Legitimate Immigration Minister Tom Pursglove announced that the UK Immigration Rules will “deliver the biggest always cut to migration over the course of this month” when they released the most recent Declaration of Adjustments.
The Statement of Changes HC590 may have severe consequences for companies from April 4, 2024, as well as for American citizens and settled people bringing companions to sit with them in the UK from April 11.
The changes that apply to businesses with UK non-resident employees are listed below.
Minimum wage requirements for sponsoring new skilled staff
The Skilled Worker visa has been the primary European work immigration way since the UK left the European Union, losing freedom of movement with other Western countries.
If non-resident workers who meets the higher end of the common Skilled Worker visa level or the going rate of pay for the specific position as determined by the UK state, they may sponsor them for a Skilled Worker sponsor license.
On April 4, the standard level for most fresh Skilled Worker visa may increase from £26, 200 to £38, 700. Maximum income level may boost for those with discounts: from £23, 580 to £34, 830 for Experienced Workers with a relevant Doctorate and from £20, 960 to £30, 960 for those with a related STEM PhD, New Entrants, or those on the Shortage Occupation / Immigration Salary List.
On April 4, there will also be an increase in the various going rates for specific occupations in addition to the general annual pay threshold increase.
According to the Office of National Statistics ‘ Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, employers could sponsor a skilled worker if they were paid a salary that was equal to or above the lowest 25 % of the total for the occupation.
From April 4, the UK government will use the 50th percentile ( median ) of salaries in that occupation to set the new going rate.
Shortage Employment
The Shortage Occupation List ( SOL ) will be eliminated on April 4th, along with a 20 % discount on the starting rate for employers who encounter skills shortages in list-related occupations. A heavily reduced list of jobs will remain on an” Immigration Salaries List” ( ISL), which replaces the SOL. A lower general salary threshold, which is currently$ 30 and$ 960, will continue to benefit the ISL.
For instance, the UK currently has a shortage of programmers and software developers. Until now they could be hired on Skilled Worker visas if paid £27, 200 ( based on a 37.5- hour week ). They would be paid a minimum of the new going rate of £49, 400 ( higher than the general skilled worker threshold of £38, 700 ) starting on April 4. Only a few shortage positions with median pay under that amount are offered in the new ISL, such as those in various construction trades, lab technicians, and pharmaceutical technicians.
Renewing current Skilled Workers ‘ visas
When it comes to changing their sponsoring employer, applying for settlement, or extending their visa, those who are already on the Skilled Worker route are exempt from these salary increases.
When they next submit an application after April 4, their going rate of pay should increase at the same rate as that of resident workers, on updated 25th percentiles using the most recent pay data. The minimum general salary threshold for Skilled Workers already on the immigration route before April 4 will be £29, 000 when they renew, change sponsor, or apply for settlement. The threshold will be$ 26 for those with relevant PhDs,$ 23 for those with relevant STEM PhDs, and$ 23 for those with relevant SOL/ISL positions, for new hires, or for those with national pay scales.
Skilled Workers who are currently sponsored in a position that is on the SOL or ISL list but is no longer on the list when they submit their next application can still be sponsored under the lower general requirement, but only if they obtain an extension on their visa to continue serving the same sponsor. Otherwise, their pay must meet the above general thresholds and the updated 25th percentile going rate, similar to those already sponsored as Skilled Workers before April 4.
Skilled Workers under some SOC codes who are eligible for sponsorship under the current rules may no longer be eligible after April 4, 2024 because they are now regarded as having levels of skill below RQF Level 3 ( see below occupation code changes ). Nannies, fashion stylists, and car salespeople are no longer considered for positions. Those who had continuous permission as a Skilled Worker before the new rules but now find their roles ineligible will only be able to apply for a visa extension in that role if they continue working for the same employer. It will no longer be possible to work for a new employer.
New job descriptions
The Standard Occupational Classification ( SOC ) system used to classify occupations is being updated from the SOC 2010 definitions to the newer SOC 2020 codes on April 4. With different numbering, some changes to categories, and some occupations no longer qualifying for Skilled Worker sponsorship, the Office of National Statistic’s 2020 set of definitions are being changed to SOC codes for jobs.
Employers who want to apply for Skilled Worker visas before these changes go into effect should be aware that they must issue a Certificate of Sponsorship ( CoS ) by April 4, 2024.
Requests are taking longer than usual, and UK Visas and Immigration has announced that the online sponsorship management system will stop working between 7pm on April 2 and 9am on April 4 in order to update new 2020 SOC codes for all occupations.
This further shortens the timeframe to assign a CoS before April 4 in addition to the Easter Bank Holidays. DCoS allocations made before April 4, 2024, but not assigned by this date will be voided, and a new request must be made via the sponsorship management system ( in accordance with the regulations after April 4). UCoS allocations unused by April 4 will remain valid but if assigned from that date will be subject to the new rules.
sponsoring employees on national pay scales and health and care visas
Employees with national pay scales, such as teachers and doctors, may be sponsored on a minimum salary threshold of £23,200 up from £20,960 on April 4 and should be paid at least according to the national pay scale for that position.
New health and care workers not on a pay scale ( such as health care practice managers ) have a general threshold increase to £29, 000 from £26, 200 and the going rate they will have to be paid increases along the 25th percentile, not the median like for most other Skilled Worker visas.
On April 4, the discounted general threshold for health and care workers with relevant PhDs increased from £23, 800 to £26, 100. The general threshold increase is from £20, 960 to £23, 200 for those with a relevant STEM PhD, on the SOL/ISL, or new entrants.
Fewer permitted occupations for asylum seekers
The only occupations on the Shortage Occupation List are the ones that asylum seekers are currently permitted to hold and only if they have been waiting for a decision for more than 12 months without fault of their own.
The migration advisory committee’s repeated recommendations have been ignored by the government to allow asylum seekers who are eligible to work to work in any or all of their skilled occupations. With tens of thousands of asylum seekers and their dependents stuck in limbo, the Statement of Changes instead restricts permitted jobs even further to the very few shortage occupations which make it onto the new ISL.
Scale-up sponsors
The Scale-up visa salary threshold, which increased from £34,600 to £36,300, is not as high as the salary for Skilled Workers on April 4. The going rate for this route continues to be set at the 25th percentile.
A Scale-up sponsor license becomes a very appealing alternative to the Skilled Worker sponsor license for organizations that qualify as scale-ups when combined with the lower sponsor license fee, Certificate of Sponsorship ( CoS ) fee, and lack of immigration skills charge.
Based on earnings made in the two or three years that workers on scale-up visas have to work on to extend or settle are required to earn. Those who applied for a Scale- up visa on or before April 11, 2023, need to show only qualifying PAYE earnings of £33, 000 while those who applied between April 12, 2023 and April 4, 2024 will need to show qualifying PAYE earnings of £34, 600 to extend or settle.
Immigration routes for Global Business Mobility
Global Business Mobility visa thresholds for the majority of people are being raised from £45, 800, to £48, 500, while the Graduate Trainee route threshold has been increased from £24, 220 to £255, 410. Going rates for the Global Business Mobility routes will continue to be based on the 25th percentile of roles, with those on a Graduate Trainee visa continuing to benefit from a 30 % discount to the going rate.
Global Business Mobility Senior or Specialist Workers must be employed by businesses located abroad. Although the £48,500 threshold for new Skilled Workers is higher than the £38,700 threshold for new Skilled Workers, having a median-based going rate may make the Senior or Specialist Worker route an appealing substitute for overseas employers moving staff to the UK. Previously, employers may have found the Skilled Worker route easier.
Additionally, it might be simpler for overseas sponsors to meet the salary levels for Senior or Specialist Workers because they may include some benefits that are not available for the Skilled Worker route.
After April 4, some SOC codes that are currently eligible for sponsorship under the Global Business Mobility rules are deemed to be below RQF Level 6, making interior designers and care home managers, for example, no longer qualified to be sponsored along these lines. Any Global Business Mobility workers no longer at RQF Level 6 with continuous permission before the rule change will be able to apply to extend their role. Otherwise, they may apply for sponsorship for these positions using the Skilled Worker route.
Application for a partner visa requires a minimum income.
The minimum income requirement for British and resident workers to sponsor a partner on a family visa increases from £18, 600 to £29, 000 for applications made on or after April 11, 2024. There wo n’t be any additional income requirements for children.
Rental income, self-employment, or savings can be used to demonstrate that a person can support their loved one if they do not meet the income threshold. However, the amount can be prohibitive. A British worker earning £22, 000 instead of the required £22, 000 would need to show savings of the same amount as the £7, 000 shortfall multiplied by two and a half plus a sum of £16, 000, resulting in £33, 500. If the couple are returning to the UK and the British partner has not been offered a job, as well as 12-month’s salary, this will increase to £88,500.
Those already holding a family visa, granted a fiancé visa before the threshold hike, or applying before the impending income threshold increase this spring, will continue to have visa applications assessed against the current £18, 600 requirement.
The Home Secretary initially announced that the threshold for new applications would be raised to £38,700, which is the new median wage threshold for Skilled Worker visas. This is scheduled to be implemented in stages following an outcry. Initially, the minimum income requirement will rise to £29, 000 from April 11, 2024, then again in the Autumn to £34, 500 and in Spring 2025 it is due to hit £38, 700.
