Employer Confirmation for Indefinite Leave to Remain

Indefinite leave to remain applicants relying on sponsored employment require confirmation from their employer that their employment will continue at the date of application. The employer’s confirmation must include the applicant’s role and salary level. Absence of this confirmation can weaken an otherwise strong application. This post provides an overview of the employer confirmation required for a UK Indefinite Leave to Remain application.

Key points

• The employer letter satisfies a specific two-part test in the Rules. Appendix Skilled Worker, at SW 24.2, requires the sponsor to confirm the role is still needed and the salary will continue to be paid.
• The letter is checked against the Certificate of Sponsorship. Job title, salary and the Standard Occupational Classification code all need to match.
• A role or salary change since the Certificate of Sponsorship was issued is not a problem on its own. It needs to be explained directly, with the date the change took effect.
• Where a previous employer was involved during the qualifying period, that period requires its own evidence, whether a letter, payslips or a P45.

Contents

• Why the employer letter matters for an ILR application
• What the letter needs to include
• Confirming the role matches the Certificate of Sponsorship
• Where the role or salary has changed since the Certificate of Sponsorship was issued
• Confirming the employment continues
• Who should sign the letter and how it should be presented
• If the applicant changed employer during the qualifying period
• What to do if the current employer will not provide a complete letter
• How the employer letter fits with the rest of the ILR evidence
• Frequently asked questions

Why is an employer needed for an ILR application?

The employer letter gives the Home Office valid, first-hand evidence that the sponsored employment behind the application is genuine, current and continuing. This sits within the wider Settlement and ILR framework. Settlement as a Skilled Worker requires a continuous period of five years in the UK, at SW 21.1 of Appendix Skilled Worker of the Immigration Rules. The applicant must meet the continuous residence requirement in Appendix Continuous Residence throughout that period, at SW 22.1.

Payslips and bank statements show that a salary has been paid. On their own, they do not confirm that the role itself is ongoing rather than about to end. The employer letter closes that gap.

An employer letter belongs to the evidence set for Indefinite Leave to Remain on the work route. Continuing sponsored employment is what the continuous residence requirement is measured against there.

What does employer confirmation need to include?

A Home Office caseworker checks the letter against the Certificate of Sponsorship already on file, so the two documents need to describe the same job. The letter reads as a single, coherent statement and it should cover each of the following points:

• The company’s full registered name and registered address, on company letterhead.
• The applicant’s full name, exactly as it appears on their passport.
• Job title, matching the occupation recorded on the Certificate of Sponsorship, and the Standard Occupational Classification code for that role.
• Employment start date and current working hours.
• Current gross salary, matching the figure on the payslips submitted alongside the letter and confirmation that they will be paid at least the said rate for the foreseeable future.
• A clear statement that the employment is ongoing and will continue for the foreseeable future
• The name, job title and contact details of the authorised signatory signing the letter.

Missing any one of these does not automatically sink an application, since the wider evidence set may fill the gap. A caseworker who has to cross-reference several documents to confirm one point is more likely to raise a follow-up request. That may add days or weeks to a decision that could otherwise have been straightforward.

Some employer letters also confirm whether the applicant took any business or personal travel during the employment. This is not itself a Rules requirement, but it corroborates the separate absence calculation for continuous residence. Where the picture needs reconciling against payslips and bank statements, this detail is genuinely useful.

Confirming the role matches the Certificate of Sponsorship

The Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code recorded on the Certificate of Sponsorship is the reference point a caseworker checks the letter against. The job title and salary are checked the same way. Restating the same job title and code the Certificate of Sponsorship in the supporting letter removes a gap in information before it opens.

Where the role or salary has changed since the Certificate of Sponsorship was issued

A promotion, a pay rise or a change of duties during the qualifying period is common. It does not on its own cause a problem. What the letter needs to do is say so directly: the original role and salary, the date the change took effect, and the new figures.

The Skilled Worker caseworker guidance confirms that a change of this kind does not always require a new Certificate of Sponsorship. An email or letter confirming the ongoing minimum salary is enough, provided the sponsor can verify it if needed. This is the same confirmation SW 24.2 already requires, so a single, current letter can satisfy both.

Confirming the employment continues

Appendix Skilled Worker states the test the employer letter needs to satisfy directly, at SW 24.2. The sponsor must confirm they still require the applicant to work for them for the foreseeable future. The sponsor must also confirm the applicant is paid, and will be paid for the foreseeable future, at least the salary required under SW 24.3.

A letter that only confirms employment up to the date it is signed, without addressing either limb, does not meet it. The letter needs both statements: that the role is still needed, and that the salary continues to meet the requirement.

Where the role genuinely is fixed-term, the letter should say so and give the end date rather than use the SW 24.2 wording. An accurate fixed-term statement is stronger evidence than a permanent-sounding letter that does not match the contract on file.

The sponsor’s own standing matters too. SW 24.1 requires the sponsor to still be approved by the Home Office to sponsor Skilled Workers at the date of decision. That is a further reason the letter should come from the actual employing entity.

Who should sign the letter and how it should be presented

Subject to the company structure, an HR head, a director, the applicant’s line manager, or, for a Skilled Worker sponsor, the Authorising Officer named on the sponsor licence, are the usual signatories. It should give that person’s name, job title and contact details so the Home Office can verify it if needed.

It should also be printed on company letterhead, dated within 28 days of the date of application, and state the company’s registered name and address.

A scanned copy of a signed letter is generally accepted where it is uploaded as part of the online application. The letter itself still needs to be on headed paper and properly signed.

If the applicant changed employer during the qualifying period

The current employer’s letter covers the time worked for that employer. The earlier period may require its own evidence.

A letter from the previous employer is the clearest option where one can still be obtained. Where the company can no longer provide one, payslips, bank statements and a P45 covering that period stand in its place. Requesting this evidence from a previous employer early is worthwhile. A company that has since restructured, or changed HR systems, can take longer than expected to respond.

A previous employer’s reference sometimes includes a record of annual leave entitlement and any leave taken during the period of employment. This is not a strict requirement, but it gives the caseworker independent detail to cross-check against any absences claimed for that period.

What to do if the current employer will not provide a complete letter

The employer confirmation is a mandatory requirement for settlement as per SW 24.2 Appendix Skilled Worker of the Immigration Rules. The said rule require confirmation in writing that the job shall continue at the specified rate for the foreseeable future.

How the employer letter fits with the rest of the ILR evidence

The employer letter is one document within a wider evidence set built around continuous residence. It works alongside, not instead of, the other required documents. The ILR Supporting Documents Checklist sets out the full range of documents a settlement application typically needs. Documents Needed to Prove Continuous UK Residence covers the wider evidence base the employer letter sits within.

Salary itself is assessed against the Skilled Worker salary requirements for the applicant’s occupation. Absences from the UK during the qualifying period are assessed separately from employment continuity. The 180-day absence rule for ILR sets out how that count works.

Frequently asked questions

How Whytecroft Ford can help

Whytecroft Ford’s immigration team reviews ILR evidence, including employer letters, against the requirements of the specific route before it is submitted. To discuss an Indefinite Leave to Remain application, call 0208 757 5751 or use the contact form.

Sources

• Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Worker, GOV.UK
• Immigration Rules Appendix Continuous Residence, GOV.UK
• Skilled Worker visa: caseworker guidance, GOV.UK