New sponsored employment rules for Skilled Workers in Britain

April 11, 2024 02:11 AM AEST | By EIN Presswire
Follow us on Google News: https://kalkinemedia.com/resources/assets/public/images/google-news.webp

The new salary requirements for Skilled Workers are relevant both for new applicants and workers already sponsored in the UK. Small businesses are the worst off

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, April 10, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- One of the most common immigration routes to the UK is the Skilled Worker visa. This route leads to settlement, or permission to stay in the UK permanently, after 5 years of residence. Skilled worker is allowed to come to the UK with their partner and children as dependants. Dependants have an (almost) unrestricted right to work and study in the UK, although as University students they have to pay the foreign students fees if enrolled before indefinite leave to remain is granted.

There are five basic requirements for the Skilled Worker visa:

1. There has to be a genuine job offer from a UK-based sponsor
2. The proposed job has to meet the required level of skill
3. The proposed job has to be paid at least at the minimum pay threshold and at least at the prescribed going rate for the job – whichever is higher
4. The visa applicant has to have good knowledge of English – at least B1 in speaking, listening, reading and writing

This April, the Immigration Rules related to Skilled Worker visa changed and the changes affect both the new applicants for this type of visa and those applying for extension of their existing permission to stay or indefinite leave to remain.

The changes concern the required level of pay, both in respect of the general minimum threshold and the going rates for prescribed jobs.

The general minimum threshold has been raised to £38,700. There are a few exceptions, mainly related to the shortage jobs, now listed in the Immigration Salary List, and the jobs which required a PhD qualification, especially in a STEM subject.

Under the new rules, the Standard Occupational Classification 2010 code has been replaced with SOC 2020. This means that some jobs now fall under a new classification code and all jobs have a higher going rate than under the previous SOC 2010 classification. So, for example, the going rate for Production Managers in manufacturing has raised from £35,000 per year to £51,500, with an hourly rate going up from £17.90 to £26.41. The going rate for Marketing and sales directors has increased from £50,000 per year to £83,000, with the hourly rate increase from £25.60 to £42.56.

Workers currently sponsored in the UK under SOC 2010 code can continue their work without changes. However, at the time of the visa extension or an application for ILR they will have to meet the requirements set out in the transitional arrangements. These transitional arrangements will apply for 6 years, until 4 April 2030, and will only be applicable to Skilled Workers who remain in this immigration route continuously since before the changes.

Thus, a Sales Director employed before the April changes with the salary of £50,000 per year will have to be paid £55,600 for the extension application and application for ILR, if made before April 2030. If, for whatever reason, an application for ILR is not made before this date, the required salary for an ILR application after this date will be £83,000 per year.

For employers, or sponsors of Skilled Workers from overseas, the most profound changes are related to hiring additional personnel. The salary requirements are clearly aimed at reducing net migration and the minimum level of pay may be challenging for small and medium sized businesses and charitable organisations.

Although provisions for new entrants, or recent graduates from UK universities, allow some flexibility, these provisions apply for a maximum period of four years. After this, the Skilled Worker has to be paid at the applicable level in order to extend their stay or qualify for ILR.

Immigration lawyers expect that the amendments in combination with transitional arrangements and largely convoluted changes will create a particular challenge for unrepresented applicants and anticipate a higher than previous refusal rate due to notorious complexity of the rules and lack of clarity surrounding the changes. How British business environment will respond to the measures still remains to be seen.

Helena Sheizon
Kadmos Consultants
email us here


Disclaimer

The content, including but not limited to any articles, news, quotes, information, data, text, reports, ratings, opinions, images, photos, graphics, graphs, charts, animations and video (Content) is a service of Kalkine Media Pty Ltd (“Kalkine Media, we or us”), ACN 629 651 672 and is available for personal and non-commercial use only. The principal purpose of the Content is to educate and inform. The Content does not contain or imply any recommendation or opinion intended to influence your financial decisions and must not be relied upon by you as such. Some of the Content on this website may be sponsored/non-sponsored, as applicable, but is NOT a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell or hold the stocks of the company(s) or engage in any investment activity under discussion. Kalkine Media is neither licensed nor qualified to provide investment advice through this platform. Users should make their own enquiries about any investments and Kalkine Media strongly suggests the users to seek advice from a financial adviser, stockbroker or other professional (including taxation and legal advice), as necessary.
The content published on Kalkine Media also includes feeds sourced from third-party providers. Kalkine does not assert any ownership rights over the content provided by these third-party sources. The inclusion of such feeds on the Website is for informational purposes only. Kalkine does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the content obtained from third-party feeds. Furthermore, Kalkine Media shall not be held liable for any errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in the content obtained from third-party feeds, nor for any damages or losses arising from the use of such content.
Kalkine Media hereby disclaims any and all the liabilities to any user for any direct, indirect, implied, punitive, special, incidental or other consequential damages arising from any use of the Content on this website, which is provided without warranties. The views expressed in the Content by the guests, if any, are their own and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Kalkine Media. Some of the images/music that may be used on this website are copyrighted to their respective owner(s). Kalkine Media does not claim ownership of any of the pictures displayed/music used on this website unless stated otherwise. The images/music that may be used on this website are taken from various sources on the internet, including paid subscriptions or are believed to be in public domain. We have made reasonable efforts to accredit the source wherever it was indicated as or found to be necessary.

This disclaimer is subject to change without notice. Users are advised to review this disclaimer periodically for any updates or modifications.

5 ASX Companies Leveraging AI to Drive Growth in 2024



We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.