The tech industry has become notorious for mass layoffs over recent years. Given the globally mobile nature of the industry's talent pool, immigration concerns often arise in this context.

In the UK many employees of tech companies are sponsored as Skilled Worker migrants. Practically this means they are issued a Certificate of Sponsorship (‘CoS’) by the company they work for, and their immigration permission is contingent upon them continuing to work for their employer om the role specified on their CoS. When an individual is laid off one of their first concerns is necessarily ‘how can I stay in the UK?’

What are the immediate consequences of being laid off?

If there is the potential to negotiate, a sponsored employee should look to obtain ‘gardening leave’ from their employer, rather than being paid in lieu of notice (‘PILON’). This is because the duty for the employer to tell UK Visas and Immigration (‘UKVI’) that they are no longer sponsoring an employee comes at the point that the individual’s employment contract is terminated. Gardening leave can therefore provide valuable breathing space for the employee to explore future options.

Once the employment contract is terminated the employer has ten working days to report to UKVI that the employee is no longer sponsored by the company. UKVI will then reach out to the employee curtailing their leave to remain in the UK. Usually, they will give them 60 days to either leave the UK or to apply for a new visa. The amount of time it takes for UKVI to send the curtailment notice is unpredictable.

Generally, it is inadvisable for the employee to travel outside the UK from the point at which they are put on gardening leave, although this must be considered on a case-by-case basis.

What about the longer term?

If the employee wants to stay in the UK in the longer term, the most flexible option is to switch into the Global Talent visa category, provided they meet the criteria. The process of obtaining this visa involves firstly getting an endorsement from Tech Nation (the UK network for ambitious tech entrepreneurs) which, if granted, allows the individual to apply to UKVI for a visa that gives them the freedom to work freely in the UK in either a self-employed or employed capacity, within their field of expertise. This visa route is open to technical applicants (i.e. programmers) and non-technical applicants (i.e. those who have held business roles in tech companies). All applicants must be able to demonstrate that within the last five years they have been recognised as either being. or having the potential to become, a leading talent in in the tech sector.

If a Global Talent visa is not an option, then the individual will need to look at whether they can secure another sponsored Skilled Worker role within the 60-day time frame. There is also the potential of exploring other non-work UK visa routes, such as the Partner category, which relies on the individual’s relationship with a long-term partner.

How can I future proof my situation?

For employees looking to future proof their position, we strongly recommend looking into alternative visa routes well in advance of any potential layoffs. Both the Global Talent and Partner route allow the employee to work in the UK for any employer, so were they to obtain this status they could continue in their current roles, safe in the knowledge that were the worst to happen, they would be able to remain in the UK.

This article was first published by Computing in April 2025.