Visa extensions and switching routes

01

Establish your current permission

Check your decision letter and eVisa, including the expiry date and work or study conditions. An eVisa records immigration status; accessing it does not itself extend that status.

Set out changes since the last grant: employer, role, salary, relationship, course or family circumstances. For a Skilled Worker, an ordinary extension generally assumes the same employer, job and occupation code. A changed role or employer may require an update rather than a straightforward extension.

02

ECAA / Ankara Agreement extensions

Turkish Businesspersons, Turkish Workers and eligible ECAA family members have distinct extension requirements. Check the business or employment history, conditions of permission and each family member’s status.

ECAA settlement is a separate application. When the main holder settles or becomes British, a partner who is not yet eligible may need different provisions for further permission.

• ECAA extensions
• ECAA settlement (ILR)

03

Existing Sole Representatives

The Sole Representative route is closed to initial applications, but existing holders may be able to extend or settle. An extension depends on the continuing overseas business and your role in its UK branch or subsidiary. Prepare evidence of current trading, ownership, employment and pay before your permission expires. Family members need their own permission. A new overseas business considering UK establishment should assess the separate UK Expansion Worker route rather than assume the legacy category is available.

04

Choose between extending and switching

Some categories allow repeat extensions; others have maximum periods or do not allow extension. Switching inside the UK is also restricted by the categories involved. Do not assume that holding any UK visa permits an in-country change.

An extension should be considered alongside later settlement, dependent family members and the evidence you can provide now. A family-route extension, for example, remains an application under that route’s current requirements. A previous approval does not replace the need to establish present eligibility.

05

Protect status while an application is pending

A valid, in-time application to extend or vary limited permission can engage section 3C if existing permission expires before a decision. This generally continues the existing conditions while the statutory protection applies. Late or invalid applications do not automatically provide it.

Leaving the UK ends section 3C leave. Separately, leaving the Common Travel Area while a relevant in-country application is undecided normally causes withdrawal under paragraph 34K. These are different rules, so a trip to Ireland should not be assumed safe merely because it stays within that area.

06

Prepare the timeline before the form

For an initial enquiry, give the exact expiry date, route, current location and proposed change. Flag any pending application, refusal, booked travel or missing evidence immediately.

• Keep copies of previous application forms, decisions and submission receipts.
• List family members whose permission may expire separately.
• Identify evidence needing an employer, university or other third party.
• Agree the work and fees before detailed preparation; an enquiry does not submit an application or protect a deadline.

Common questions