Graduate visa to Skilled Worker: the employer's salary and timing test

01 / Permission

The switch is possible; the offer must still qualify.

Appendix Skilled Worker permits an in-country application by a Graduate permission holder: Graduate is not among the categories barred from switching in SW 1.5ZA. The applicant must be in the UK when applying and meet the route's validity, suitability and eligibility requirements. GOV.UK directs applicants to apply before their current permission expires.

The employer must be approved to sponsor Skilled Workers and assign a valid Certificate of Sponsorship for a genuine job. The role must fall within an eligible SOC 2020 occupation code, selected by its actual duties. A graduate's degree or prior work with the business cannot cure an ineligible occupation or a code chosen merely to fit the salary.

The ordinary route principally concerns the occupations in the higher-skilled tables following the 2025 skill-level changes. The Immigration Salary List, Temporary Shortage List and specified health or education occupations have distinct provisions. An estimate based on the wrong table is the wrong legal test.

02 / Salary

New entrant status does not create a flat £33,400 salary.

For an ordinary eligible role, option A requires both £41,700 a year and the full applicable going rate. Option E can permit a qualifying new entrant to be paid at least £33,400 and 70% of the applicable going rate. The higher of the 2 figures governs. If the going rate is £54,000, 70% is £37,800: an offer of £36,000 would fail option E despite exceeding £33,400.

Under SW 12.2(f), a person whose most recent permission, ignoring visitor permission, was as a Graduate meets a new entrant condition, provided any expired Graduate permission ended less than 2 years before application. The person must also satisfy the other requirements, especially the time limit in SW 12.3. Being under 26 is another possible condition, not a requirement for every Graduate switcher.

Qualifying pay is assessed under SW 14 and the relevant occupation table. A discretionary bonus, projected promotion or informal promise of a later rise should not disguise a deficient sponsored salary. Check hours, annual pay and the occupation-specific calculation before assigning the CoS.

03 / Sponsorship period

The 4-year clock includes Graduate permission.

SW 12.3 says granting the application must not result in more than 4 years of combined permission as a Graduate, Skilled Worker and/or Tier 2 Migrant. The periods need not be continuous. Home Office caseworker guidance confirms that new entrant status cannot be awarded for only part of the permission requested.

If a candidate has held 2 years of Graduate permission and no earlier sponsored permission, a proposed 3-year Skilled Worker grant would produce 5 counted years. The employer should consider whether a shorter initial CoS is viable and when the role can meet another salary option. It cannot assume the Home Office will simply grant 2 years on a 3-year application. The published guidance says the caseworker should not shorten the grant on that basis without sponsor agreement.

A shorter initial grant changes the employer's cost, extension timetable and retention risk. If the business cannot meet the relevant full salary when new entrant eligibility ends, a discounted grant only defers the difficulty. Model the expected pay and going rate at the proposed extension before using the discount.

04 / Filing

The licence, CoS and valid application need time to converge.

Confirm that the licence covers Skilled Worker sponsorship, that the employer can assign the correct CoS, and that the candidate has the evidence for a valid application. SW 1.2(d) requires a CoS issued within the prescribed 3 months before application, or 90 days in the specified Sponsorship Reference Number process. Its start and end dates affect the new entrant calculation.

The Graduate holder should apply online before their permission expires. A valid in-time application can preserve permission while a decision is pending under section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971, subject to its conditions; an incomplete or invalid submission is no safe filing strategy. Leaving the Common Travel Area while an in-country application is pending can withdraw it.

If the employer has no sponsor licence, the candidate cannot supply one through Graduate status. Recruitment, licence evidence, key personnel and CoS planning should begin while there is a realistic application window. A pending licence application does not itself extend Graduate permission.

05 / Longer horizon

The switch changes the family's and worker's horizon.

Graduate time does not form part of the ordinary 5-year Skilled Worker qualifying period listed in SW 21.2. This is distinct from any possible 10-year long-residence calculation, which has its own requirements. An employee is not 2 years into Skilled Worker settlement merely because they held Graduate permission for 2 years.

Partners and children have their own dependant eligibility and application requirements. A move to Skilled Worker can change the available family route, but not by automatic transfer. Check dependant timing, fees and any occupation restrictions with the principal application.

The initial new entrant salary discount is not a promise of the same salary at settlement. Current settlement Rules impose their own sponsor confirmation and salary tests. A retention plan should align pay progression, immigration permission and the intended settlement date.

06 / Decision

Choose the sponsorship structure before making the promise.

Identify the actual duties and SOC code; test the correct occupation table; calculate available salary options; reconstruct Graduate and sponsored permission history; then choose defensible CoS dates. Put the visa expiry and licence readiness on the same timetable.

A job eligible at £33,400 today may require materially higher pay after the new entrant period. Conversely, an employer already paying the full option A threshold and going rate may have no need for new entrant points. The commercial answer turns on the whole intended appointment, not just the first grant.

Where the role cannot meet Skilled Worker requirements, assess whether a genuinely different eligible job, salary change or other immigration route is supportable. Renaming the occupation without changing the work is not a solution.

Practical questions.