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Work permits - Bulgarian and Romanian nationals only

Change of employment applications

This page explains change of employment applications. This guidance does not apply to General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and Student Internships.

You will need to get permission from the UK Border Agency if:

  • you would like to employ a person who already has a work permit for a job, training, or work experience with another employer; or
  • you want an existing employee to change posts within your organisation; or
  • the person has a change to the duties and conditions of work from those on the previous work permit application.

If a person is to continue training or a work experience programme which we have already approved, they will need to carry on the training or work experience programme from the stage they had already reached with their previous employer. We will approve only for the balance of the period agreed in the original application.

You do not need to provide evidence of a recruitment search provided we receive your application either before the person leaves their current employment or within 28 days of the persons last day of work with their previous employer. They must be doing the same sort of work and you must wait for our permission before they can start working for you.

If the person is currently on a multiple entry work permit, you will need to make a fresh application. For information on multiple entry work permits see either the Business and Commercial or the Sports and Entertainments guidance notes which you can download from the right side of this page.

For change of employment applications you should use the following forms:

  • WP1 for Business and Commercial and Training and Work Experience Scheme; or
  • SR1 for sponsored researchers form; or
  • PD1 for post graduate doctors and dentists; or
  • WP3 for Sports and Entertainments.

For details of what information we will need you must read the appropriate guidance notes. You can download the application forms and a copy of each of the guidance notes from the right side of this page. If you are applying under the Business and Commercial, Training and Work Experience, or Sports and Entertainments schemes, you can submit your application by email. For more information see Electronic forms.

If your change of employment application has been approved the individual must apply to vary their leave to remain (FLR), to cover their change of employment. They will need to use from FLR(IED).

Technical changes of employment

If during the validity of the work permit, you wish to amend any personal details of your employee or make minor changes to the information we hold, you should write to the following address:

UK Border Agency
PO Box 3468
Sheffield
S3 8WA

You should send details of the intended change and provide the person's worker reference number. For example, a technical change could be a change of name on marriage, change of your business address, or where both the employee and the specific job they were approved for, move location.

Significant changes to the job, location or terms and conditions may require a change of employment application, as outlined above.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Can the overseas national work while the application is being processed if they are already living in the United Kingdom?

    Normally if you have been issued with a new work permit you can not start working under the conditions of that permit until you have been granted further leave to remain (FLR) to do so using application form FLR(IED). However, you may work while the FLR(IED) form is being processed if you have valid leave to remain in an immigration category that allows you to do so.

    For example, if you are residing in the United Kingdom as a working holidaymaker or on a permit-free training visa, you can continue to work until a decision is made on your FLR as long as the work permit application and the associated application for FLR is received before the expiry date of your visa.

    An interim arrangement is currently in place whereby existing work permit holders can start a new job on the strength of the work permit permission letter, providing his/her existing leave to remain covers all or part of the period of the new employment. In these cases individuals will then have to submit a further leave to remain application before their existing leave expires, or within six months, whichever is the sooner. As the employer's work permit will have been approved, and the individual will still have to submit a further leave to remain application, this does not undermine immigration controls.

Application forms

Postgraduate doctors and dentists

Sports and Entertainments

Training and Work Experience

Business and Commercial work permits

Sponsored researchers

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