Highly Skilled Workers Category

Extending your stay

This section explains how you can apply to extend your stay in the United Kingdom under the highly skilled worker category (Tier 1 General) of the points-based system.
Can you apply to extend your stay?

You can apply to extend your stay if you are:

Already in the United Kingdom under the highly skilled worker category and want to extend your permission to stay within your existing category; or

Already in the United Kingdom under the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme, want to extend your permission to stay and are eligible to switch into the highly skilled worker category.

If you have not previously been given permission to stay in either of these categories, you should read the section on initial applications.

How long you can extend your stay for?

If you are given leave to remain (permission to stay) as a highly skilled worker from inside the United Kingdom, you will be able to live and work in the United Kingdom for a maximum period of three years. When the end of this period approaches you will need to apply to extend your stay.

The conditions you must meet if you want to extend your stay

Extending your stay is dependent on the following conditions:

You have no recourse to public funds (which means you will be unable to claim most benefits paid by the state);

You have been given entry clearance, or leave to enter or remain as a highly skilled migrant or as a post-graduate doctor or dentist;

You were previously given entry clearance or leave to remain as a highly skilled migrant and that was not subject to a condition prohibiting employment as a doctor in training.

Sponsored students

If you are in the United Kingdom as a postgraduate doctor or dentist or as a student and are being sponsored, or if your sponsorship ended in the last 12 months, the authority must receive consent from your sponsor to give you permission to stay. If your sponsor does not give this permission, the authority will refuse your application. If you received private sponsorship during your studies, we do not need your sponsor's consent. You should send an original letter from your sponsor giving us their consent for us to allow to you stay in the United Kingdom.

Supporting evidence

Sending original documents

You must send the original document, not a copy.

What documents you must send

If you do not send us all the documents we need when you make your application, your application may be refused on the grounds that you have sent insufficient evidence, and your fee will not be refunded.

You must send two recent passport photographs and your passport, along with proof of the following:

Qualifications;

Maternity or adoption-related absence (if relevant);

Previous earnings;

United Kingdom experience;

English language;

Maintenance (funds); and

HSMP transitional arrangements (if relevant).

Other documentation

In certain circumstances you may be unable to supply the combination of documents above, for example, if you are still on maternity leave and no birth certificate has been issued. In this case, you should read the policy guidance for details of other evidence that we may accept.

How the authority returns your documents

If you are in the United Kingdom, your documents will be returned to you by post to the address you provide on your application. If a representative makes an application on your behalf your documents will be returned to him/her. Your documents will be returned using recorded delivery. If you want your documents to be returned by special delivery, you should provide a prepaid special delivery envelope. You can also arrange for your documents to be collected by courier at your own cost. If you would like to arrange a courier, put a courier request in writing by fax to 0114 207 5862.

If you are outside the United Kingdom, your documents will be returned in the same way you sent them to us. For example, if you took them to a visa application centre, the visa application centre will return them to you.

Photographs and passports

This section explains the photographs and passport you must send to support your application to the highly skilled worker category (Tier 1 General) under the points-based system to work in the United Kingdom.
You must send two recent passport photographs of yourself and any dependants for whom you are including applications. All the photographs must have the name of the person in the picture written on the back.

All the photographs should:

Measure 45mm x 35mm; and

Be in colour; and

Be taken against a white background; and

Be clear and of good quality; and

Not be framed or backed; and

Be full face, without sunglasses, hat or head covering unless you wear this for religious reasons.

The photograph you send will be used on your visa (known as vignette) which is fixed in your passport.

You must send your original passport or travel document and the original passport or travel document of all dependants.

Qualifications

This section explains what proof of qualifications you should send to support your application to the highly skilled worker category (Tier 1 General) under the points-based system to work in the United Kingdom.
You must send proof of your qualifications. This must be an original document, issued by the awarding institution on the official headed paper of the institution.

If you have been awarded a qualification

If you have been awarded a qualification, you must provide the original certificate of award.

The original certificate of award must be on the institution's official paper clearly showing:

Your name;

The title of the award;

The date of the award; and

The name of the awarding institution.

We will not accept original provisional certificates. The original certificate of award must always be provided unless you are awaiting graduation or you no longer have the certificate and the institution that issued the certificate is unable to issue a replacement.

If you cannot provide your original certificate

If you are awaiting graduation, or you no longer have the certificate and the institution that issued it is unable or issue a replacement, you must provide the original academic reference and original transcript.

If you are awaiting graduation but have successfully completed your degree, or you no longer have the certificate and the awarding institution is unable to issue a replacement, you should send an original academic reference from the institution that is awarding the degree together with an original academic transcript.

The original academic reference from the institution awarding the degree must be on official headed paper of the institution and clearly show:

Your name;

The title of award;

The date of award, confirming that it will be awarded; and

The date that the certificate will be issued or confirmation that the institution is unable to issue the certificate or award.

The original academic reference cannot be considered as suitable evidence if the letter does not state what qualification has been awarded.

The academic transcript must be on the institution's official paper clearly showing:

Your name;

The name of the academic institution;

The course title; and

Confirmation of the award.

If your qualification has a significant research bias

If you are claiming points for a qualification with a significant research bias (for example a doctorate) you may be unable to provide an academic transcript. Where the original certificate of award is not available, the authority will accept an academic reference alone.

The original academic reference must be an original issued by the awarding institution on the official headed paper of the institution and include:

Your name;

The title of award;

The date of award, confirming that it will be awarded; and

Either the date that the certificate will be issued or confirmation that the institution is unable to reissue the award.

Click Here for Supporting Documents on Your Previous Earnings, Bank Statement etc.