Skilled Worker visa salary threshold increase
From 4 April 2024 employees entering the Skilled Worker visa category will have to be paid the highest of the following:
- £38,700
- £15.88 per hour
- The going rate for the particular job. The going rates for sponsorable jobs will significantly increase from the current levels, as they will move from the 25th percentile per Office of National Statistics (ONS) Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) data from 2021 to the 50th percentile per ONS ASHE data from 2023.
These salary requirements will also apply to all future Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) applications in the Skilled Worker route.
Existing sponsored employees who are already in the Skilled Worker visa route will benefit from having to meet a reduced salary on their next extension or application for ILR as their salaries will remain tied to the 25th percentile. They will have to meet the highest of the following:
- £29,000
- £11.90 per hour
- The going rate for the particular job
It is important to note that these salary thresholds are still significantly higher than the current ones as they have been adjusted for inflation.
Employers should check if they have any workers in the organisation who will need to switch to a Skilled Worker visa at some point (Graduate visa holders being the most obvious group), and they should ensure that these employees will be able to meet the new, significantly higher salary if they are switching after 4 April 2024. If they cannot, employers should think about having this cohort switch into the Skilled Worker visa category as soon as possible and in any case by 1 April 2024 at the latest.
New entrant Skilled Worker visa threshold increase
Currently it is possible to sponsor so-called ‘new entrants’ in the Skilled Worker route on a lower salary than is otherwise required. New entrants are usually employees who are under the age of 26 on the date of application or are currently on a Student or Graduate visa (amongst other things).
In line with the general increase in salary to the 50th percentile of the ONS ASHE data from 2023, the minimum salary new entrants will have to be paid the higher of the following from 4 April:
- £30,960
- 70% of the going rate for the particular job
New entrants can only be sponsored on the lower salary for up to four years, and these four years include any time spent on a Graduate or other Skilled Worker visa. The time does not have to have been spent continuously.
At the end of the four years those having entered the Skilled Worker route on a new entrant salary before 4 April 2024 will have to earn the higher of:
- £29,000
- The full going rate for their particular job based on the 25th percentile
Employers will need to ensure they are aware of any new entrants already in the business and ensure that they can pay the correct salary at the time the new entrant concession ends. The same process needs to be applied to those new entrants entering the Skilled Worker route from 4 April 2024.
Changes to the Shortage Occupation List
As mentioned in our January 2024 update, the current Shortage Occupation List (SOL) will be replaced by the new Immigration Salary List (ISL) on 4 April 224.
The current SOL contains a large number of jobs the Home Office considers difficult to fill from the existing UK workforce alone. Working in a job on the SOL brings certain benefits to an employer, mainly that the minimum salary requirement is lower than it is for standard Skilled Worker visas and that visa application fees are a little lower.
The size of the new ISL with 23 job codes will be less than half of the current SOL, meaning far fewer sponsored jobs will benefit from the salary and fee reduction.
The way any potential salary reduction is calculated also changes. Until now the going rate for the particular job had to be reduced by 20%. Now employers have to pay the higher of:
- £30,960
- The going rate for the particular job based on the 50th percentile
It is very likely that the going rate for jobs will more often than not be higher than the £30,960 minimum threshold.
Employees who are working in positions on the SOL before the changes come in will have to meet the higher of the following on their next extension or Indefinite Leave to Remain application:
- £23,200
- The going rate for the particular job based on the 25th percentile
A further review of the SOL/ISL is expected towards the end of the year.
Employers should consider if there is any benefit in submitting visa applications for prospective employees before this upcoming change commences who would otherwise struggle to meet the minimum salary requirements of the new ISL or a standard Skilled Worker visa.
Health and Care Worker visa salary threshold increase
The increase in the Skilled Worker visa category does not apply to all work visas. Those applying for sponsored Health and Care Worker visas, or for positions where salaries are set using national pay scales (such as teachers) are exempt from the new £38,700 minimum salary requirement.
However, there is nevertheless an increase in the general salary threshold these applicants need to meet from £26,200 to £29,000. Going rates for jobs are also increased in line with the newest Office of National Statistics salary data and the latest available national pay scales.
SOC codes change to new classification
Many employers holding a sponsor licence will be familiar with the fact that they have to pick a specific job code, a so-called Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Code to assign a Certificate of Sponsorship to a worker they wish to sponsor.
These codes currently come from a SOC 2010 list. On 4 April 2024 the Home Office will change the classifications to the SOC 2020 list.
This means that employers will need to re-familiarise themselves with the list as there are a number of changes to the four-digit codes and job descriptions.
Expansion of the supplementary employment provisions for Skilled Workers
From 4 April 2024 it is possible for Skilled Worker visa holders to take on a wider range of supplementary employment alongside their sponsored position.
Currently, they can only undertake additional work for a maximum of 20 hours per week, as long as the supplementary job is in the same Government job code as their sponsored employment or on the Shortage Occupation List. It must also not interfere with the work being undertaken for the sponsored employer.
From next month it will be possible for a Skilled Worker visa holder to undertake any supplementary employment that would be eligible for a Skilled Worker visa as long as they continue to work for their main sponsor, the supplementary work takes place outside of the hours the person is contracted to work for their main sponsor, and does not exceed 20 hours.
With this liberalisation of supplementary work opportunities for visa holders comes a tightening of right to work checks secondary employers must undertake. They must:
- Check the worker can undertake supplementary employment.
- Undertake the usual right to work check which needs to be undertaken for a Skilled Worker visa holder.
- Ask the worker to provide a letter from their sponsoring employer confirming that they are still working for the sponsor, their job description, Government job code, and their normal hours of work.
- Ask the worker to confirm if they are doing any other supplementary employment so it can be ensured they are not working more than 20 hours per week in total.
While the relaxing of the supplementary employment rules will be welcome news for employers and visa holders alike, the additional compliance requirements put on secondary employers means that they need to ensure they have proper systems and processes in place to get the correct information and documentation on file to protect themselves against employing someone working illegally on their premises.
Creative Worker visa route clarified
Employers sponsoring migrants under the Creative Worker route will be familiar with the fact that they need to comply with the relevant Code of Practice (where one exists) for the occupation they are sponsoring. Where there is no relevant Code of Practice, the applicant must now be performing a role in the creative industries that appears in Appendix Skilled Occupations of the UK immigration rules and be able to demonstrate that they can make a unique contribution to creative life in the UK.
The applicant must also provide details of any transport, living allowances and other expenses paid by the sponsor to the applicant and explain whether the sponsor will seek to recoup these costs.
Finally, if an application for an entertainer or a cultural artist has been refused, all applications within the group attached to this entertainer or artist will be refused.
The lack of further guidance in relation to the ‘unique contribution to creative life in the UK’ will make visa applications less certain and more document-heavy for sponsors. Applicants should err on the side of caution and submit more, rather than less, supporting evidence of this fact.
Global Business Mobility (GBM) salary threshold increase
In line with the various salary increases in the Skilled Worker route, GBM minimum salaries also increase for the most common routes under the GBM visa umbrella – Specialist or Senior Manager and UK Expansion Worker – from £45,800 to £48,500 as of 4 April 2024.
Sponsorship management system (SMS) unavailable 2- 4 April 2024
The Home Office is warning employers that the SMS and application form portals will be unavailable from 7pm on 2 April 2024 until 9am on 4 April 2024 so that the various changes announced can be implemented.
Any Certificates of Sponsorship employers wish to assign to workers before the salary increases come in will have to be assigned before 7pm on 2 April 2024.
Defined Certificate of Sponsorship (DCoS) applications affected by SMS shut down
DCoS must be applied for to bring an employee into the UK from overseas. They have to be specifically applied for and individual via the SMS.
The Home Office will try to process as many DCoS applications made before 7pm on 2 April 2024 as possible. However, any applications outstanding at that point will be cancelled. If employers find that their applications have been cancelled, they will need to make a new application after 9am on 4 April 2024 based on the relevant SOC 2020 occupation codes and revised salary thresholds.
Any DCoS granted before 7pm on 2 April 2024 with a SOC 2010 occupation code cannot be assigned from 4 April 2024. This is because they will have the incorrect occupation code, which cannot be amended.
Where employers have been granted a DCoS with a SOC 2010 code they must assign it before 7pm on 2 April 2024. If it is not assigned the DCoS will be cancelled, and the employer will need to make a new application for a DCoS after 9am on 4 April 2024 based on the relevant SOC 2020 occupation codes and revised salary thresholds.
Undefined Certificate of Sponsorship (UCoS) allocations affected by SMS shut down
UCoS generally need to be applied for once a year but can be augmented throughout the year if the sponsor runs out. They are not tied to a specific employee so can be requested in batches. They are used for employees who are already in the UK and are either entering the Skilled Worker category, changing employer or are extending their current Skilled Worker visa permission.
Employers will be unable to request an increase to their UCoS allocation, or apply to renew their allocation, between 7pm on 2 April 2024 and 9am on 4 April 2024. If the request was made before 7pm on 2 April 2024, the Home Office will consider it but if request is not decided (or any CoS granted is not assigned) before 7pm on 2 April 2024, the employer will need to ensure any CoS assigned after that date meets the new requirements of the immigration rules.
Existing UCoS allocations are not affected by these changes. However, if employers wish to sponsor a worker under a SOC 2010 occupation under the existing immigration rules, they must assign a CoS to the worker before 7pm on 2 April 2024.
If there are any UCoSs on the SMS with the status ‘work in progress’ or ‘ready to go’ and they have not been assigned by 7pm on 2 April 2024, they will need to be updated with the relevant SOC 2020 occupation code and ensure they meet the revised salary thresholds before assigning.
Validity of DCoS or UCoS assigned before 7pm on 2 April 2024
DCoS or UCoS which have been assigned to workers before 7pm on 2 April 2024 will not be cancelled. They will remain valid for the normal three-month validity period. Applications made using these CoS will be considered with reference to the salary thresholds and SOC 2010 occupation codes under the immigration rules in place before 4 April 2024, even if the worker applies on or after that date.
Further DCoS change to process
Until recently employers applying for a DCoS required to bring an employee to the UK from overseas had to remember to include the weekly working hours in the job description field. If the figure was not included the application was refused.
Helpfully, the Home Office has now introduced a specific field for this information in the DCoS form. If the weekly working hours are still under negotiation, employers are encouraged to enter the number of expected hours for an employee whose role is similar and provide a note in the job description field to explain the situation. Once confirmed, the correct weekly working hours will need to be added as a sponsor note to the DCoS.
Employers applying for a DCoS for care workers or senior care workers must tick the relevant box to confirm they are registered with the Care Quality Commission. In the event that the employer is not registered, they should explain on the DCoS application why the role is still eligible for sponsorship.
The fact that the working hours now have their own field should stop employers forgetting to enter this information in the job description field, which should mean less need to withdraw and resubmit if the omission is noticed or having DCoS applications refused and having to submit an entirely new application.
Asylum seekers further restricted in the roles they can take up
The Home Office has for the last few years restricted the ability of asylum seekers to take up general employment. They could only work in positions which were included on the Shortage Occupation List (SOL). It was hoped, and recommended to the UK authorities by the Migration Advisory Committee (an independent public body that advises the Government on migration issues), that one of the changes to the UK immigration system would allow asylum seekers to take up any vacant position in the UK.
As it stands, this recommendation has not been followed by the Home Office and they have instead confirmed that asylum seekers going forward will still only be allowed to take up employment in positions included in the new Immigration Salary List (ISL), the successor of the SOL. The ISL contains far fewer positions than the SOL, so it will be harder for asylum seekers to find employment, and it will restrict business’ ability to employ them.
If any employers are currently going through a recruitment process with asylum seekers they should ensure they conclude this process before 4 April 2024.
Right to work check requirements updated for EU national employees
The Home Office has recently tightened employers’ right to work responsibilities in relation to EU nationals employed before 30 June 2021.
Until 8 February 2024 it was sufficient for employers to instruct EU nationals without a status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) to make an application within 28 days of the discovery. During this time the employee was permitted to continue working.
This 28-day concession has now been removed. Employers will now be required to take immediate and ‘appropriate action’. The Home Office describes ‘appropriate action’ as contacting them for support or initiating termination of the employee’s employment.
While the guidance no longer specifically states that an employee who can produce a valid Certificate of Application (CoA) has the right to work, employers can continue to employ this worker as long as the CoA is checked via the online Employer Checking Service and receives a positive response.
This change puts a much greater onus on employers to act if they, through voluntary retrospective checks or internal audits, find EU nationals without a required status under the EUSS. Careful consideration, from an immigration and employment law perspective, needs to be given to the next steps required to ensure an organisation does not accidentally employ an illegal worker in the UK.
Beware of unexpected contact from the ‘Home Office’
Employers should be cautious if they receive an unexpected email, telephone call or letter from someone who claims to be from the Home Office, especially if they ask for Sponsorship Management System (SMS) user IDs or passwords, or if they want to provide a new password with which to log into SMS.
As a reminder, SMS users must not give their user ID or password to anyone else, whether it is another member of their organisation, or someone outside. Organisations receiving communications they think are fake should contact the Home Office on 0300 123 4699 or [email protected].
Changes to hybrid and remote working reporting duties
Many organisations have over the last few years implemented a hybrid working model, which means employees split their time between working from home and working from an office.
Until recently these arrangements, especially if they were newly arranged and in writing, had to be reported to the Home Office via the Sponsorship Management System (SMS). The Home Office has now decided that employers no longer need to report these arrangements. It remains a sponsor’s duty to report any changes to a sponsored worker’s main office work location, or if they temporarily work from a client site. Sponsors are required to maintain suitable records of sponsored workers’ working patterns.
It is also a requirement to tell the Home Office via the SMS if any sponsored worker is, or will be, working entirely remotely, with little or no requirement to attend an office location or a client site. In these cases, the Home Office may enquire why this employee needs to come to the UK on a visa.
Occasional changes in work location, for example if a worker occasionally works at a different branch or site or from home, do not need to be reported.
This update reduces the reporting burden on employers. However, they need to be prepared to be challenged where there is no actual office address because all employees are working from home.
Change to offshore worker reporting duties
Organisations sponsoring offshore workers must now use the Sponsorship Management System to notify the Home Office of the dates when that worker first arrives in UK waters and when that worker leaves UK waters. The dates should be accompanied by the name of the ship or vessel on which the offshore worker will be based, and the method by which the offshore worker left UK waters.
The fact that these notifications can now be made through the SMS should make complying with this particular sponsor duty a little easier.
Clarification on who can assign Certificates of Sponsorship
It has been a sponsor requirement for some time that having sponsored relatives working in the same organisation has to be declared to the Home Office at the time a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) is assigned. However, the Home Office has now decided that a Sponsorship Management System user must not assign their own CoS, or assign a CoS to someone who is a close relative or partner (such as a spouse, civil or unmarried partner, siblings, children, and in laws, amongst others).
It is important that sponsors are aware of this prohibition, as falling foul of it may have significant consequences for the business, including triggering an audit or revocation of the sponsor licence. If it is found that someone did assign a CoS to a family member this information must be disclosed immediately on the relevant sponsored employee’s CoS via sponsor note.
Reminder for sponsors whose licence is due expire on or after 6 April 2024
Following on from our January 2024 update, we want to remind sponsors whose licence is due to expire on or after 6 April 2024 that there is no longer a need to renew the sponsor licence.
Sponsors should check their licence summary on the Sponsorship Management System to see if their sponsor licence expiry date has been extended well beyond the usual four years. As far as is understood at this point the sponsor licence will not expire until the organisation decides it no longer wishes to have a sponsor licence and informs the Home Office of the surrender.
Ukraine schemes do not lead to settlement
As mentioned in our February update, the Ukraine Family Scheme closed to new applicants with no notice in mid-February, and the Ukraine Extension Scheme will close on 16 May 2024. The Homes for Ukraine Scheme will remain open, although its rules have also been tightened, and a new visa category, the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme, has been opened for those wishing to extend their current permission by a further 18 months.
A further update made by the Home Office confirmed that any time spent on the Ukrainian visa schemes will not lead to settlement in the UK (also known as Indefinite Leave to Remain or settlement).
It is important for all Ukrainian citizens who wish to settle in the UK to review their options as soon as possible and see if they can make use of other UK immigration routes, such as switching into the Skilled Worker visa or family visa categories.
Minimum income requirement for partner visas to increase
From 11 April 2024 the minimum income requirement for a Partner visa under the five-year route to settlement will increase from £18,600 to £29,000. At the same time, the additional income requirement when children are applying as dependants of a Partner visa holder will be removed. The Home Office have confirmed that this is stage one of the overall increase they are aiming for, and there will be further staged rises in the minimum income requirement to around £34,500 later in 2024, followed by a final increase to £38,700 in early 2025. Savings requirements (which can be relied on instead of salary) will increase in line with salary requirements, going from £62,500 to £88,500 with the first rise.
For those already in the Partner visa route before 11 April 2024 the current minimum income requirement of £18,600 will remain in place, as well as the additional income requirements for any children part of the application.
Anyone considering entering the UK on a Partner visa, or switching to one from inside the UK, should ensure they have the requisite income or savings if they are applying after 11 April 2024. Those who might struggle should consider bringing forward their applications and submitting online well before 11 April 2024.
Further changes to the long residence rules
From 11 April 2024 migrants in the UK waiting to apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) in the UK based on 10 years of continuous lawful residence will have to have held their current leave for at least the 12 months immediately before the date of application or have been exempt from immigration control for at least the 12 months immediately before the date of application.
This is a further restriction from the one brought in in April 2023, when the Home Office restricted qualifying visas for the route, excluding visitor visas, short term student visas and temporary admission granted while waiting for a decision on an asylum or humanitarian protection application. Until then it was permissible to rely on any lawful permission to be in the UK to accumulate 10 years.
This change should not impact too many applicants, but it is useful to know so that ILR applications under this route can be properly planned. It may be the case that in some instances employers will need to issue slightly longer Skilled Worker visas to their employees so they can accumulate the required 12 months before applying.
The content of this article is for general information only. It is not, and should not be taken as, legal advice. If you require any further information in relation to this article please contact the author in the first instance. Law covered as at March 2024.