UK's higher salary thresholds for overseas skilled work visas kick in

PTI

London, April 4

Significantly higher salary thresholds for overseas workers, including Indians, applying for the UK's Skilled Worker visas kicked in on Thursday, as part of tough new measures announced earlier to cut Britain's overall migration figures.

For those applying under the Skilled Worker visa route, the salary threshold for an application will rise from GBP 26,200 to GBP 38,700 – an increase of 48 per cent.

The UK Home Office said it forms part of a “robust and fair package of measures”.

“It's time to turn off the taps and end the flow of cheap workers from abroad. Mass migration is unsustainable, and it's simply not fair. It undercuts the wages of hard-working people who are just trying to make ends meet,” said UK Home Secretary James Cleverly.

“We are refocusing our immigration system to prioritise the brightest and best who have the skills our economy needs while reducing overall numbers. I promised the British people an immigration system that serves their interests, and to bring numbers down - these tough measures deliver on that commitment. Employers must also play their part and put British workers first,” he said.

On April 11, an incremental increase to the minimum income required for overseas applicants to bring their dependents on Family Visas will also come into force – rising to GBP 29,000 from GBP 18,600.

By early next year, this is set to match the Skilled Worker visa threshold of GBP 38,700 which, the Home Office said, would ensure family dependents brought to the UK are supported financially.

“The government is clear that no sector should be permanently reliant on immigration, so today, the Shortage Occupation List has also been abolished, with employers no longer able to pay migrants less than UK workers in shortage occupations,” the Home Office said. 

Under a new Immigration Salary List (ISL), created on the advice of the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), roles will only be included where they are skilled and in shortage, considering the efforts being made by sectors to invest in the resident workforce. 

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