UK Skilled Worker Visa Extension: How to Extend and What Changes at Renewal

The UK Skilled Worker visa is typically granted for up to five years. When that period approaches its end, you have three choices: extend, switch to another route, or leave. Extending sounds straightforward — you are already here, you have been working lawfully, and your employer is still sponsoring you. But the salary requirements that apply at extension can be different from what you met initially, and the timing rules are strict. Here is what you need to know.

When to Apply for an Extension

You can apply for a Skilled Worker visa extension from 28 days before your current leave expires. The application must be submitted before your current leave ends.

Do not wait until the last week. The standard permission-to-stay processing time is 8 weeks, and while section 3C leave keeps you legal during that period, submitting late creates unnecessary risk if any document is missing or a fee payment fails.

Practical timing: aim to submit your extension application 4 to 6 weeks before your visa expires. This gives you time to gather documents, verify salary compliance, and correct anything your employer needs to update on the CoS before submission.

What the Extension Application Involves

An extension is not an automatic renewal — it is a new application for permission to stay. You need:

1. A new Certificate of Sponsorship from your current employer (an Undefined CoS)
2. Evidence that you are still employed in the eligible role
3. English language evidence — if your original test has expired (results are valid for two years), you may need a new test unless you are extending within a route that allows reliance on prior evidence
4. Financial maintenance: £1,270 in your bank account for 28 consecutive days (or employer certification on the CoS)
5. Payment of the full visa fee and Immigration Health Surcharge

Fees at extension:

• Permission to stay, up to 3 years: £943
• Permission to stay, over 3 years: £1,865
• IHS: £1,145 per year of the new grant

If you are extending for a further five years and paying the IHS upfront: another £5,725, on top of the £5,725 you paid when you first arrived. The cumulative IHS cost over 10 years of Skilled Worker leave is £11,450 per person.

The Salary Threshold at Extension: Transitional Protection

This is the most critical thing to understand before your extension.

If your first CoS was assigned before April 4, 2024: You have transitional protection. At extension, your general salary threshold is £31,300 rather than the current £41,700. This protection applies:

• When extending with the same employer in the same occupation code
• When changing employer but remaining in the same occupation code
• For ILR applications, with an important caveat (see below)

This protection is valid until April 4, 2030. If your visa expires after that date and the transitional period has ended, you will need to meet the full current thresholds.

The ILR rule: At settlement, use the salary threshold applicable to the settlement route, including any qualifying transitional protection. Do not assume the full undiscounted £41,700 threshold applies in every case; check the live ILR requirements for your SOC code and first-CoS date.

If your first CoS was assigned on or after April 4, 2024: Your extension is assessed against the current standard thresholds: the higher of £41,700 or 100% of the going rate for your SOC code.

The going rates are updated annually using ASHE data. The rate that applied when you first got your visa may have increased by the time you extend. Verify the current going rate for your SOC code before your extension application — do not assume the number that worked initially still applies.

Pay-Period Compliance: The New Rule That Affects Extensions

Since April 8, 2026, the Home Office examines payroll records under paragraph SW 14.3B.1. Rather than assessing salary based on the annual figure in your contract, UKVI now verifies that you met the minimum threshold in every discrete pay period.

For extension applications, this means your employer may need to demonstrate that your salary met the threshold in every monthly payslip for the period covered. A pay period where your gross basic pay drops below the threshold because of unpaid leave, variable shifts, or a short payroll period can create a compliance gap.

If you had any months where your gross basic pay was below the required threshold — even if your annual salary is compliant — this is now a refusal risk at extension. Discuss this with your employer before submitting.

Extending With a Different Employer

If you are changing employers at the same time as your extension, the process is the same: new Undefined CoS from the new employer, new application for permission to stay.

The same salary threshold rules apply depending on your original CoS date. The transitional protection (£31,300 floor for pre-April 2024 CoS holders) applies when changing employer in the same SOC code, and the applicable transitional going rate for the new role — not necessarily the current full rate — must also be checked.

Changing SOC codes at the point of extension warrants careful checking — whether your transitional protection carries across to a different occupation code is not always straightforward.

The Earned Settlement Framework and Your Extension Decisions

The extension stage is also the moment to assess your ILR timeline under the Earned Settlement model.

The default path to ILR is now 10 years. The main acceleration factor: earning a taxable income above £50,270 for three consecutive years reduces the wait to 5 years.

When you are extending your visa, look at where your taxable income sits relative to the £50,270 threshold for three consecutive years. If you are close to it, the difference between 5 years and 10 years to ILR is significant both in terms of time and in terms of cumulative IHS costs (another £5,725 per additional year of visa before ILR).

Every extension decision is also a settlement timeline decision. The UK Skilled Worker Visa Guide includes a framework for assessing when to extend versus when to push for ILR early based on the Earned Settlement income thresholds, and a complete breakdown of the salary compliance checks introduced in April 2026 that affect renewal applications.

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