Recognised victims of modern slavery on Skilled Worker visas can, from today, leave abusive employers and take any lawful work for the remainder of their visa without risking their immigration status, the UK government has announced.

What does the rule change mean?

Until now, Skilled Worker visa holders who left an abusive sponsor risked losing both their immigration status and their income, because the route ties workers to a specific sponsor and offers no recourse to public funds. Once the Home Office formally recognises an individual as a victim of modern slavery, that tie ends. The worker can leave the sponsor immediately, take up lawful employment with any employer and remain in the UK for the rest of their visa.

The change applies across the Skilled Worker route, including care workers and others who came to the UK in good faith and were then exploited by rogue employers.

What did workers face before?

One victim paid an agency £20,000 for what she believed was stable, full-time care work. Her abusive sponsor instead demanded £400 a month just to keep her visa active, while providing little or no work. For months she struggled to pay rent and support her family, facing repeated threats that her visa would be cancelled. When work did come, she earned as little as £200 to £300 a month — a fraction of what she had been promised.

From today, victims like her can leave abusive sponsors as soon as the Home Office recognises them, take lawful work and start rebuilding their lives.

What did officials say?

Minister for Migration and Citizenship Jo White said: "No one should have to endure the exploitation experienced by victims like this. Today's changes will give victims the freedom to leave abusive workplaces, rebuild their lives and move on from the trauma of exploitation."

She added: "While we support victims, we are also going after those responsible. Rogue sponsors who exploit workers will face the full force of the law."

Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner Eleanor Lyons said: "I have heard repeatedly from survivors how they became trapped in abusive employment, fearful that leaving could put their livelihood and immigration status at risk. No victim of modern slavery should have to remain with an abusive employer."

Salvation Army Deputy Director for Anti Trafficking and Modern Slavery, Major Heather Grinsted, said helping survivors regain financial independence is one of the key ways to protect them from future exploitation, and that allowing survivors to work for another sponsor "is a crucial way to help them rebuild their lives safely and with dignity."

How many sponsors have lost their licences?

The victim's former employer was among more than 6,600 sponsors stripped of their licence to hire overseas workers since the current government came to power — more revocations than in a decade under the previous government.

Licence revocations are accelerating:

• Over 4,400 sponsors lost their licence in the year ending June 2026.
• That figure is a 140% rise on the year before.
• It is the highest level on record.
• Where evidence of criminality is identified, sponsors are referred to the police and face the full force of the law.

What comes next?

The measures form part of the government's wider effort to tackle modern slavery and rogue employers who abuse the immigration system. Through the Immigration White Paper, the government has committed to:

• Making it easier for sponsored workers to change employer.
• Reducing dependency on individual sponsors.
• Strengthening protections against exploitation.

The Home Office remains the official authority determining recognition as a victim of modern slavery. Workers who believe they are being exploited should consult the Home Office's official guidance on the modern slavery identification process and Skilled Worker visa conditions; this article does not constitute individual legal advice.