jobs at levels 3 to 5 are only sponsorable if they are on the Immigration Salary List or the Temporary Shortage List.

After Switching

Once your Skilled Worker visa is granted, you can:

• Work for your sponsor in the role specified on the certificate of sponsorship
• Work up to 20 hours a week in another job or for your own business, as long as you are still doing the job you are sponsored for. GOV.UK counts business administration, such as preparing invoices, within those 20 hours, and says a second job of more than 20 paid hours a week needs the visa to be updated
• Study, alongside the sponsored job
• Bring dependants — a partner and children under 18 — except where the job is on the Temporary Shortage List
• Apply for settlement after 5 years of continuous residence on the route

Changing employer needs a new certificate of sponsorship from the new employer, and a new visa application before starting the new role. For more on the Skilled Worker route, see our complete Skilled Worker visa guide.

You may also find our UK Visa Fees: Complete Guide andImmigration Health Surcharge helpful.

Questions and answers