Sponsoring a new employee on a Skilled Worker visa now means paying them more than half of what all workers in that profession earn. Employers sponsoring non-resident Skilled Workers must pay them a higher minimum salary since 4 April 2024 – the highest of the following three figures in most cases. The general minimum salary threshold for the visa has increased from £26,200 to £38,700 gross per year, the minimum hourly rate from £10.75 to £15.88 per hour and crucially, the government-set going rates for specific occupations have risen much higher – now pegged to the median pay for jobs in that occupation code according to the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, instead of the bottom quarter of salaries for that job.
At the same time, the Home Secretary has ended the Shortage Occupation List of shortage skillsets that could be sponsored at 20% less than the going rate to fill skills gaps.
Nevertheless, firms can still use a few categories to sponsor non-resident talent on comparatively lower salaries, as well as employing talent on visas that do not rely on sponsorship by an employer and are thus free of salary thresholds.
Below is a list of the most useful of such immigration categories, some of which may be relevant for the talent your business needs to grow in the UK.
Sponsor those already on the Skilled Worker route before 4 April 2024
Those already on the Skilled Worker route are exempt from the £38,700 salary threshold when extending their visa, changing sponsoring employer or applying for settlement. Their pay must progress on the higher of the updated 25th percentile of going rates (not the median), a salary threshold of just £29,000 or £11.90 per hour.
Sponsor a shortage occupation on the Immigration Salary List
The Shortage Occupation List (SOL) of shortage skillsets that could be sponsored while paying 20% less than the going rate has been replaced by a much smaller list called the Immigration Salary List (ISL). You can find the current list here. This list of shortage occupations only affords a 20% discount on the general Skilled Worker visa salary threshold, not the occupation’s going rate so only includes 21 occupation codes with going rates under the usual £38,700 general salary threshold so still benefitting from a discount to it.
NB: Skilled Workers sponsored in a role which was included on either the SOL or ISL list but is no longer on the list when they make their next application to extend their visa, may still be sponsored on the lower general threshold of £23,200 and and lower going rates based on the 25th percentile of all such occupations, rather than the new going rates which are based on the median that those in that occupation are paid – though this is only if they extend their visa to continue working in the same role for the same sponsor. If working for a different sponsoring employer they will still be able to progress on a lower going rate based on the 25th percentile, though the general salary threshold will be £29,000 – the same as as most Skilled Workers who were on the route before 4 April. The general salary thresholds for those on the Skilled Worker visa route before 4 April 2024 is not increasing as much as new applicants – you can find more details here.
Sponsor a New Entrant on a Skilled Worker visa
The minimum general salary threshold to sponsor those classed as New Entrants is just £30,960 with a 30% discount on the going rate for the relevant job. (Note that an applicant can only be sponsored as a new entrant for up to four years – and that includes any time they have spent on a Graduate visa).
Sponsoring a Skilled Worker with a relevant PhD
The minimum salary threshold for eligible Skilled Workers with a relevant PhD is reduced to £34,830 (£30,960 with a STEM PhD). Sponsors can pay 10% less on the going rate for their specific role (20% for a STEM PhD).
Sponsor a Health and care worker or staff on national pay scales
Employees on national pay scales, such as teachers or medical practitioners may be sponsored on the highest of a minimum salary threshold of £23,200 or the national pay scale for that role or salary band.
New health and care workers not on a pay scale have a general threshold of £29,000 and their occupation-based going rate increases along the bottom quarter of salaries for that job rather than the median. With a relevant PhD the threshold is £26,100 and for health and care workers with a relevant STEM PhD, on the Immigration Salary List or New Entrants, the general threshold increase is £23,200.
Sponsor skilled hires with a Scale-up sponsor licence
Organisations that meet the growth criteria to qualify for a Scale-up sponsor licence can sponsor eligible Scale-up workers on a general salary threshold which has risen from £34,600 to just £36,300 this year and lower going rates based on the 25th percentile. With lower sponsor licence fees and no Immigration Skills Charge to pay, Rishi Sunak’s flagship sponsor licence for high growth firms is a useful way to hire talent from abroad for those that qualify.
Global Business Mobility immigration routes
Firms can sponsor staff on Global Business Mobility immigration routes in certain situations, such as specialist workers fulfilling specific business needs, service suppliers, secondment workers and expansion workers. Though a £48,500 general salary threshold for most sponsored on this visa is 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 bottom quarter of salaries for that job which now makes some roles cheaper to sponsor than on Skilled Worker visas.
Sponsoring staff on a Graduate Trainee visa continues to benefit from a £25,410 general threshold as well as a 30% discount to the going rate.
Sponsor staff on temporary work immigration routes
Workers can also be sponsored on other temporary work immigration routes with less onerous salary requirements – usually on national minimum wage or market rates (for instance Creative Workers must be paid at least the national minimum wage and market rate – union rates for certain film and TV roles. Temporary sponsorship is available for Charity Workers, Creative Workers, Religious Workers, Seasonal Workers as well as those on Government Authorised Exchange and International Agreement immigration routes.
Who can firms hire without needing a sponsor licence?
There are no resident labour salary requirements when employing settled and Irish staff, or talent that has been granted permission under the immigration routes below.
EEA citizens who lived in the UK for five years before the end of 2020 and their family members can be hired without sponsorship, as well as Swiss citizens and their partners, if awarded settled or pre-settled status.
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.
The Youth Mobility Scheme has been expanded over the past year, 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 at a UK university to stay and work in the UK for up to two years (or three years for those with a PhD or other doctoral qualification.) NB: The Home Secretary has asked the Migration Advisory Committee to review the Graduate visa by 14 May 2024. Meanwhile, 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 a list of top overseas universities in the past five years.
And finally, those who are leaders in the fields of digital technology, academia, research, arts and culture may qualify for a Global Talent visa and work in the UK for up to five years at a time. In most cases they must be endorsed by one of the government-appointed endorsing bodies. Founders seeking to bring a viable, innovative, scalable business to market in the UK can also apply to be endorsed for the Innovator Founder visa which has replaced the start-up and innovator visas.
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