UK work visa changes include skilled worker self-sponsorship, care workers, minimum salary and global talent

UPDATED 2 April 2025

The Spring Statement of Changes to the UK’s Immigration Rules presented to the House of Commons has implications for employers and those seeking work immigration routes to the UK. Some are more consequential than others.

As a ministerial statement by the Under-Secretary of State for Migration and Citizenship Seema Mahotra makes clear, the Government intends to publish an Immigration White Paper imminently which is likely to indicate bigger changes. The Statement of Changes mainly closes what the Home Office regards as loopholes and addresses ongoing concerns, such as the exploitation of care workers, as well as simplifying rules.

Nonetheless, it will have implications for many employers, who they can sponsor and how. Contact one of our immigration lawyers if you are concerned about any of the aspects discussed below.

You can read the minister’s full statement here, an Explanatory Memorandum to the changes here, and all 132 pages of the 12 March 2025 Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules (HC 733) here. The most important implications for business immigration are analysed below. Unless otherwise mentioned, these will be implemented on 9 April 2025.

The developments outlined below are:

• Curbs to self-sponsors and investors sponsored as Skilled Workers
• Curbs to the costs that can be recouped and potentially clawed back from sponsored workers
• Minimum salary threshold rises for Skilled Workers on the most discounted rates
• Care worker sponsors must first try to recruit from a local pool of unsponsored care workers
• Creative workers on the Temporary Work – Creative Worker visa can’t fill permanent vacancies
• Global Talent visa – some technical changes to applying for endorsement
• Changes to visitor and ETA rules
• Financial thresholds for company sizes that could affect sponsor costs
• Immigration fees increases
• On the horizon – extending right to work checks to zero-hour workers

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns, or if you would like a general audit of your right to work and sponsorship procedures and compliance. It is increasingly important to ensure these are totally compliant with rising enforcement activity and queries from UK Visas and Immigration.

Self-sponsors and investors sponsored as Skilled Workers

Up to now it has been possible to own or invest in a business which sponsors you to work for it in the UK if you fulfil the Skilled Worker visa requirements. People have been able to invest in, acquire or open a UK company and ensure it meets all the requirements needed to obtain a sponsor licence to sponsor them. (A Skilled Worker sponsor must be able to demonstrate that they are operating legitimately, offer genuine employment and comply with various stipulations to monitor the work of sponsored staff.) Once granted a sponsor licence by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), the sponsoring entity can apply for Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) to sponsor migrant workers – up to now including those who own or have invested in the company – if these are genuine roles, paying the required minimum salaries for workers with the required qualifications. The sponsor can then use the CoS to apply for a Skilled Worker visa if they qualify for the role they will be filling.

The Home Office appears to be making such “self-sponsorship” more difficult with this Statement of Changes. As the Explanatory Memorandum explains, the rules will change in April to close the “loophole whereby applicants could effectively pay towards their own salary through investing in their sponsor’s business.”

Where a worker has invested money into a business, the amount of that investment (averaged over the length of the visa) will from April be deducted from the effective gross salary for the purpose of determining if the worker has earned the minimum salary required to be sponsored. This may severely restrict the ability of businesses in the UK to sponsor their owners or investors to work within the business if they have directly invested capital which can be deemed to be paid back to them via their salary – which must be high enough to meet minimum salary requirements for a Skilled Worker. Guidance expected in April should provide more details about how this will be enforced. In the meantime, urgent legal advice would be prudent in such cases. This restriction further limits options for investors since the closing of the Tier 1 Investor visa immigration route in February 2022.

Which costs can be recouped from sponsored workers

Guidance published at the start of the year restricted the costs that employers may pass onto sponsored employees. Previously, the only cost that it is explicitly forbidden to make a sponsored worker pay was the Immigration Skills Charge. A sponsor licence will now “normally” be revoked if a sponsor recoups or attempts to recoup the Skilled Worker sponsor licence fee and any “associated administrative costs (including premium services)”. Attempting to recover the cost of a CoS fee for a Skilled Worker assigned on or after 31 December 2024 may also incur this severe penalty.

The new Statement of Changes further cracks down on sponsors passing on “business costs” and “immigration costs” to migrant workers, by insisting that the minimum salary requirement for Skilled Workers must be calculated after any such deductions from their salary or indeed loans, as well as the aforementioned investments. The only exception is where deductions from a sponsored Skilled Worker’s salary is for a benefit or a salary sacrifice arrangement they may choose, for example, for nursery fees.

However, if an employer now gives the worker a loan to pay visa fees or the Immigration Health Surcharge and deducts the repayment from their payslip or requires some other method of repayment, the amount of the repayment will no longer be considered part of the sponsored worker’s gross salary package for the purpose of meeting the minimum salary for Skilled Worker sponsorship.

These measures are aimed at combatting some of the worst abuses which have come to light in recent years (especially of care workers) where migrant workers were left owing thousands of pounds for their immigration costs without the means to pay it back. We are awaiting more guidance on how this will be assessed in April, but for now it appears that clawback agreements in employment contracts whereby sponsored migrants have to repay immigration costs back to their employer if they terminate their employment early may well come under the interpretation of a loan and therefor an amount that should be deducted from a minimum gross salary in working out how much to pay a sponsored Skilled Worker. It is advisable to consult an immigration lawyer if making any new immigration applications that maybe affected, drawing up an employment contract that includes clawback clauses or wondering which costs you may recoup from a sponsored employee.

Minimum salary threshold rises for Skilled Workers on discounted rates

Employers may be able to sponsor certain categories of Skilled Workers on discounted minimum rates of pay. The minimum salary threshold for Skilled Workers on the most discounted rates (those applying for Health and Care visas or visa extensions under rules for New Entrants, STEM PhDs or on the Immigrant Salary List or those in roles on national pay scales, such as many NHS or education roles) has been updated from £23,200pa (£11.90 per hour) to £25,000 (£12.82 per hour).

As the Government intends to shortly publish an Immigration White Paper, which may overhaul salary requirements to sponsor workers, the changes to CoS assigned on or after 9 April are being limited to only those on the lowest of minimum salary thresholds. This is to ensure they remains significantly above the National Living Wage, which is also increasing in April 2025. Skilled Workers must be sponsored on a wage which is the highest of the Minimum Salary Threshold (generally £38,700 pa without a discount), the going rate of pay for that particular occupation as defined by the UK government, as well as complying with National Minimum Wage rules.

Going rates have also been lifted for healthcare and education occupations that can be sponsored on the national pay scales to reflect the latest pay scales.

Anyone concerned about their right to work check procedures, sponsor compliance or looking for a full audit of their compliance procedures should contact us to discuss. You can use the form below, email one of our lawyers or call 0207 033 9527.

Sponsoring care workers

Other changes attempt to help care staff at risk of exploitation or left without work when their sponsors lost their sponsor licences in recent Home Office crackdowns.

There is a new requirement for care sector sponsors seeking to sponsor new care workers, home carers or senior care workers in England, to first try to recruit from applicants already in the UK on such Skilled Worker occupations who are in “need of new sponsorship because their sponsor has lost its licence or has not provided sufficient work, or have been identified by the relevant regional or sub-regional partnership (set up for the purpose of delivering activity which prevents and responds to exploitative employment practices with international recruitment of care staff, in the area in which the sponsor is located or recruiting) as a worker requiring assistance in obtaining new sponsorship.”

Sponsors should provide confirmation from the relevant regional or sub-regional partnership that they have tried to recruit in this way and confirm themselves that no suitable workers were available from this pool before seeking to sponsor new care staff. Again, we expect more details as to how that will work to be revealed in Guidance updates in April.

This is only a requirement if an employer is sponsoring care workers and home carers or senior care workers in England. The changes also do not apply when sponsoring those already sponsored in these occupations before the changes take effect (including those changing employers) or those switching from other immigration routes who have been working lawfully for their sponsor in a qualifying role for at least three months.

Sponsoring Creative Workers

Sponsors are now explicitly reminded that if they are sponsoring creatives on Temporary Work – Creative Worker visas it can’t be to fill a permanent position, “including on a temporary basis.” This will have implications for those who intended to repeatedly renew the visa which lasts up to one year initially, with possible extension with the same sponsor allowing a maximum total duration of two years.

Global Talent visa changes

There are minor amendments to Global Talent and Global Talent: Prestigious Prizes applications.

The Arts Council England is one of the UK Government-appointed endorsing bodies for the Global Talent visa, endorsing those who it confirms have excelled in the areas of theatre, visual arts, combined arts, dance, literature and music.

Film, television, animation, postproduction and visual effects applications are assessed by the Producers’ Alliance for Film and Television (PACT); those from fashion designers are assessed by the British Fashion Council (BFC); and architects by Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The Statement of Changes brings certain requirements by these sub-endorsing bodies in line with requests by the main endorsing body for the arts – the Arts Council. These include adding a CV to applications for endorsement and using supporting letters from those who have worked with an applicant in the role using the expertise they are applying for endorsement for among other amendments. There are also updates to the lists of eligible prizes and awards that qualify Global Talent and Prestigious Prizes applicants.

Please contact us on 0207 033 9527 or enquiries@vanessaganguin.com if you are preparing an application to be endorsed for the Global Talent visa and would like to ensure that you meet all the new requirements.

Changes for visitors to the UK

There is a minor clarification that visitors intending to undertake a Permitted Paid Engagement will need to declare this activity when seeking permission to enter the UK if asked. (Though nationals who are allowed to use the eGates are very unlikely to be asked.)

Visitors from Trinidad and Tobago must now (from 12 March 2025) apply for a visitor visa before coming to the UK. Trinidad and Tobago is added to the list of “visa nationals” due to an increase in asylum claims after arriving in the UK as a visitor. There is a transitional period for those who have confirmed travel to the UK which was booked before 3pm on 12 March 2025: they will be able to enter with an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) like all those who don’t need a visa until 3pm on 23 April 2025.

The Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) is now a requirement for all European as well as non-European non-visa nationals planning to come to the UK as a visitor.

British Nationals (Overseas) citizens no longer require an ETA prior to travel to the UK, neither do children on French school trips, after much lobbying by the tourism industry.

Other changes that employers of migrant workers should be aware of

As well as the above changes in the UK’s Immigration Rules, three more important developments will have consequences for some employers.

Financial thresholds for company sizes

From 6 April 2025, the turnover and balance thresholds that define micro-entities, small and medium sized companies under the Companies Act 2006 are changing. Sponsors have a duty to report within 20 working days where a sponsor changes from falling within the small sponsor regime to not falling within it (or vice versa).

This legislation will have a knock on affect on the fee for Skilled Worker and Senior or Specialist Worker sponsor licence applications and the Immigration Skills Charge paid for workers on these routes. Sponsors who fall within the small companies regime (or are charities) can pay less.

Size classifications require that a company or group does not exceed two out of three thresholds. These are a maximum figure for a company’s annual turnover, balance sheet total, and its number of employees. The thresholds for annual turnover and balance sheet total are changing on 6 April while the employee number threshold for small companies remains 50.

Before 6 April the relevant qualifying financial thresholds for small companies were no more than £10.2 million turnover and no more than £5.1 million balance sheet total. This changes to annual turnover of not more than £15 million and not more than £7.5 million balance sheet total. There is a transitional provision in relation to accounting periods, to allow companies and LLPs to benefit from the new thresholds as soon as possible after the legislation comes into force rather than have to wait for two years of accounts to fall within the small companies regime.

Immigration fees increasing on 9 April 2025

Most immigration, visa application and nationality fees are increasing on 9 April 2025. If the UK didn’t already have the most expensive immigration system in the world, Britain may well do after 9 April, when most UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) fees rise by between 5 and 10%.

Sponsors will note a 120% increase in the cost of a Certificate of Sponsorship to sponsor most migrant workers – up from £239 to £525. You can see the full visa and immigration fee increases here.

Right to work checks extend to zero-hours contract and gig economy workers

The Home Secretary has announced that businesses operating with zero-hours contracts in the gig economy will be required to carry out right to work checks as if there is an employment relationship to avoid civil penalties of up to £60,000 per worker found to be working illegally.

For the first time checks organisations carry out on employees will be extended to cover gig economy and zero-hours workers in sectors such as construction, food delivery, beauty salons and courier services. Currently, thousands of companies using such flexible arrangements are not required to check the status of non employees as the requirement is limited to employees only.

Expanding right to work checks to the gig economy should require primary legislation, so businesses have some time to prepare for such a change. The scope will then become clearer, though for now the Home Office is referring to “businesses hiring gig economy and zero hours workers” rather than individuals hiring self-employed people.

The consequences for getting it wrong can be severe. As well as civil penalties, if you are sponsoring overseas nationals, you could be downgraded on the register of sponsors, or lose your sponsor licence  altogether, as well as the workers you are sponsoring, who may have to leave the country.

You can read more about this announcement here.

Please contact our lawyers if you have any concerns about the above developments. We offer the full spectrum of visa, sponsorship and nationality support for businesses, individuals and families. Vanessa and her friendly colleagues have decades of experience of immigration applications and finding the most expedient solutions to any such issues that arise. The main legal directories rate our lawyers highly. According to Who’s Who Legal, Vanessa Ganguin “draws considerable praise from commentators for her exemplary immigration practice and ‘outstanding’ expertise” and “Philip Trott sits among the foremost immigration lawyers in the UK.”