The Home Office have announced a number of changes to UK immigration which will come into force on 22 July 2025, leaving employers and individuals with very little time to react.
The Home Office have confirmed that some of the proposals put forward in the Immigration White Paper will come into force on 22 July 2025. This is much sooner than many had expected, though we did warn in our webinar on the White Paper – which you can watch here – that there was a chance of some of these changes being implemented before the end of July. Still, the announcement has left businesses and individuals alike with very little time to react.
In summary, the changes are as follows:
Increasing the skill level for Skilled Worker visas – this will impact over 100 occupations that are currently eligible for a Skilled Worker visa but which will cease to be eligible for new Skilled Worker applicants from 22 July 2025. If you wish to sponsor a new Skilled Worker in one of these occupations, then you must assign a Certificate of Sponsorship to them before 22 July 2025 – otherwise they will need to be sponsored in a different occupation code.
Salary increases for the Skilled Worker route – the new standard minimum salary is £41,700, with increases to the going rates for occupation codes across the board.
Introducing a new Temporary Shortage List (“TSL”), granting time-limited access to Skilled Worker visas for roles below the new skill level, where these are “critical to UK industry”. For the time being, the TSL features upwards of 50 occupations, though this is under review and it is expected that the list will be cut down towards the end of the year. Skilled Workers who apply for roles on the TSL cannot bring dependants with them and cannot benefits from discounts (such as the New Entrant discount).
Banning sponsorship and recruitment of care workers from overseas – going forward, care businesses will be required to hire domestically.
At the date of publication, there is very little time to prepare for the above. If you require support with sponsoring a Skilled Worker before 22 July 2025, please get in touch as soon as possible, at [email protected]