The UK Government announced a number of changes to the Immigration rules on 12th March 2025. Many of these changes will apply to Certificates of Sponsorship which are assigned on or after 9th April 2025.
The full list of changes can be found on the UK Government's website here. This blog focuses on the key changes that impact employers who sponsor employees under the Skilled Worker visa route.
Certain deductions from sponsored workers' salary or repayment agreements will now impact minimum salary criteria
The UK Government has announced that certain payments made by an employee to their employer (if the employee is sponsored under a Skilled Worker visa) may have to be taken into account when assessing if their salary meets the minimum requirements under the Skilled Worker visa route. The new rules state that the following payments are relevant for this purpose:
- deductions from salary;
- repayment of loans; and
- investments.
If a payment, loan or investment falls under the new rules, then the total amount needs to subtracted from salary once such amount has been averaged over the length of time the applicant is being sponsored for, for the purpose of assessing if the role meets the minimum salary requirements under the Skilled Worker visa route.
If that reduced salary still meets the requirements of the Skilled Worker visa route, then the role may still qualify for sponsorship. However, if the reduced salary is below the relevant minimum requirements, then the role may not be eligible for sponsorship under the new rules. Please note these rules only apply to Certificates of Sponsorship issued on or after 9 April 2025.
Repayment of employer loan agreements
It is fairly common for employers to put loan arrangements in place with employees in relation to certain visa application fees or payments towards the Immigration Health Surcharge. It is not possible for such agreements to cover mandatory employer costs such as the Certificate of Sponsorship fee or the Immigration Skills Charge.
In some cases employers may require such amounts to be repaid over a fixed period. In other cases, the employer will lend the employee such an amount but the loan may be 'written off' in stages provided that the employee remains in employment for a period. In such a case that amount may only be repayable if the employment terminates before a certain date. Such agreements will be relevant for the purposes of these rule changes.
Other deductions from salary
In other cases employers may make certain deductions from employees' salaries for accommodation, provision of equipment or for other reasons. For advice about how the new rules impact such arrangements please get in touch.
Investments
In terms of 'investments' which require to be subtracted from salary to assess whether the minimum salary requirements under the Skilled Worker visa route are still met, the UK Government has stated this change is intended: 'to close an unintended loophole whereby applicants could effectively pay towards their own salary through investing in their sponsor’s business'.
It appears that any investment by someone who will be sponsored under a Skilled Worker visa will have to be carefully factored into the assessment of whether the minimum salary requirements are met. Although it is clear why the Home Office might want to restrict someone from funding their own salary in order to be sponsored, we expect that there could be unintended consequences of this rule. It might, for example, impact employees or LLP members who also invest money into their employer's business. Any situation where an sponsored worker also invests money into their employer's business will need to be carefully considered.
Exceptions
There are some exceptions in the rules where payments are not related to 'business costs, immigration costs or investments'. Where the exception applies, these amounts do not require to be subtracted from salary when assessing if the minimum salary requirements are being met. In addition, there are exceptions where deductions or repayments of loans are for an 'additional benefit offer' that the individual has a choice to take up or to decline (such as salary sacrifice arrangements). It is unclear from the current rules what 'business costs' specifically covers as this is not defined. More guidance may be provided by UKVI in due course. Advice should be sought on your own circumstances to check what amounts need to be factored in.
The UK Government guidance states that these changes are to mitigate against sponsorship costs being passed on to applicants. Presumably the UK Government anticipates that some employers may pay visa application costs instead of passing them on to Skilled Workers. However, there may be cases where the employer is not prepared to pay such costs. The impact of these changes remain to be seen.
What this means for me?
If you currently have loan agreements with Sponsored Workers; make deductions from salary (to cover the costs of accommodation or equipment for example); or have sponsored workers who also invest into your business, please take advice on the consequences of these changes. These changes to the Skilled Worker rules will add further complexity to the assessment of minimum salary requirements in many cases.
Increase to certain minimum salary levels
There will also be an increase to the (i) minimum general salary threshold for certain roles under the Skilled Worker route from £23,200 to £25,000; and (i) the minimum going rate for certain job codes. The minimum hourly rate for those jobs which were eligible for a rate of £11.90 per hour will increase to £12.82 per hour. Please note that such a rate may be higher depending on the going rate for the job).
This level applies to:
- those who are on Health and Care visas who are carrying out a job on the Immigration Salary list (which can include certain workers sponsored under job code 6135 Care Workers and home carers and 6136 Senior Care Workers);
- those benefiting from having a PhD in a STEM subject and who have a Certificate of Sponsorship that was previous assigned before 4 April 2024 (and therefore benefit from special transitional arrangements); and
- those who are benefitting under 'New Entrant' rules and who have a Certificate of Sponsorship that was previous assigned before 4 April 2024 (and therefore benefit from special transitional arrangements).
UKVI do review their salaries annually and state this change is to reflect the latest pay situation for UK workers. Going rates for certain other healthcare and education roles are also being updated.
You should ensure you are aware of this change which will apply to those Certificates of Sponsorship which are assigned on or after 9 April 2025. Employers will also need to pay this higher rate for those extending their visa where the Certificate of Sponsorship was assigned on or after 9 April 2025.
The UK Government has stated that is has limited these changes only to the 'minimum salary floor' as it is due to shortly publish an Immigration White paper. This indicates that other salary minimums may be reviewed as part of that in the future.
Increased protections for Health and Care visa holders who are on Care Worker or Senior Care Worker job codes in England
Changes have been announced for those who sponsor workers who are entirely based in England under the care worker job codes (specifically, job codes 6135 Care workers and home carers or 6136 Senior care workers). These changes require affected sponsors to try to recruit from the pool of overseas care workers already in the UK under the Skilled Worker visa route before seeking to sponsor overseas workers or those in other routes. Between July 2022 and December 2024, the UK Government revoked more than 470 sponsor licences within the sector to clamp down on abuse and exploitation. It is estimated that more than 39,000 workers have been associated with these sponsors since October 2020 – therefore the pool of overseas care workers in the UK looking for work is thought to be significant. The UK Government has introduced these provisions to attempt to help those who came to the UK to pursue a career in adult social care and reduce the reliance on overseas workers.
This means that impacted employers in England must provide confirmation from the relevant regional or sub-regional partnership that they have sought to recruit this way and confirm they were unable to recruit from the pool of workers mentioned. These changes do not impact sponsored care workers in England (i) who were already sponsored prior to 9 April 2025 (including if they are changing employers); or (ii) those switching from another route in to skilled worker if they have been lawfully working for the anticipated sponsor for at least 3 months.
This means that for employers in the care sector in England, there will be an additional requirement to be aware of and adhere to going forward when sponsoring care workers. Applications relating to working locations in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland are unaffected by this change.
Amendments to the 'New Entrant' requirements
A change has also made in relation to those who are eligible for 'New Entrant' discounts to the minimum salary for Skilled Workers. This change clarifies that a 'recognised professional qualification' relied on to for the purposes of this discount must be from the UK. Overseas recognised professional qualifications will no longer be eligible.
More information
For further detail on any of these changes or to discuss sponsor licence applications or compliance, please contact Elaine McIlroy or Erin McLafferty or Gregor Craig-Murphy from Brodies Employment and Immigration team.
