If you lose your job
While on a Health and Care Worker (or a Skilled Worker) visa, your permission to stay in the UK is dependent on being employed by an approved sponsor. If your employment with the sponsor of your visa were to end, even if the reason was unfair, your visa would normally be cancelled by the Home Office. You will also not be able to work for another employer, until you have been issued with a new immigration status.
Employers who are authorised to sponsor migrant workers must tell the Home Office within 10 working days once they have stopped sponsoring someone. You should then receive a curtailment letter in the post from the Home Office, to inform you that your visa has been shortened (‘curtailed’) to 60 days (or less, for example if your visa was due to expire in fewer than 60 days). If you want to continue to work in the UK under the Health and Care Worker route, you will have to find a new employer to sponsor you, and apply for a new visa before your current one expires.
If your sponsor dismisses you, your immigration status is at risk and you can only work legally once you find another sponsor. Please get in touch with a qualified immigration adviser.
If you don't receive a curtailment letter
You can check your UKVI account to see your immigration status.
Some people don't receive a curtailment letter, even long after their sponsored employment ended. This could be because employers failed to notify the Home Office of the end of a migrant worker’s employment, the migrant worker’s address was out of date, or as a result of a delay by the Home Office.
However, once your sponsored employment has ended, your immigration status will not be secure, and could be curtailed at any moment. You will also breach the conditions of your visa if you work anywhere else. You should speak to a qualified immigration adviser to assess your options in this situation.
If your sponsor loses their licence
An employer might have their sponsorship licence revoked by the Home Office if they are found to be breaking the rules of exploiting their workers. If that happens, the Home Office will normally curtail the visas of all migrant workers sponsored by that employer.
This means you will have to obtain a new immigration status if you want to remain and work in the UK.
Taking on additional work
If your employment with your visa sponsor ends, you will not be able to work legally, until you have been issued a new grant of permission to stay in the UK.
This includes the 20h supplementary work. You can only take up part-time additional work if you are employed by your visa sponsor.
Can I claim benefits?
Not usually. Migrant workers with permission under the Health and Care Worker (or Skilled Worker) route cannot claim public funds (such as welfare benefits) under the Immigration Rules, and they cannot under normal circumstances ask the Home Office for permission to access public funds.
If there are particularly compelling circumstances, such as you are facing destitution or homelessness, you can apply on discretionary grounds to access these funds. This is known as an application to vary the conditions of your leave.
Please seek immigration legal advice. If your application is refused, the Home Office may reconsider whether you continue to meet the requirements of the immigration route under which you were given permission, and your permission could be cancelled. Please see the relevant Home Office guidance.
You may be able to apply for other financial support from your local council if you are facing destitution or homelessness.