On 4 December the Government announced changes to the Skilled Worker salary thresholds, but these changes will not take effect until 4 April.
Full details of the new thresholds may only be published in March so SIT cannot yet confirm the new thresholds which will apply to a particular role.
The Staff Immigration Team is continuing to work with the Russell Group, UUK, UKRI, UCEA, other Universities, and sector bodies, to raise urgent points to the Home Office and seek further clarification.
We will provide further updates as soon as possible when more details have been confirmed or published. We very much appreciate your patience and cooperation in this tricky period before full details of the new rules are available.
To summarise what is known at this point:
Reminder: In order to be sponsorable under the Skilled Worker visa route the salary for a role must meet whichever is higher of the ‘general/ minimum’ threshold, and the ‘going rate’ threshold which is specific to the job code relevant to the type of work.
- The ‘general/ minimum’ threshold will increase to £38,700 but the ‘tradeable points’ options (if the applicant is a ‘New Entrant’, or has a PhD or a STEM PhD relevant to the role) should still be in place resulting in a lower threshold in some cases. The new lower general/ minimum salary threshold with ‘tradeable points’ has not yet been confirmed, but there is some speculation that it could be around £31,000.
- The ‘going rate’ thresholds will also be increasing based on the most recent national salary figures data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The ‘going rate’ thresholds for new applicants after the April changes will be based on a higher (50th percentile) figure from the national salary data and for some roles this will be higher than the new £38,700 general/ minimum threshold.
The Staff Immigration Team is working with the Russell Group to try to model the potential new higher ‘going rate’ thresholds for existing and new Skilled Worker visa holders, but the actual new thresholds will probably not be published until mid-March.
New Skilled Worker visa applicants
Those applying for their visa after the 4 April changes will have to meet the new higher general/ minimum thresholds, and the new higher (50th percentile) ‘going rate’ thresholds.
Applications for Skilled Worker ‘Initial’ CoS should be submitted as soon as possible to SIT, and the team will be prioritising applications which may not meet the new thresholds, ahead of other application such as Tier 5 and non-urgent Global Talent applications.
Realistically New Skilled Worker ‘initial’ CoS applications will need to be submitted to SIT by 1 March 2024 to have any prospect of being processed before the April changes. But please bear in mind that CoS applications cannot be processed more than three months before the proposed start date.
Existing Skilled Worker visa holders
Those who have applied for their visa before the April changes, or currently hold a Skilled Worker visa, should not be subject to the new higher £38,700 general/ minimum threshold when they apply to extend their visa or apply for ILR. The ‘going rate’ thresholds they have to meet will continue to be based on the current (25th percentile) figures, but these will increase somewhat in line with salary inflation based on the most recent ONS national salary figures data.
Extension applications should therefore not be affected as much by the April changes.
We will be prioritising New Skilled Worker ‘initial’ CoS applications which may not meet the new thresholds, over Skilled Worker extensions, Tier 5, and non-urgent Global Talent, applications.
As full details of the new thresholds are not yet known:
Roles currently being/ about to be advertised should continue as planned and when the selection is completed, if the chosen candidate requires a visa, SIT can then advise on the current or likely new Skilled Worker salary thresholds, the timing of the application, and/or other visa routes they may be able to apply under instead. If a higher salary is required than was listed when advertising (and if this is possible) a letter from the department/ faculty/ college explaining the change in salary can be accepted when processing a Skilled Worker CoS application.
Roles being advertised later this year, we would ask that you wait to contact us after the full details of the new salary thresholds have been published.
These significant changes to the Skilled Worker visa route also highlight the advantages of using other visa routes where possible. The Global Talent visa route should be used wherever possible (Global Talent Endorsement and visa application process), and Graduate, High Potential Individual (HPI), and Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS), visas can be better options for shorter roles.
