Spring’s Statement of change to the immigration rules

The Immigration Rules Statement of Changes for Spring 2024 represents a significant sea change, particularly for employers recruiting Skilled Workers and British Citizen’s family members from overseas.

Welcome to our April LinkedIn update.?

In the Home Office latest immigration rules changes dated 14 March 2024, we highlight the salary changes affecting skilled workers and British Citizen’s family members from overseas.

Skilled Workers

The general minimum salary threshold for new Skilled Workers has increased from ￡26,200 to ￡38,700. Various changes have been made to the Skilled Occupation Codes, and higher going rates have been introduced for these, set at the median, an increase from the 25th percentile (according to the Office of National Statistics’ (ONS) Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings) for the relevant occupation.? What this means in practice, is that migrants need to be paid more than half of the people in similar roles comparted to the 25th percentile which would reflect a quarter or people in similar roles.

As expected, the Shortage Occupation List (SOL) has been replaced by the new Immigration Salary List (ISL). The ISL features fewer roles than the SOL – some occupations in which there are skills shortages, such as in programming and software development, have been entirely removed. Roles on the ISL will benefit from a reduced general salary threshold of ￡30,960. Special salary provisions remain for Health and Care workers and education workers.

The changes also affect those who are currently on Skilled Worker visas – when applying to extend their visa or switch to a new employer, a minimum general salary threshold will apply of ￡29,000. There are also changes to going rates, though these will not be as high as for those making new Skilled Worker visa applications.

Other Work Routes

Minimum salaries are also being increased in other work routes, to reflect the latest ONS data. These include the Senior or Specialist Worker (from ￡45,800 to ￡48,500) and Graduate Trainee (from ￡24,220 to ￡25,410) routes under the Global Business Mobility category, the Scale-up visa (from ￡34,600 to ￡36,300), and some poultry workers under the Seasonal Worker visa.

Family Visas

The minimum income requirements for those applying under the five-year partner and child routes has also increased. The new minimum income is ￡29,000 for new applicants, up from ￡18,600. It is expected that a further increase to this minimum income will be introduced later in 2024.

Electronic Travel Authorisation

The ETA is for visa-exempt travellers (non-visa nationals). These are foreign citizens who can enter the UK for short stays without the need for a visa.

This means that individuals from the EU and other European countries as well as other visa-exempt countries such as the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore will need to apply for an ETA in order to travel to the UK for up to 6 months for tourism or business. To work or reside in the UK for a longer duration than this, the appropriate visa will need to be applied for. Those who are travelling to the UK for short-term studies or medical treatment are also expected to be able to obtain an ETA.

Individuals Various other, small changes have been made to the Immigration Rules, including to account for the introduction of the new Electronic Travel Authorisation which will be rolled out later this year.

Our Immigration team can assist with compliance for sponsorship and right to work. We offer mock audits which will help to identify any weaknesses in your HR processes or systems.? Additionally, we offer bespoke training on right to work checks and sponsorship management system for Level 1 users. If we can be of assistance please contact Head of Immigration, Imelda Reddington, at: [email protected]

We will closely monitor immigration law changes throughout 2024 and will publish information monthly in this newsletter. If you want to keep up to date with the latest developments in more details please sign up?to our FSP mailing list to receive our bi-monthly newsletter.