UK Skilled Worker Visa Extension

Holding a Skilled Worker visa does not in itself guarantee your extension will be granted. To qualify for such a full skilled worker visa application or renewal, you need to score 70 points:

• 30 points for the Certificate of Sponsorship, provided that you are doing the same job for the same sponsor
• 20 points for Earning, if your salary is above the minimum £41,700 threshold (unless exceptions apply)
• 10 points for Maintenance, although you do not need to prove that you can maintain yourself and your family financially
• 10 points for the English Language criteria, since you should have provided evidence of your eligibility as part of your first application

You will need to apply for a Skilled Worker visa extension before your current visa expires, within 60 days of your current expiry date. This is to ensure that you maintain legal immigration status in the UK. Losing status is likely to impact your ability to renew your visa and to eventually obtain UK permanent settlement status.

You should generally receive a decision on your extension application within 8 weeks of applying. However, in some cases there may be delays, for instance if you are asked to provide additional information or attend an interview, or if you have a criminal conviction.

In the event that you are asked to provide further information, make sure to do so as quickly as possible in order to avoid further delays.

There are a number of steps which you will need to complete in order to renew your Skilled Worker visa in the UK.

Step 1 of applying for a Skilled Worker visa extension is obtaining a new certificate of sponsorship from your employer. You will be given a new certificate of sponsorship number, which you will need to include in your extension application.

Step 2 is submitting the extension application online, via the UK government website. You will be required to provide a range of information, including your new certificate of sponsorship number and your UK immigration history.

If any dependants are also planning to extend their visas, they will need to apply separately, before their own visa expiry date.

Step 3 is verifying your identity. You can do this either via the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app or in-person at a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services (UKVCAS) centre. If you choose the in-person option, you will need to provide your biometric information (your fingerprint and photograph, specifically).

Any dependants also applying to extend their visas will need to complete this step too.

Step 4 is waiting for your application to be processed (and the applications of any dependants). Note that you should not leave the UK whilst you wait for a decision, as this could lead to your application being withdrawn.

Your Skilled Worker visa extension application bundle must include your eligibility evidence submitted in the original format. The following are the required documents:

• Your current passport or any other valid travel document, with at least a blank page
• Your current visa, leave to remain or Biometric Residence (if applicable)
• Your National Insurance Number
• Proof of your immigration history, including any expired passports
• Certificate of Sponsorship and your reference number

The cost of extending your Skilled Worker visa when a certificate of sponsorship has been issued for 3 years or less is £943. Where the certificate of sponsorship has been issued for over 3 years, the cost is more expensive at  £1,865.

The same fees apply for extending the visas of any dependants also in the UK with you.

Some applicants also choose to pay for legal assistance to ensure that their applications run as smoothly as possible. Contact Manchester Immigration Lawyers today on 0161 826 9783 to learn more about how we can help and our range of tailored legal packages.

When you extend your own Skilled Worker visa, the visas of your dependants will not be extended automatically; you will need to submit these extension applications separately. Otherwise, the expiry date of your dependants’ visas will remain the same.

So long as they apply before their own visas expire, dependants do not need to submit their applications at the same time as you.

If the extension applications of your dependants are successful, they will likely be given the same expiry date as you.

The Skilled Worker visa is one of the UK visas which provides a route to permanent settlement (often known in the UK as ‘indefinite leave to remain’).

At present, the eligibility criteria are as follows:

• You have lived continuously and legally in the UK for at least 5 years, under eligible visa types (note that Student, Visitor, and Seasonal Worker visas, for example, do not count towards this 5-year minimum)
• You satisfy the salary requirements for your particular role. This is generally £41,700 per year but varies in certain cases, such as:
  • If you work in either healthcare or education, in which case you will need to earn either £25,000 per year or the ‘going rate’ (i.e. the usual industry amount) for your particular role
  • The job you perform is on the Immigration Salary List
  • You received your first Skilled Worker visa certificate of sponsorship before the 4th April 2024 and have consistently held Skilled Worker visas since then

• You must still be needed in your current role and continue to meet the salary threshold once indefinite leave to remain has been granted. Your sponsoring employer will need to provide a document confirming that you satisfy this requirement

Note that the 5-year residency minimum mentioned above may be subject to change in the future, in light of a recent government immigration White Paper which proposed changing the minimum continuous and legal residency period from 5 years to 10 years.

Dependants

Any dependants in the UK with you will also need to satisfy certain eligibility criteria in order to obtain indefinite leave to remain:

Children

In order to obtain indefinite leave to remain as dependants under your Skilled Worker visa, your children will generally need to satisfy the following criteria:

• Already be in the UK as a dependant under your Skilled Worker visa
• Be neither married nor in a civil partnership
• Live with you in the UK once you obtain indefinite leave to remain, without the need for welfare benefits
• Both you and the other parent must be either in the process of applying for indefinite leave to remain or already have permanent settlement status

There are also certain other circumstances where your child can apply, including:

• If you are the only surviving parent of the child
• If you have sole parental responsibility
• If you or your child have a serious illness which creates a strong case for remaining in the UK

Partner

In order to obtain indefinite leave to remain as a dependant under your Skilled Worker visa, your partner will need to satisfy the following criteria:

• They are already in the UK as a dependant under your Skilled Worker visa
• They have lived in the UK as your dependant for at least 5 years, consecutively
• Your relationship is genuine and you plan to continue living together
• Your income is sufficient to support both yourselves and any children, without the need for welfare benefits
• In most cases, your partner will also need to pass the Life in the UK test and meet the English proficiency threshold

To ensure that you receive up-to-date information on UK immigration law, contact Manchester Immigration Lawyers today on 0161 826 9783.

If you do not wish to seek a Skilled Worker visa extension, you are expected to leave the UK before the termination of your current immigration permission.

In other words, you are not permitted to remain in the UK beyond the expiry date of your Skilled Worker visa, unless you have an outstanding application with the Home Office.

If your Skilled Worker visa is terminated, but you wish to return to the UK for any business-related activity for a short period, you can apply for a Business Visitor visa from your home country.