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UK IMMIGRATION UPDATE MARCH 2024
Posted on Mar 26, 2024 by jsw
Following the government's announcements last year to introduce further visa restrictions to reduce net migration figures and the latest report from the Migration Advisory Committee last month to replace the Shortage Occupation List (SOL) with a new Immigration Salary List (ISL), the Statement of Changes 14 March 2024 have now been published providing further detail on how the proposed changes will apply in practice and the impact they will have on individuals and businesses.
Below are some of the key changes impacting non-care or national pay scale routes:
Skilled Worker
⮚ The minimum basic annual salary to apply for a Skilled Worker visa will increase from £26,200 to £38,700 for new applicants.
⮚ The minimum "going rate" for the role to be performed by the employee is also increasing from the 25th percentile to the 50th percentile (median salary for a UK worker).
⮚ The current Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) 2010 document will be replaced by the SOC 2020 version, which contains the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) pay data.
⮚ The "new entrant" discount will still apply, offering a 30% reduction against the 50th percentile, so long as the salary is still at or above £30,960.
⮚ Some PhD applicants can qualify for a lower visa threshold of £34,830 (£30,960 for STEM subjects) so long as they are paid at least 90% (80% for STEM subjects) of the "going rate" for the job as listed on SOC 2020.
⮚ Roles that made it onto the ISL must be paid the "going rate" as per SOC 2020, but benefit from a lower visa threshold of £30,960.
⮚ The SOL and subsequent discount offered to those roles has been removed.
The table below illustrates changes to minimum "going rates" for a selection of roles based on a 37.5 hour working week.
| Current SOC 2010 | Current rate (25th percentile) | Current shortage occupation rate (25th percentile) | New rate (50th percentile) – estimate | New rate – new ent rant only (50th percentile) – estimate, or £30,960, whichever higher | |
| Chief executives and senior officials | 1115 | £59,300.00 | N/A | £84,100.00 | £58,870.00 |
| Production managers and directors in mining and energy | 1123 | £38,300.00 | N/A | £51,600.00 | £36,120.00 |
| Financial managers and directors | 1131 | £42,800.00 | N/A | £70,000.00 | £49,000.00 |
| Marketing and sales director | 1132 | £50,000.00 | N/A | £83,000.00 | £58,100.00 |
| Human resource managers and directors | 1135 | £36,500.00 | N/A | £49,400.00 | £34,580.00 |
| Information technology and telecommunications directors | 1136 | £47,900.00 | N/A | £80,000.00 | £56,000.00 |
| Civil engineers | 2121 | £34,700.00 | £27,760.00 | £45,500.00 | £31,850.00 |
| Mechanical engineers | 2122 | £33,000.00 | £26,400.00 | £42,500.00 | £29,750.00 |
| Engineering professionals not elsewhere classified | 2129 | £33,400.00 | £26,720.00 | £42,900.00 | £30,030.00 |
| IT business analysts, architects and system designers | 2135 | £37,600.00 | £30,080,00 | £51,700.00 | £36,190.00 |
| Programmers and software development professionals | 2136 | £34,000.00 | $27,200.00 | £49,400.00 | £34,580.00 |
| Chartered and certified accountants | 2421 | £31,300.00 | N/A | £46,800.00 | £32,760.00 |
| Management consultants and business analysts | 2423 | £32,000.00 | N/A | £46,627.00 | £32,638.90 |
| Business and financial project management professionals | 2424 | £39,100.00 | N/A | £52,900.00 | £37,030.00 |
| Actuaries, economists, and statisticians | 2425 | £33,600.00 | £26,880 (bio-informaticians and informaticians only) | £48,000.00 | £33,600.00 |
| Quality control and planning engineers | 2461 | £31,600.00 | £25,280.00 | £40,000.00 | £28,000.00 |
| Quality assurance and regulatory professionals | 2462 | £33,300.00 | N/A | £42,500.00 | £29,750.00 |
| Finance and investment analysts and advisers | 3534 | £28,600.00 | £22,880.00 | £40,600.00 | £28,420.00 |
Other work-related routes
From 4 April 2024, there will also be changes applicable to other work routes as follows:
⮚ For Senior or Specialist Workers in the Global Business Mobility routes, the general salary threshold is being increased from £45,800 to £48,500 and the going rates will be updated using the latest ONS pay data.
⮚ For Graduate Trainees in the Global Business Mobility routes, the general salary threshold is being increased from £24,220 to £25,410 and the going rates remain based on 70% of the 25th percentile, updated using the latest ONS pay data.
⮚ For the Scale-Up route, the general salary threshold is being increased from £34,600 to £36,300 and the going rates will be updated using the latest ONS pay data.
Family routes
⮚ The minimum income threshold for family members, on the five-year route to settlement as a partner under Appendix FM, will rise from £18,600 to £29,000 from 11 April 2024.
⮚ Transitional arrangements will be in place for individuals who, before 11 April 2024, already held a Family route visa and those who submitted applications prior to 11 April 2024.
⮚ Under transitional arrangements, the minimum income requirement, as applicable at the time, will continue to apply, providing the applicant is subsequently submitting further applications to remain with the same partner.
CONTACT US
If you have any questions in relation to the above topics, please contact:
Katy Henderson katy@hpassociates.uk.com
+ 44 (0)20 7654 3797/+ 44 (0) 7841 633324
Address: 6th Floor, 52 Grosvenor Gardens, London SW1W 0AU | Tel: 0207 654 3797 | Email info@hpassociates.uk.com
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