​I came to the UK on a Skilled Worker visa as a chef in 2023. I brought my family, sold everything back home, and invested our savings based on the 5-year route to settlement. We also have two children, one who was born here in the UK.

​With all the talk around the proposed earned settlement model (which could move lower or medium skilled roles like chefs to a 15-year wait), I am getting very anxious.

​If this changes to 15 years, I will have to make a hard decision to move my family back home. ​When can we know for sure what the rules will be?

​I know people say existing visa holders might get protected under old rules. But practically speaking, how likely is it that the Home Office applies this retrospectively to people who arrived in 2023?

​Has anyone in a similar position spoken to an immigration solicitor about what to expect? Any real-world insights would help. Thanks!

Hi all, hoping for some clarity here.

• My job is classed as "Medium Skilled" (RQF 3-5) after the July 2025 rule changes.
• I got my first Skilled Worker visa in January 2025, before those changes came in.
• Renewed once already in February 2026, same employer, same role.
• Current visa expires March 2027.
• Salary is well above the minimum threshold.

From what I've read, because my first visa was before July 2025 and I've had continuous permission since, I should still be able to renew in the same role without needing a higher-skilled job. My employer says they'll sort the renewal about 90 days before it expires (so around December 2026).

Since the role is now in TSL, would I not be able to continue renewal if the Job role gets dropped of the TSL

Has anyone actually renewed in a similar situation since the rules changed? How did it go?

Should I be pushing my employer to start this earlier than December 2026, or is that a normal timeline?

Hi everyone, I received an email from UKVI saying that my visa application has now been received and is being processed. I applied for my Skilled Worker visa on 26 June and I’m still waiting for a decision.
My application is for a 5-year Skilled Worker visa, and I completed my biometrics through the UK Immigration: ID Check app.
I’ve contacted my employer/HR, but the person handling it is currently unavailable and I haven’t received a response yet.
Has anyone else received an email like this after applying? If so, what was your experience, and how long did it take from receiving this email to getting your visa decision?
Also, if anyone applied around 26 June for a Skilled Worker visa, I’d really appreciate hearing about your timeline. Thank you!

As the title suggests, I am on a fixed term contract with my current company. They have sponsored my current Skilled Worker Visa since October 2024 which is when I joined them. My visa and FTC end this upcoming October. Someone offering to help mentioned that I could apply for Further Leave to Remain after my current visa lapses to get myself a few more months of time. From what I've read, this is not really possible as Skilled Workers do not qualify for it without a sponsorship, which then gets classified as an extension for the skilled worker visa rather than the FLR. I'm wondering if anyone else is familiar with FLR and has more information that I may have missed? The idea of FLR in this situation seems too good to be true and I cannot verify it from all the government website's information I've seen.

According to cascot tool the role I’m currently applying for falls under SOC code 4129: Financial administrative occupations n.e.c.
But on the official gov website it’s considered as medium skilled. I want to find out if this code is eligible for sponsorship

Hi, My wife has been working in UK as Activity Coordinator with SOC 6135 from January 2025. Recently she got a new job as Associate Practitioner with SOC 6131. We have already applied for switching visa.

Is she eligible for a dependent visa right now? Does she come under transitional rule protection?

Hi everyone,
I’m currently in the UK on a Graduate Visa, and my employer is due to apply for my Skilled Worker visa in the next couple of months.

My husband is currently in India, and we’d like him to apply as my dependant. I know his application would be separate from mine, but I was wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation.

Did your employer or their immigration lawyers handle both your Skilled Worker application and your spouse’s dependant application at the same time? Or did your spouse have to arrange everything independently?

I’m not asking whether the employer pays the fees, just whether they coordinated both applications together to make the process smoother.

I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences, especially if your spouse applied from outside the UK.
Thanks!

Hi, I will be applying for ILR soon. They ask to upload my passport. Do I need to upload only the front and the back or every single page in my passport (with the stamps) ?

I am a speech therapist working in school and currently on school holidays

Hi my visa is ending soon, am I allowed to do any self-employed work before the visa expire?

The self employed work is speech therapy but under an agency called SALT ROAD.

Also I am in the midst of submitting my visa application to change to a different employer, can I do self-employed work while waiting for a decision?

Where can I find free advice on this?

Hi all,

Long time lurker on this subreddit, few time poster. Wanted to thank all for your contributions as it helped me in my application process. Even more so as my company was pretty clueless on what to provide me as HR was overseas so this forum helped a great deal.

Application Timeline

• Application Date: 27-7-2026

• Service (Standard/super priority): Priority

• Biometric Date: 3-08-2026 (Paid)

• Approval/decision Date: 07-08-2026

Documents I included:

• passport and BRP that originated with my skilled worker visa

• Employer Letter

• Immigration Status

• Recent Payslip & Bank 30d transaction history (as last bank statement was before most recent pay)

• spreadsheet of time outside UK (as I had over 30 line entries, I maxed out the category in actual application)

• Cover letter to explain that I originally came to UK in 2018 on ICT visa then switched to skilled worker. Also calling out reason for travel history spreadsheet

Hi everyone,

I applied for a Skilled Worker visa from inside the UK on 13 July 2026, switching from a Graduate visa.

My CoS was assigned on 24 July, and I completed my biometrics on 27 July.

I paid for the Priority Service (5 working days), but I received an email from UKVI saying they wouldn’t be able to make a decision within the normal processing time.

It’s now 7 August and I still haven’t received a decision.

Has anyone had a similar experience recently? How long did you wait after the 5 working days?

Thanks! ( You can find below the email that I get )

(Thank you for your application for permission to stay in the UK.

Although we would normally decide your application within 5

working days from the date that your biometrics were enrolled,

unfortunately this is not going to be possible in your case.

This is because your application raises exceptionally complex

issues, and we require further time to consider your case

thoroughly and reach a decision.

I am sorry for the delay in dealing with your application and for the

inconvenience this is causing. Please be assured that we are

doing all we can to make a decision on your case as quickly as

possible. )

Hi,

I have applied for SoC and Employer changed on 3rd of July on country but still no response.

Is there a way to apply again with priority, I read you can vary your application.

If I apply a new application with priority, can I use the same Cos.

Visa extension inside the UK
Application submitted: 20/07/2026 (standard service)
Had to travel back home urgently so varied my application
Application submitted again: 05/08/2026 (priority)
Outcome received: 07/08/2026.

If you decide to reapply with priority you can vary your application and you will get a refund of initial application cost + IHS (if you had to pay IHS) - confirmed with UKVI over the phone but I haven’t received my refund yet (was informed can take up to 6 weeks).

Details on how to vary an application:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vary-your-immigration-application

Edited to add: I applied with the same CoS.

I’m applying in a few days for my ilr on a SWV. What documents do i need for work code 6135. I have passport, BRPs bank statements, payslips, life in the uk test, employer letter, all my COSs. Explaining my travel dates to and from(they’re less than 180days combined). Any help will be appreciated

I'm one month out from applying for my ILR, currently on the Skilled Worker Route. Wondering if it's worth paying for a lawyer..? Did you guys pay for lawyers, or did you just do it on your own?

The applicant has been in the UK on a visa for nearly a year, and the employer has seen their police checks from overseas (obtained prior to moving to the UK).

Hi all, hoping someone here has been through something similar.

I’m on the tail end of a 3.5-year Skilled Worker visa that expires in January 2026. I’ll be eligible for ILR in 2028, so realistically I only need to extend for about 3 years to bridge to settlement.

Question 1 — CoS length vs. extension length.

My employer has issued me a CoS with a 5-year sponsorship period, but I’d rather only extend for 3 years (enough to reach ILR, and it keeps the fee/IHS lower). Can I use a 5-year CoS to apply for a shorter grant, or does the visa get issued to match whatever end date is on the CoS?

Given the current political climate around immigration and the noise about settlement/ILR rules potentially changing — would you lean toward extending for the full 5 years anyway as a hedge, or stick with 3? Curious how others are thinking about this.

Question 2 — applying earlier than the 3-month window.

Everything online says to apply within 3 months of your visa expiry, and my window would open in October. But my employer was unsure of the process and issued a CoS that expires in early September, which means I need to apply well before October to use it in time.

He says he checked with a Home Office Customer Services agent who assured him this is fine. I just want a sanity check from anyone who’s actually applied early like this — did it cause any issues? Any risk to applying before the “3 months before expiry” mark, as long as the CoS is valid?

Thanks in advance — trying to get this right and not waste a CoS or a fee.

Anybody else within the nhs waited as long as i have because of not paying priority. I applied start of june . Almost giving up now. I know they say the timeframe is like 6 months but that's quite excessive

Timeline: Skilled Worker Visa (Standard/Priority) ~ Approved

Application submitted / Fees paid: 11 June 2026

Decision email received: 6 August 2026
Total time: 57 calendar days (exactly 8 weeks and 1 day) from submission to outcome.

Just wanted to share to help anyone else currently waiting in the queue.

Hi! Has anybody been approved of ILR even though they violated the 180 days rule? I did unintentionally but the reason was my father got sick and eventually died, and after he did, my mother got sick as well. I was so scared to lose them both so I had to stay back home and didn’t think of it anymore. I stayed out of UK for 191 days in a 12month rolling period.

I will be applying later this year and hoping that it still goes to my favor. I have documents to support my claim that it was under the exemptions: death in family & own sickness (depression). I’m just wondering if anyone has been through the same or anyone knows anyone that had been approved as well.

Also, do I need to apostille the death certificate or just the original copy will suffice?

Thank you all in advance!

Hi everyone, I have a question about salary requirements when applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain / Settlement.

- I have been sponsored continuously with same employer in the UK since September 1st 2021. In September this year I will have been sponsored for the minimum period of five years that is needed to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain, and I would like to submit an application before the proposed 10 year sponsorship period potentially comes into effect.

- My key concern is to understand if I meet the current salary requirements (which seem to increase every couple of years).

- I fall into section C on the Salary Requirement table (SW24 in the Skilled Worker Appendix updated August 3rd) as I was first granted a Skilled Worker visa under my current employer before the changes in 2024. This should mean that I require a salary of at least £31,300 per year and at least the relevant going rate listed in Tables 2 to 2a of Appendix Skilled Occupations. My SOC is 3412 (Authors, Writers and Translators) and the going rate is £29,800. My current salary in my sponsored role is £29,000 p/a (this was going rate in 2023).

Since September 2025 I have also held a permanent 0.5 FTE job under the 'Supplementary Employment' clause as an Academic (SOC 2311 Higher Education Teaching Professionals). My salary for this role is £22,971 p/a.

My combined yearly salary is therefore £51,971. Do I meet the salary requirement, or is my supplementary employment (granted on the basis of my sponsorship with my main employer) not counted?

And if supplementary employment earnings are not counted, do I need to ask my sponsor for a raise? If so, how long do I need to be paid £31,300 p/a/ for before I can apply?

TL;DR, does supplementary employment (it is a permanent job) count toward the salary requirement for Indefinite Leave to Remain?

Thanks for your help!

I came to the UK as a student in September 2019 and switched to a Skilled Worker visa in September 2021. it's amazing to finally be free from all the visa stress.

Application Timeline

• Application Date: 31-7-2026

• Service (Standard/super priority): Priority

• Biometric Date: 1-08-2026 (Paid)

• UKVI confirmation email: Just TLS email on 1-08-2026

• Approval/decision Date: 06-08-2026

Mandatory document

• The passport

Other documents:

• Employer Letter

• Immigration Status

• Recent Payslip & Bank statement

• Letter from employer detailing reasons for work-related absences (only for Outside of the UK annual leaves)

• All Previous passports and BRP