From 4 April 2024 many people who would qualify now, will not be able to get a Skilled Worker visa. Hefty increases to the occupation-based 'going rate' salary thresholds and the new general salary threshold of £38,700 will impact a vast number of would-be applicants. Employers should urgently review potential applicants to submit applications now and avoid disappointment in the near future.
The full extent of salary changes to work routes and the extent
of transitional arrangements will only be confirmed once new
Immigration Rules are published on 14 March 2024. However, the
clear message from Government is that net migration must be reduced
and these salary increases are one heavy hammered approach to doing
so.
Employers should urgently review the immigration position of their
existing workforce, as well as new hires in the pipeline. Many
employees may be intending to apply for extensions within the
Skilled Worker category or switches into it from other categories
and will no longer be able to do so if they leave it until after 3
April 2024. It is therefore important to assess whether potentially
affected individuals could apply before the changes. Employers may
also want to consider assisting those currently eligible under the
Partner route, where similar salary increases could affect their
continuity of employment as well.
Questions to ask include:
- Will the employee still meet the minimum salary requirement
after the changes? Anyone on the following visas should be
assessed:
- Student
- Graduate
- Ukraine Scheme
- Senior or Specialist Worker
- Graduate Trainee
- Dependant
- Youth Mobility
- Spouse, partner, family route visa holders
- Should new hires or assignments under the Creative Worker, Senior or Specialist Worker, Graduate Trainee or UK Expansion Worker routes be brought forward?
- Will a worker who is eligible to apply under the Partner route still be eligible after the minimum income requirement is raised to £29,000 on 11 April 2024, or £34,500 later in 2024?
- Should a worker who is a carer or senior carer be sponsored
before 11 March 2024 if they wish to be accompanied or joined by
dependants?
" Should the business consider becoming a sponsor under the Scale-up route if eligible?
It is important for employers to act as soon as possible, particularly in view of ongoing processing delays that could slow down preliminary steps such as obtaining a certificate of sponsorship.
Substantial rises to going rates for Skilled Worker route occupations
It has been widely publicised that the general salary threshold for new applicants to the Skilled Worker route will rise from £26,200 to £38,700. In addition, sponsors should also note the following changes to the 'going rate' thresholds will apply for each eligible occupation (as dictated by its Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) code):
- The going rates will rise from the 25th percentile to the 50th percentile (median) of the salary range for each occupation;
- The salary ranges will be adjusted for inflation; and
- The SOC codes for each occupation will be updated to align with SOC 2020 instead of SOC 2010.
It is anticipated that the going rate thresholds for individuals
who are already on the Skilled Worker route will remain at the 25th
percentile due to transitional arrangements, however the current
going rates will be updated to SOC 2020 coding and adjusted for
inflation using ASHE 2023 data.
Some examples of the anticipated salary changes for commonly used
SOC codes are included below.
SOC code (SOC 2010) | SOC code (SOC 2020) | Current going rate per year (GBP) | Estimated going rate per year for new Skilled Workers not covered by transitional arrangements (50th percentile, GBP) | Estimated going rate per year for existing Skilled Workers covered by transitional arrangements (25th percentile, GBP) |
2135 IT business analysts, architects and system designers | 2133 IT business analysts, architects and system designers | 30,080 | 51,698 | 39,328 |
2136 Programmers and software development professionals | 2134 Programmers and software development professionals | 27,200 | 49,430 | 36,296 |
2139 Information technology and telecommunications professionals not elsewhere classified | 2139 Information technology professionals not elsewhere classified | 25,680 | 44,244 | 31,559 |
2413 Solicitors | 2412 Solicitors and lawyers | 33,700 | 52,296 | 37,733 |
2419 Legal professionals not elsewhere classified | 2419 Legal professionals not elsewhere classified | 52,100 | 29,571 |
23,540 |
2421 Chartered and certified accountants | 2421 Chartered and certified accountants | 31,300 | 46,847 | 33,905 |
3520 Legal associate professionals | 3520 Legal associate professionals | 21,500 | 29,965 |
24,333 |
3534 Finance and investment analysts and advisers | 2422 Finance and investment analysts and advisers | 28,600 | 40,629 | 32,141 |
3538 Financial accounts managers | 3534 Financial accounts managers | 29,800 | 41,622 | 32,549 |
3545 Sales accounts and business development managers | 3556 Sales accounts and business development managers | 35,100 | 52,495 | 39,093 |
Groups of worker likely to be most heavily affected by the Skilled
Worker route changes
The increases to the salary thresholds will affect all Skilled
Worker applicants and are likely to be most challenging for smaller
businesses and businesses operating outside of the South East of
England. There are also particular issues for certain groups of
applicant, some which are outlined below.
New entrants and workers early in their career
The Home Office's intended policy on this group of workers is
still not clear, however the rise in going rates from the 25th
percentile to the 50th means that workers who are earlier in their
career are less likely to be eligible for sponsorship unless they
meet the new entrant criteria.
In their report on the rapid review of the Immigration Salary List
(which will replace the current Shortage Occupation List), the
Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has also encouraged the Home
Office to consider the impact of the salary threshold increases on
use of the new entrant points option. The MAC's concern is that
the existing 20% general salary threshold and 30% going rate
discount may act as an incentive for employers to use this points
option to fill vacancies that would otherwise be unaffordable to
sponsor.
We have previously highlighted some of the policy
issues relating to the new entrant points option. In particular, it
may not be viable to increase a relatively junior employee's
salary to meet the full salary thresholds once they are no longer
eligible for points under the new entrant criteria.
Sponsors wishing to use the new entrant points option in its
current form should do so without delay, for example for sponsoring
eligible Student or Graduate route switchers.
Ukraine Scheme participants
The Home Office has recently reconfirmed that the Ukraine Schemes
are intended as a temporary protection route. Although a further
18-month extension will be made available from early 2025, these
routes are not intended to lead to settlement.
Some scheme participants who wish to settle may currently qualify
under the existing Skilled Worker salary thresholds but may not
continue to qualify once the thresholds are raised.
For further information on recent changes and updates to the
Ukraine Schemes, see our earlier article here.
Care workers
Health and care workers will not be subject to the full
£38,700 general threshold due to exemptions for workers
eligible under the Health and Care visa and/or occupations
anticipated to be included on the new Immigration Salary
List.
However, where a carer or senior carer's first sponsored work
application is submitted on or after 11 March 2024, they will not
be eligible to be accompanied by dependants. Workers with families
may therefore wish to apply before this takes effect. For further
information on this change, see our earlier article here.
Individuals eligible for the Partner route
Some workers with limited immigration permission who are currently
eligible for the Partner route may cease to be once the minimum
income requirement is increased from £18,600 to £29,000
from 11 April 2024. A further increase to £34,000 is
scheduled for later in 2024 and another increase to £38,700
in early 2025.
These employees will likely be equally ineligible for sponsorship
under the Skilled Worker accordingly.
Potential knock-on adjustments to other work routes
Although no specific announcements have been made by the
Government regarding the salary thresholds for other work routes,
these are likely to be adjusted to avoid displacement of
applications from the Skilled Worker route into other routes and to
reflect recent inflation.
Creative Worker route
The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has flagged that currently
the Creative Worker route does not operate a minimum salary
threshold. The MAC has recommended that a minimum salary threshold is
applied to this route so that it cannot be used to pay lower
salaries than under the Skilled Worker route.
Senior and Specialist Worker, UK Expansion Worker and
Graduate Trainee routes
These routes are underpinned by the UK's commitments to
facilitate temporary intra-corporate mobility under the General
Agreement on Trades and Tariffs (GATS). It is not yet clear whether
the Home Office will continue to use the 25th percentile going
rates for these routes, or if it will be considered appropriate to
lift these to the 50th percentile.
There is also the possibility that the following thresholds may be
lifted:
- General salary threshold for Senior or Specialist Workers and UK Expansion Workers (currently £45,800);
- General salary threshold for Graduate Trainees (currently £24,200); and/or
- The High Earner threshold for Senior or Specialist Workers and UK Expansion Workers (currently £73,900).
Scale-up route
This route was introduced in on 22 August 2022 and the general
salary threshold for it was increased from £33,000 to
£34,600 on 11 April 2023. The general salary threshold for
this route was originally designed to be higher than the Skilled
Worker general thresholds, so it is possible it may be further
revised along with other April 2024 Immigration Rule changes.
No specific review of the Scale-up route has been announced.
However, the Home Office previously confirmed when it was launched
that it would be monitored for general trends in usage and
effectiveness. It is therefore possible that a review could be
carried out in the short to medium-term, depending on observed
trends and Home Office priorities.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.