Students wishing to switch from a Student visa to a Skilled Worker Visa must meet specific requirements. To be eligible, you must provide documents that prove that you meet at least one of the following requirements:

When an employer is assessing a former student’s eligibility for a CoS to switch routes, they must confirm that the student meets these criteria. If the conditions are not met, the switch will not be approved.

Employers are not required to pay the ISC fees for candidates who are currently on a Student Visa switching to Skilled Worker Visa, making the total cost of sponsorship cheaper. For more information on the breakdown of costs when sponsoring a student worker, please see our Visa Fees Calculator.

If you are currently on a Student Visa and want to switch to a Skilled Worker Visa under SOC codes 6135/6136 after March 11th 2024, you are not eligible to add dependents to your application. You may only be eligible to add dependents if you meet certain criteria e.g. if your children were born in the UK, you will be able to add them as a dependent.

I have attached an Applicant Scenario Table for you to assess whether you fit any of the criteria, and also a link to one of our articles which shares more information on these new changes.

Once a Skilled Worker visa application is submitted while on a Student visa, the applicant must not begin working under the new conditions until the application is approved and the new visa issued.

The visa will specify its start date, typically the later of the CoS start date or the effective date of the new permission. Until then, the applicant may continue working under their Student visa conditions, which often include work-hour restrictions, but cannot start full employment as a Skilled Worker until the new visa is confirmed.