Working in England: your visa decides what is allowed, and you translate your diploma into British terms yourself

Yes, you can work in England, but unlike in the EU everything hangs on your visa. With a Skilled Worker visa you work for the employer that sponsors you, in the job on your Certificate of Sponsorship. On top of that you may do at most twenty hours a week of other work, including for a business of your own. Your partner has more freedom than you. The trap is that your visa does not move with you: whoever changes job or employer without updating their visa breaks the conditions. How you get that first job and the visa is covered in the article on the Skilled Worker visa.

What may you do next to your sponsored job?

Overtime in your own job is unlimited. For other work there is a ceiling of twenty hours a week, as long as you keep doing your sponsored job. That extra work must have an occupation code listed as higher skilled, be on the Immigration Salary List, or be in the same sector and at the same level as your main job.

That also applies to self-employed work. GOV.UK explicitly names registering as a sole trader as a way to set up a business, but counts everything: preparing invoices and other administration also come off your twenty hours. If you want more hours in a second job, you need a new Certificate of Sponsorship from that second employer and you update your visa. Voluntary work is allowed, unpaid and only for a registered charity, a voluntary organisation or a statutory body.

If you change employer, you also update your visa. A new employer, or a job with a different occupation code at the same employer, requires an application with a new Certificate of Sponsorship, and your partner and children apply separately. Don't start the new job until your new permission is confirmed; a decision usually comes within eight weeks, and you may keep doing your old job in the meantime.

What may your partner do?

More than you. A partner or child with a dependant visa may work, with the sole exception of work as a sportsperson or coach, and may study. No sponsor is needed and there is no twenty-hour limit. For a family in which the partner who comes along also wants to work, that is the widest route. What applies to everyone in the family: claiming most benefits (public funds) and the British State Pension is not possible.

Is your Dutch diploma recognised?

What helps with a job application is a Statement of Comparability from UK ENIC, a certificate that shows how a foreign qualification compares to the UK education systems. You use it for job applications, studies or registration with a professional body, together with your original diploma. Grades, subjects and your English level are not on it. Professional licences and qualifications from professional bodies are typically not eligible, unless they are recognised at a national level.

If you work in a regulated profession, that is not enough. For a number of professions, such as architect, the title or the work is legally protected, and a regulator decides whether you are qualified. The British government's Regulated Professions Register tells you per profession whether it is regulated, which qualifications or experience you need, and which regulator is responsible. Check it before you apply for jobs.

What is left of a British salary?

You pay Income Tax and National Insurance, both deducted by your employer. The tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April.

Item	Amount or rate (2026-2027)
Minimum wage, 21 and over	£12.71 an hour (since 1 April 2026)
Tax-free allowance (Personal Allowance)	£12,570
Income Tax, basic rate	20% on £12,571 to £50,270
Income Tax, higher rate	40% on £50,271 to £125,140
Income Tax, additional rate	45% above £125,140
National Insurance, employee	8% on £242 to £967 a week, 2% above that
National Insurance, self-employed (Class 4)	6% on profits from £12,570 to £50,270, 2% above that
Statutory holiday with a five-day week	28 paid days, bank holidays may be included
Statement of Comparability (UK ENIC)	£69.60, ready in 15 working days after a complete application

Two things stand out for anyone coming from the Netherlands. The tax-free allowance shrinks above £100,000: it goes down by £1 for every £2 of income above that and is gone entirely from £125,140. And the bank holidays: an employer may deduct them from your statutory 28 days. So when comparing an offer, check whether the number of holiday days includes or excludes bank holidays.

If you earn something as a self-employed person next to your job, you pay tax on it through Self Assessment; how that fits together with your National Insurance Number and the tax return is covered in the article on that.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 2 of 5 of the journey, step 2.1: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to England or go straight to step 2.1 in the open plan.