The Home Office will allow you to enter the United Kingdom up to 14 days before you start your job. The start date of your job is the one given by your sponsor in your certificate of sponsorship.

The following conditions will apply when you enter the United Kingdom.

Permission to stay in the United Kingdom is given only if you meet the following requirements:

• you have no access to state benefits; and
• you must register with the police if this is needed by paragraph 326 of the immigration rules: and
• you do not start up or run a business; and
• you do not work, except:
• with a certificate of sponsorship for a licensed sponsor; and
• in an extra job in the same sector and at the same level, as long as it does not go over 20 hours a week;
• doing voluntary work.

Extra Jobs

You can do extra work to the job that you have a certificate of sponsorship for if:

• it is in the same profession at the same professional level as the job that your certificate of sponsorship is for;
• the work is no more than 20 hours a week;
• the work is outside the working hours that the certificate of sponsorship is for.

The Home Office are not required to be notified of this extra job. You must not be paid or receive other money for the voluntary work, except reasonable expenses as in section 44 of the National Minimum Wage Act.

Second Jobs

You can apply to do a second job that is not the same profession as the job your certificate of sponsorship is for and is not an extra job as above, for example a job that is over 20 hours a week. But you must have a new certificate of sponsorship for this work from a sponsor.

You cannot apply for a second job until you have started working for your first sponsor (the one that gave you your certificate of sponsorship that allowed you to come to the United Kingdom). You will have to meet the points-based assessment for the category.

You will have to apply again and include a letter to say that you want to change your existing permission to stay. The letter must include:

• your name;
• your date of birth;
• your certificate of sponsorship reference number (from the permission to stay you want to change);
• confirmation of when your current permission to stay runs out.

Changing your job

If you have permission to enter or stay in the United Kingdom under tier 2, you can apply to change your job either in the same organisation or in a new organisation. You must apply again and meet all the points' requirements. You will not have to resend evidence of your English language or maintenance (funds) if you have already proven this in your first application. If you not have already sent evidence, you must send it or your application will be refused.

If your job ends before your permission to stay runs out, it is likely that Home Office may limit your permission to stay to 60 days. You will need to apply again by making a new application. We will not limit your permission to stay if you have less than six months left.