Skilled Worker Visa Conditions of Stay

On this page ▾

• What you can do
• What you cannot do
• Voluntary work & notice
• Study & ATAS
• Public funds & NHS
• Self-employment & business
• How long permission lasts
• Before you change activities
• Common mistakes
• FAQs

What you can do

Your permission is built around your sponsored employment, but a defined set of other activities is allowed:

• Your sponsored job — for the sponsor named in your permission, in the role recorded on your Certificate of Sponsorship.
• Qualifying supplementary employment — additional work alongside your main job where the conditions are met (no separate application needed). See supplementary employment & second jobs.
• Qualifying secondary employment — a second job that needs a new CoS and a variation of your permission first.
• Voluntary work — within the permitted definition (see below).
• Working out a contractual notice period — for a job you were lawfully working in on the date of your application.
• Study — with no general hour limit, provided it doesn't interfere with your sponsored job (ATAS may apply).

What you cannot do

• Unrestricted access to the UK labour market — you can only work in the categories your conditions permit.
• Move to a new sponsor by simply accepting a job — that normally needs a new CoS and a change-of-employment application; your permission doesn't transfer.
• Access public funds — your permission carries a no-public-funds condition (see below).

Voluntary work & working your notice

Voluntary work is permitted in any sector, provided it meets the legal meaning of voluntary work — for an organisation such as a charity, voluntary organisation, associated fundraising body or statutory body, and you must not be paid other than permitted reasonable expenses. It's not the same as paid supplementary employment. Working out a notice period is a separate permitted category — for a job you were lawfully working in on the date of your Skilled Worker application — and shouldn't be treated as general supplementary work.

Study & ATAS

You can study while in the UK — there's no general limit on study hours, as long as it doesn't interfere with your sponsored job. Some postgraduate study or research needs an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate, which may be required where:

• you're not a national of a country exempt under Appendix ATAS;
• the course is in a subject covered by Appendix ATAS;
• the study leads to a master's, PhD or other postgraduate qualification, or the research forms part of an overseas postgraduate qualification.

Where ATAS is required, the certificate must be obtained and presented to the education provider before study begins.

Public funds & the NHS

Self-employment, business & leaving your sponsor

Some questions aren't answered by a simple rule in the Skilled Worker guidance — so don't assume:

Can I become self-employed? +

The guidance doesn't grant a Skilled Worker general, unrestricted permission to be self-employed — the conditions identify specific permitted employment categories rather than open work permission. Don't assume self-employment is automatically allowed; it should be assessed against your conditions.

Can I run a business? +

There isn't a general rule in the Skilled Worker guidance allowing or prohibiting all business activity. Any proposed business activity should be checked against the conditions attached to your permission and the relevant employment rules before you proceed.

Can I stop working for my sponsor and keep my visa? +

Your conditions are built around the sponsored job on your CoS. What happens to your permission when sponsored employment ends is a separate topic — see loss of employment, sponsorship ending & visa cancellation.

How long permission lasts & your eVisa

Successful Skilled Workers are normally granted permission for the period of employment on the CoS, plus any time before the start date covered by the application, plus 14 days after the CoS end date. A CoS can normally be assigned for up to 5 years. A special provision gives certain GPs in specialty training four months after the CoS end date.

Before you take additional work or study

• Is the activity permitted under your conditions?
• Does additional work qualify as supplementary employment?
• Do you need a second Certificate of Sponsorship?
• Will study interfere with your sponsored job?
• Does ATAS apply?
• Is the work voluntary work within the permitted definition?
• Does changing employer require a new application?

Common mistakes

• Assuming the visa gives unrestricted work permission — it's primarily linked to your sponsored employment.
• Starting a second job without checking the supplementary rules — additional work is subject to specific conditions.
• Assuming all unpaid work is "voluntary work" — it has a specific legal meaning (qualifying organisation, generally unpaid bar expenses).
• Assuming study is prohibited — it's permitted, provided it doesn't interfere with your job.
• Forgetting ATAS — some postgraduate study or research needs it before study begins.
• Assuming public funds are available because you pay tax — permission carries a no-public-funds condition.
• Assuming a new employer can take over your existing visa — changing sponsor normally needs a new application.

Frequently asked questions

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