Switching From a Student Visa to a Skilled Worker Visa (2026)
You can switch from a Student visa to a Skilled Worker visa from inside the UK once you have completed the course you were sponsored to study — or earlier if the job starts after your course completion date, or after 24 months of a full-time PhD. You also need an employer on the Home Office register of licensed sponsors, a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS), and a salary meeting the 2026 thresholds: £41,700 as standard, or £33,400 under the new entrant discount most fresh graduates qualify for. Here is every rule, the full cost, and whether to take the Graduate route first.
When you can switch — the three qualifying conditions
You can apply to switch in-country if at least one of these is true:
- You have completed the course your CAS was issued for — completion counts, not the graduation ceremony.
- Your job starts after your course finishes. On a full-time degree-level course you can apply in your final months: the CoS start date must be on or after your course completion date, and you cannot apply more than three months before it.
- You are a full-time PhD student who has completed at least 24 months of the doctorate — the one group allowed to switch mid-course.
Apply from inside the UK, before your Student visa expires — an in-time application keeps you lawful, and working, while UKVI decides.
Some statuses cannot switch at all: Standard Visitors, Short-term Study students, Parents of a Child Student, Seasonal Workers, domestic workers and anyone on immigration bail must leave and apply from abroad. A visit visa is never a doorway into sponsored work.
Leaving the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man before the decision automatically withdraws your application — and the fee is not refunded.
Step one: check the employer holds a sponsor licence
Only employers licensed by the Home Office can sponsor you. Before you invest weeks in interviews, search the register of licensed sponsors: workers on gov.uk — the free, regularly updated list of every licensed employer.
Look up the company's registered legal name — often different from the brand on the advert — and check the entry shows the Skilled Worker route with an A rating. A B-rated sponsor is on a Home Office action plan and cannot assign new certificates. An unlisted employer must get a licence first — up to eight weeks, or around ten working days with the paid priority service.
Questions to ask at interview:
- Which legal entity holds your sponsor licence, and is it A-rated?
- Have you sponsored international staff before, and how recently?
- Which occupation code will the role use, and does the salary meet its going rate?
- How quickly can you assign the Certificate of Sponsorship after an offer?
The CoS is an electronic record — the work-route equivalent of your CAS. In-country switchers use an undefined CoS from the sponsor's annual allocation, assignable within days. Your negotiating advantage: sponsors of Student switchers are exempt from the Immigration Skills Charge, so you are thousands of pounds cheaper to hire than an overseas recruit.
The salary and skill rules as they stand in 2026
Since 22 July 2025, new Skilled Worker roles must generally be skilled to RQF level 6 — graduate level — unless the occupation is on the Immigration Salary List or the interim Temporary Shortage List. Your pay must clear two bars at once: the threshold for your category and the going rate for your occupation code — the higher figure wins.
| Your situation | Minimum salary (as of 2026) | Going rate you must meet |
|---|---|---|
| Standard applicant | £41,700 | 100% of the occupation's going rate |
| New entrant (under 26, recent graduate or Graduate visa holder) | £33,400 | 70% of the going rate |
| PhD relevant to the job | £37,500 | 90% of the going rate |
| STEM PhD relevant to the job | £33,400 | 80% of the going rate |
| Health and care roles on national pay scales | £25,000 | The full pay-scale rate for the band |
The new entrant discount makes switching realistic straight after university. You qualify if you are under 26 when you apply, or hold — or held within the last two years — Student permission for a degree-level course or a Graduate visa. The catch: four years maximum on new entrant terms, with Graduate route time counting against them; after that you must meet the full standard rate.
These figures keep rising — £26,200 to £38,700 in April 2024, then £41,700 in July 2025 — so confirm the live threshold on gov.uk in the week you apply.
Two quieter requirements sit alongside salary. Since 8 January 2026, applicants must show English at CEFR B2 rather than B1 — but a UK-taught degree satisfies it, so most switchers need no new test; see our guide to the B2 English requirement for the Skilled Worker visa. And unless you have held UK permission for 12 months, you must show £1,270 held for 28 days, or have your sponsor certify maintenance on the CoS.
Health and Care Worker visa: the cheaper variant
If your sponsored role is an eligible health job — doctor, nurse, dentist, pharmacist or allied health professional with the NHS, an NHS supplier or in eligible social care — you apply under the Health and Care Worker visa instead. Same structure, three financial advantages: a reduced fee of £324 (up to three years) or £628 (over three years), complete exemption from the Immigration Health Surcharge, and the £25,000 floor for roles on national pay scales.
For a nurse joining an NHS trust or an OSPAP pharmacist entering foundation training, that turns a four-figure visa bill into a few hundred pounds. One exception: care worker and senior care worker roles closed to new overseas applicants in 2025; switching into those codes is only possible under transitional arrangements to 22 July 2028, after three months' legal work for the sponsoring provider.
What switching costs in 2026 — and who pays what
The split is set by law: a sponsor who recharges the CoS fee or the Immigration Skills Charge to the worker risks its licence — if an employer asks you to cover either, treat it as a warning sign.
| Cost | Amount (after the April 2026 fee rise) | Who pays |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee — in-country, visa up to 3 years | £943 | You |
| Application fee — in-country, visa over 3 years | £1,865 | You |
| Application fee — Health and Care Worker | £324 / £628 | You |
| Immigration Health Surcharge | £1,035 per year (£0 on Health and Care Worker) | You |
| Priority / super priority decision (optional) | £500 / £1,000 | You |
| Certificate of Sponsorship | £525 | Sponsor — cannot be recharged to you |
| Immigration Skills Charge | £1,320 per year (£480 for small sponsors) — waived for in-country Student switchers | Sponsor — cannot be recharged to you |
A worked example: a 3-year standard-route switch is £943 plus £3,105 in surcharge — £4,048 up front. The same graduate joining a sponsored NHS role pays £324 in total. Your employer's bill is essentially the £525 CoS fee, since the waived Immigration Skills Charge would cost a large sponsor £6,600 over five years for an overseas hire.
The timeline — and your right to work while you wait
A CoS must be used within three months of assignment. Submit the online form, pay, and prove your identity via the UK Immigration: ID Check app or a biometric appointment. The in-country standard is a decision within 8 weeks; where available, priority buys 5 working days for £500, super priority the next working day for £1,000.
If you applied in time, section 3C leave keeps your permission alive on its existing conditions while you wait — including the term-time hours cap and the ban on filling a permanent full-time vacancy, explained in our guide to working on a UK Student visa.
One purpose-built exception: with your course complete and a valid in-time application backed by a CoS from a licensed sponsor, you may start the sponsored job before the decision. Many employers still prefer to wait for the grant, and a refusal means stopping work immediately — agree the start date with HR in writing.
Refusals are rarely about eligibility and nearly always about paperwork: a wrong occupation code, a salary a few hundred pounds under the going rate, or a CoS start date before your course completion date. Our visa support team checks every field before submission.
Graduate route first, or switch straight away?
| Graduate route | Skilled Worker | |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 2 years (3 for PhDs); 18 months for applications from 1 January 2027 | Up to 5 years at a time, extendable |
| Sponsorship | None — almost any job, any employer | Licensed sponsor and CoS required |
| Salary requirement | None | £41,700 standard; discounted rates from £25,000–£33,400 |
| Counts towards ILR | No — only via the separate 10-year long residence route | Yes — 5 years under the current rules |
| Switching | Can switch into Skilled Worker at any point | Already on a settlement route |
| Cost as of 2026 | £937 fee + £1,035 IHS per year | £943/£1,865 fee + IHS (£0 on Health and Care Worker) |
If you already hold a qualifying offer, switch straight away. Three clocks favour it: Skilled Worker years count towards settlement and Graduate years do not — see our guide to the 10-year ILR rule; every month on the Graduate route burns down your four-year new entrant allowance; and thresholds have risen twice in two years, so today's reachable bar may move before a Graduate visa ends.
If you have no sponsored offer yet, the Graduate route is exactly what it is for — up to two years to work at any level and convert a role into sponsorship from the inside. Timing matters: applications from 1 January 2027 get 18 months instead of two years, so read our guide to the Graduate Route visa in 2026 before deciding to wait.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I switch to a Skilled Worker visa before my course ends?
Yes, within limits. On a full-time degree-level course you can apply before completion, provided the Certificate of Sponsorship job start date is no earlier than the day you finish — in practice up to three months early. Full-time PhD students can switch after 24 months; everyone else must complete the course first.
What salary do I need to switch from a Student visa in 2026?
Most fresh graduates qualify as new entrants: at least £33,400 and 70% of their occupation code's going rate, whichever is higher. The standard threshold is £41,700, and eligible health roles on national pay scales start at £25,000. Thresholds have risen twice since 2024, so check the current figure on gov.uk.
Can I work while my Skilled Worker application is pending?
Your Student conditions continue under section 3C leave, so part-time work within your existing limits carries on. Once your course is complete and an in-time application backed by a valid CoS is submitted, you may start the sponsored role before the decision — but a refusal means stopping immediately, so agree it in writing.
Do I need an English test to switch?
Usually not. The Skilled Worker route requires CEFR B2 English — raised from B1 on 8 January 2026 — but a degree taught and awarded in the UK meets it automatically. Applicants without a UK degree, and some dependants, may still need an approved test.
Does my time as a student count towards settlement?
Not on the work route. The five-year Skilled Worker path to indefinite leave to remain starts when that visa is granted; Student and Graduate years do not feed it, though they can count towards the separate 10-year long residence route. That is the strongest argument for switching as soon as you hold a qualifying offer.
The difference between switching now and switching in two years is measured in settlement years and thousands of pounds. Global Pathways checks your eligibility, your employer's licence and every figure on the CoS before you commit to a fee. Book a free consultation.