Work visa options for employers facing higher Skilled Worker salaries

12 April 2024

To sponsor someone on a Skilled Worker visa – the main work immigration route since Brexit ended free movement – an employer must pay whichever is the higher amount of the general annual pay threshold for the visa, a minimum hourly rate or the going rate of pay for that occupation as set by the UK government.

Employers sponsoring new Skilled Workers have to pay higher minimum salary thresholds since 4 April 2024 as part of the Home Secretary’s measures to reduce UK immigration. The general minimum salary threshold has increased from £26,200 to £38,700 gross per year, the hourly rate increased from £10.75 to £15.88 per hour and minimum going rates for specific occupations have risen much higher in many cases – now pegged to the 50th percentile of jobs in their occupation code according to the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), instead of the bottom 25th percentile.

However there are still a few categories of Skilled Worker that can be sponsored on salaries lower than most. If you would like to discuss any of these immigration routes below or how the recent UK immigration changes may affect your choices, please contact us on 0207 033 9527 or enquiries@vanessaganguin.com.

Occupations on the Immigration Salary List

The Shortage Occupation List (SOL) which allowed employers to pay 20% less than going rates for a list of occupations with skills shortages was scrapped and replaced by an interim Immigration Salary List (ISL) with fewer roles on it on 4 April 2024 as part of the above Immigration Rules changes.

What is the discount for Skilled Workers sponsored on the Immigration Salary List?

Although the Immigration Salary List is significantly shorter and does not benefit from the lower going rates of occupations on the SOL, jobs included on the ISL will still benefit from a general salary threshold lower than £38,700. The minimum general salary threshold for a job on the ISL is discounted by 20% at £30,960. The Migration Advisory Committee tasked with recommending which shortage occupations should be on the new list insisted that there is no point in shortage roles with going rates above £38,700 appearing on the new ISL as there would be little benefit for employers. The only other benefit of an occupation code being on this list is a slight reduction in visa application fees.

Who qualifies for the Immigration Salary List discount?

An applicant for any job included on the ISL will benefit from the reduced salary threshold of £30,960. You can find the 23 occupation codes currently listed here. The Migration Advisory Committee is due to undertake a full review of the ISL later this year with an opportunity for sectors affected to give evidence so there may be more recommendations regarding which occupations remain on the list and what the benefits should be.

New Entrants

A ‘New Entrant’ is an individual who is new to the labour market – usually someone who is at the start of their career who meets certain criteria. Please note that an applicant can only be sponsored as a new entrant for up to four years (which includes any time already spent in the Graduate visa route).

What is the salary discount for New Entrants?

The minimum general salary threshold for a sponsored Skilled Worker classed as a New Entrant is reduced by 20% to £30,960. They are also eligible for a discount of 30% on the going rate for the relevant job, which is important as New Entrants are unlikely to meet the normal going rate which would require them to be paid more than many workers with more experience.

Which Skilled Workers can be sponsored as a New Entrant?

The main ways to qualify as a New Entrant are to be under the age of 26 on the date of application or to be switching from a Student or Tier 4 visa.  However, there are further options and a sponsored Skilled Worker is considered a New Entrant if they meet any of the following criteria:

• they are under the age of 26 on the date of their application;
• they are sponsored for a postdoctoral position in one of the following occupation codes:
  o   2111 chemical scientists;
  o   2112 biological scientists;
  o   2113 biochemists and biomedical scientists;
  o   2114 physical scientists;
  o   2115 social and humanities scientists;
  o   2119 natural and social science professionals not elsewhere classified;
  o   2162 other researchers, unspecified discipline;
  o   2311 higher education teaching professionals;
• they are working towards a recognised professional qualification in a UK-regulated profession;
• they are working towards full registration or chartered status with the relevant professional body for a job they are sponsored for; or
• their most recent permission, other than as a visitor, was under Tier 4 or the Student route – permission must be either current or expired less than two years before the date of application and they must have been sponsored to study for a UK bachelor’s or master’s degree, PhD or other doctoral qualification, a Postgraduate Certificate in Education or a Professional Graduate Diploma of Education.

Skilled Workers with a relevant PhD

What is the salary discount for Skilled Workers with a relevant PhD?

The minimum salary threshold for a sponsored Skilled Worker with a relevant PhD is reduced by 10% to £34,830.  They are also eligible for a 10% discount on the going rate for the specific role they will be doing.

Which Skilled Workers qualify for the relevant PhD discount?

A new starter who holds a genuine qualification to UK PhD standard in a subject relevant to the job in question may benefit from the £34,830 threshold. If the qualification has been awarded by an institution outside the UK, the qualification must be verified as a genuine equivalent of a UK PhD by Ecctis.

The PhD must be relevant to the role and so the discount does not work for all Skilled Worker roles. For example, a relevant PhD will afford engineering occupational codes a discount, but not a dental or GP practice manager. The eligible occupation codes can be found in Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Occupations, where designated in the column “PhD points”.

Skilled Workers with a relevant STEM PhD

What is the salary discount for Skilled Workers with a relevant STEM PhD?

Skilled Workers with a relevant STEM PhD can be hired on a 20% lower general salary threshold of £30,960. They are also eligible for a 20% discount on the going rate for the specific role they will be doing.

Which Skilled Workers qualify for the relevant STEM PhD discount?

Skilled Workers with eligible occupation codes who hold a relevant PhD in a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subject will benefit from lower minimum thresholds than those with other relevant PhDs. As with other PhDs, it must be relevant to the role and only certain codes can benefit from this.

Skilled Workers on a national pay scale

The government has exempted itself from the inflationary increases to the cost of hiring staff on Skilled Worker visas that it has landed other employers with.

What is the salary discount for Skilled Workers on a national pay scale?

The minimum salary threshold for employees on a national pay scale is £23,200. There are no above-inflation hikes to going rates as for other Skilled Workers as pay should be in line with a national pay grade (or £23,200 – whichever is higher). The updated national pay scale going rates for NHS roles can be found in Table 4 of the Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Occupations and educational roles in Table 5.

Which Skilled Workers qualify for the national pay scale discount?

These discounts apply to jobs on national pay scales only – for example teachers or medical practitioners – so will normally apply to public servants but could also apply to private institutions. Eligible roles for national pay scales are set out in Table 3 of the Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Occupations.

Skilled Workers on Health and Care Visas

What is the salary discount for workers sponsored on Health and Care visas?

Newly sponsored Health and Care workers not on a pay scale (such as health care practice managers) have a lower general salary threshold increase to £29,000 (up from £26,200). The discounted general threshold for Health and Care workers with a relevant PhD is £26,100 and for those with a relevant STEM PhD, on the SOL/ISL or New Entrants, the general threshold increase is £23,200.

The going rates for Health and Care visas are set out in the new Table 2 of the Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Occupations. While going rates for most new sponsored Skilled Workers have increased from the bottom 25th percentile of jobs in their occupation code according to the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) up to the 50th percentile (or median) going rate in April 2024, those for Health and Care visas remain on the 25th percentile. Health and Care workers who are not on a national pay scale but have relevant PhDs or STEM PhDs, or are New Entrants will also benefit from the respective discounts to the going rate.

Who can be sponsored on a Health and Care visa?

Qualified doctors, nurses, health professionals or adult social care professionals sponsored in an eligible role by an employer approved by the Home Office – whether an NHS employer, an organisation providing medical services to the NHS or one providing adult social care may be sponsored on a Health and Care visa. A list of eligible occupations for the visa can be found here.

Skilled Workers extending a visa or changing employers

The minimum general salary threshold for Skilled Workers who were already on the immigration route before rules changes on 4 April 2024 will be £29,000 if they renew, change sponsor, or apply for settlement.

As is the case for the new general thresholds for Health and Care visas (above) there will be discounts: £26,100 for a relevant PhD, £23,200 for a relevant STEM PhD, workers on the SOL/ISL, New Entrants or for those on a national pay scale.

Their pay should progress at the same rate as resident workers – on updated 25th percentiles using the latest pay data when they next make an application. (These are set out in Table 2 of Appendix Skilled Occupations.) Those who have relevant PhDs or STEM PhDs, or are New Entrants will also benefit from the respective discounts to the going rate.

NB: If a new Skilled Worker was assigned a Certificate of Sponsorship (C0S) before 4 April 2024 and it has not expired when they submit a visa application, the application will also be decided in line with the rules in force before 4 April 2024.

Alternative work visas to the Skilled Worker visa

Scale-up visa v Skilled Worker visa

Employers that meet the growth criteria to qualify for the Scale-up sponsor licence benefit from a lower general salary threshold (rising from £34,600 to £36,300 in April 2024) and lower going rates based on the 25th percentile to sponsor workers on Scale-up visas – despite the Scale-up visa technically being a more skilled route (RQF Level 6).
Combined with a lower sponsor licence fee, Certificate of Sponsorship fee and no Immigration Skills Charge to pay, this will be an attractive alternative for eligible sponsors going forward.

Global Business Mobility visas v Skilled Worker visas

For the Global Business Mobility routes, most salary thresholds have been raised from £45,800 to £48,500 in April 2024 while the Graduate Trainee route threshold was raised from £24,220 to £25,410.

Though £48,500 is considerably higher than the £38,700 salary threshold for Skilled Worker visas, going rates for the Global Business Mobility routes will continue to be based on the 25th percentile of roles within the relevant SOC code which now makes some roles cheaper to sponsor than on Skilled Worker visas. The Graduate Trainee visa continues to benefit from a 30% discount to the going rate.

Global Business Mobility immigration routes are only available for employers in some situations. You can find out more about them here.

Other temporary work visas

Workers can also be sponsored on other temporary immigration routes under less onerous salary requirements – usually on national minimum wage or market rates (for instance creative workers must be paid at minimum national minimum wage and market rates – union rates for certain film and TV roles.)

You can find more about sponsoring Charity Workers, Creative Workers, Religious Workers, Seasonal Workers as well as those on Government Authorised Exchange and International Agreement immigration routes here.

Work visas and other immigration routes that don’t require sponsorship

Employers may also avoid the salary requirements of sponsoring staff on Skilled Worker visas by using other work immigration routes. There are no resident labour salary requirements when employing someone in the UK on these visas.

The Youth Mobility Scheme has been expanded in the last 12 months, reflecting post-Brexit trade deals and reciprocal agreements signed with various nations. The visa allows adults aged 18 – 30 (or 35 for some nationalities) to live and work in the UK for up to two years (three years for Canadians, Australians and New Zealanders).

The Graduate visa allows overseas students to stay and work in the UK for up to two years (or three years for those with a PhD or other doctoral qualification.) They must be in the UK when they apply, on a Student visa (or the Tier 4 (General) student visa that preceded it) having studied a UK bachelor’s degree, postgraduate degree or other eligible course for a minimum period of time.

The Home Secretary has asked the Migration Advisory Committee to review the Graduate visa and its use by 14 May 2024. In the meantime it remains a useful way to employ non-resident graduates on entry-level graduate salaries.

The High Potential Individual visa is similar to the Graduate visa but for people who graduated from top overseas universities in the last five years.

The Global Talent visa allows people who are leaders in the fields of academia, research, arts and culture and digital technology to live and work in the UK for up to five years at a time. Global Talent visa applicants must be endorsed by one of the Home Office-approved endorsing bodies, unless they have been awarded a prestigious prize, as listed in Appendix Global Talent: Prestigious Prizes, which is considered as showing exceptional talent.

EEA citizens who lived in the UK for five years before the end of 2020 and their family members can also be employed without sponsorship, as well as Swiss citizens and their partners.

Ukraine nationals and Hong Kong BN(O) citizens have the right to work in the UK on their bespoke humanitarian schemes.

Commonwealth citizens with a UK-born grandparent are eligible to live and work in the UK under the Ancestry route to settlement.

To discuss how best to navigate any of the UK immigration routes mentioned please contact us on 0207 033 9527 or enquiries@vanessaganguin.com.

(photograph by Hush Naidoo Jade Photography/Unsplash)