UK officially notifies changes to immigration regulations and here’s what has changed

LONDON – The government of the United Kingdom has officially notified the changes to the immigration regime, visibly making the conditions strict for obtaining residency and visas.

The authorities published a new Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules on Thursday and this is the second time during the ongoing year that the government has published a Statement of Changes.

The document published in this regard is an exhaustive one comprising around 290 pages; however, broadly it sets out some of the significant reforms previously announced by the government as part of its strategy to reduce migration and limit abuse of the immigration system.

The changes outlined in this statement relate to changes to the Skilled Worker route, including an increased general salary threshold and higher ‘going rates’ for specific occupations besides consequential changes to salary requirements for other work routes and changes to the minimum income requirement under the partner routes etc.

Practically speaking, there is no new change that was announced on Thursday as these changes were announced earlier. Thursday’s move confirms that the UK has officially notified its earlier decisions.

A brief summary of the changes is that the Statement of Changes confirms that from April 4th this year, the general salary threshold under the Skilled Worker route is being increased from £26,200 to £38,700.

Besides, workers sponsored for Health and Care visas, or in occupations where going rates are set using national pay scales, are exempt from the new median salary requirements. For them, a general threshold continues to apply and is being increased from £26,200 to £29,000.

With the recent revisions, the Shortage Occupation List (SOL) is being eliminated and substituted with a new Immigration Salary List (ISL). This update aims to clarify that the entries on the list indicate positions where the Government deems it appropriate to provide a reduced salary threshold, rather than encompassing all occupations facing labor shortages.

The government has also clarified that changes are being made to update the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code system used in the immigration system from SOC 2010 to SOC 2020.

It is to be highlighted that several adjustments to salary thresholds are underway across various immigration routes. For the Senior or Specialist Worker (Global Business Mobility) route, the general salary threshold is set to rise from £45,800 to £48,500, while the Graduate Trainee (Global Business Mobility) routes will witness an increase from £24,220 to £25,410.

Similarly, the Scale-up route’s general salary threshold is being elevated from £34,600 to £36,300. Notably, certain poultry workers within the Seasonal Workers route, mandated to receive compensation in line with Skilled Workers, will see a notable increase in the salary requirement from £26,200 and £10.75 per hour to £38,700 and £15.88 per hour.