The invention relates to a handover method in a mobile communication system in which error correction of a radio signal can be arranged with different protection levels. The method comprises measuring the signal level and/or quality of base stations (BTS) in a mobile station (MS), the signal quality and level of the mobile station (MS) at the base station (BTS) is measured, comparing measurements results thus obtained and other variables of the connection with handover criteria, and handover is performed from the source cell to the target cell, when the handover criteria are met. The invention is characterized by determining at least one handover criterion depending on error correction of the radio connection. The invention further relates to a mobile communication system for performing handover.