Skilled Worker visa: modern slavery victims can now leave abusive employers

What has changed

From 9 October 2026, victims of modern slavery on Skilled Worker visas can leave abusive employers without risking their immigration status.

Once a person is formally recognised as a victim of modern slavery, they are no longer tied to a specific sponsor. They can take up any lawful work for the rest of their visa.

Before this change, victims who left an abusive sponsor risked losing both their immigration status and their income. This is because Skilled Worker visa holders have no recourse to public funds.

• Applies to people on the Skilled Worker route who are formally recognised as modern slavery victims
• They can leave their sponsor as soon as the Home Office recognises them
• They can do any lawful work for the rest of their visa

Who is affected

The change covers workers across the Skilled Worker route. The Home Office says this includes care workers and others who came to the UK in good faith but were exploited by rogue employers.

The source does not say anything about other visa routes.

What you should do

The announcement does not set out steps for workers to follow. Read the official page linked below for the full details.

Background

The Home Office says this is part of wider work to tackle modern slavery and rogue employers. Through the Immigration White Paper, the government has committed to making it easier for sponsored workers to change employer.

More than 6,600 sponsors have lost their licence to hire overseas workers since this government came to power. Over 4,400 of these lost their licence in the year ending June 2026, a 140% rise on the year before. Where there is evidence of crime, sponsors will be referred to the police.