Under the previous UK Home Secretary, James Cleverly, minimum salary thresholds for Skilled Worker visas were raised significantly and the 20% discount for shortage occupations were eliminated.

Both the Conservative and Labour manifestos vowed to lower immigration each year, leaving employers wondering what changes are on the horizon.

Review of IT and engineering roles

The new Government has asked the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to review UK employers’ reliance on international recruitment for engineering, IT and telecommunications roles. This is expected to be the first of several reviews focusing on sectors heavily dependent on business immigration.

The independent expert body that advises the British Government on immigration policy will report on engineering, IT and telecommunications roles in nine months’ time to allow for stakeholder input and industry feedback.

The new Labour Government’s focus on reducing migration is evident in Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s letter to the MAC commissioning the review. She wrote that the UK has become reliant on international recruitment to source engineering, IT and telecommunications professionals and requested that the independent committee investigate why this is the case and to recommend solutions.

The review will cover:

• Which roles are in shortage.
• What factors drive these shortages, including training, pay, and conditions.
• How sectors have adapted beyond recruiting internationally.
• How the Shortage Occupation List (SOL) impacted these skills shortages.
• Whether the Immigration Salary List that replaced the SOL should remain in its current form.
• How immigration policies could better incentivize domestic recruitment.

Regional differences

The Home Secretary also asked the MAC to explore differentiated regional immigration approaches in the tech roles review. She wrote that she is open to considering regional differences in immigration to address skills shortages, a departure from the previous Government's approach. The current national salary thresholds for sponsoring skilled migrants are much easier to meet for companies paying London wages than those in other parts of the UK, where wages tend to be lower.

Sponsoring Skilled Workers

The Home Secretary also delivered a statement to the House of Commons which promised to keep most of the previous Government's five-point plan to reduce immigration to the UK.

The last Government restricted the ability of staff sponsored on care worker and senior care worker visas to bring dependents with them and required all care providers sponsoring immigrant staff to register with the Care Quality Commission.

The Government also raised the general salary threshold of those arriving on Skilled Worker visas, who must now be paid 48% more, from £26,200 per anum to £38,700 per anum. The minimum hourly rate rose from £10.75 to £15.88 per hour and crucially, the minimum going rate that Skilled Worker occupations must be paid rose sharply. Since April, going rates are based on the median wage for an occupation, rather than matching or exceeding the bottom 25%. The Shortage Occupation List for employers filling UK skills shortages was also abolished, along with the 20% going rate discount.

The Home Secretary told Parliament that the Labour government is not planning to change any of these Conservative immigration measures.

Some categories of Skilled Worker can still be sponsored on lower salaries. These include occupations on the Immigration Salary List (ISL), new entrants, hires with relevant PhDs and health / care workers. There are also other alternatives to the Skilled Worker visa that may be more cost effective, such as the Scale Up visa, Global Talent visas, High Potential Individual visas and Global Business Mobility visas.

Skills Shortages and the Immigration Salary List

As mentioned above, the previous Home Secretary replaced the SOL with the ISL last April, removing the 20% discount on the going rate of pay for shortage roles on the list.

The ISL will still allow employers to pay lower application fees and a lower general salary threshold – £30,960 instead of the new minimum threshold of £38,700 for most new Skilled Worker visas. However, as there is no longer a 20% discount on the going rates of pay for the shortage occupations on the list, very few shortage roles are left on the new list as most pay above £38,700.

This is why the Home Secretary has asked the MAC to also examine what the point of the ISL is “in its current form” as part of its tech roles review.

The MAC will collaborate with the new Skills England body, the Industrial Strategy Council and the Department of Work and Pensions in this review and ongoing reviews of skills shortages.

King Charles unveiled a 'Skills England Bill' in the King’s Speech, introducing the main primary legislation agenda for Labour’s first session in power after 14 years. Labour’s manifesto explained that Skills England will be a new body which would “formally work with the Migration Advisory Committee to make sure training in England accounts for the overall needs of the labour market.” The manifesto promised to “link immigration and skills policy” and end “long-term reliance on overseas workers.” How this would work in practice remains to be seen, but Labour’s manifesto promised to “reform the points-based immigration system” and is unlikely to entail any major changes in this session of parliament.

Sponsor licence compliance

Labour has promised stricter enforcement against employers who abuse the visa system. No major changes to sponsor compliance obligations are expected as they already include:

• requirements to ensure that the immigration system isn’t abused;
• compliance with wider UK law (including employment and equality law); and
• behaving in a manner that is not conducive to the public good.

Recent increases in civil penalties and compliance visits suggest this trend will continue. Employers should keep on top of upcoming changes to Home Office guidance, seek legal advice if unsure and conduct regular audits to maintain their sponsor licences, whatever changes are on the horizon.

Graduate visas and the Youth Mobility Scheme

Both the Graduate visa and Youth Mobility Scheme, which allow young people to work in the UK without sponsorship, are likely to remain unchanged and Labour plans to continue with the previous Government's efforts to combat mis-selling of university courses by recruitment agents. The Youth Mobility Scheme might expand to include more countries, though Labour seems reluctant to sign a broader agreement with the EU, which the previous government ruled out.

Family visas

The minimum income requirement to sponsor a partner on a family visa jumped from £18,600 to £29,000 in April 2024 under the previous Government, with further increases planned. However, the Home Secretary has announced that the threshold will stay at £29,000 while the Migration Advisory Committee reviews financial requirements.