GB UK Skilled Worker Visa Updates

1. New Recruitment Rules for Care Workers (England Only)

Effective from 9 April 2025

What’s New?

Care providers in England must try to recruit workers already in the UK (who have lost sponsorship or need new employers) before hiring from overseas.
To sponsor a new overseas worker, employers must:
- Provide evidence of UK-based recruitment efforts.
- Get confirmation from a regional or sub-regional partnership that no suitable UK-based worker was available.

Who is Affected?

Applies only to care and senior care worker roles in England.
Exemptions:
- Workers switching employers who were sponsored before 9 April 2025.
- Workers switching from other routes, provided they’ve worked for the sponsor for at least 3 months.

Why it matters: This change is meant to reduce reliance on overseas hiring and support workers already in the UK.

2. New Minimum Salary Thresholds

From April 2025, the minimum salary for Skilled Worker visa applicants is rising:

Old Threshold	New Threshold
£23,200/year (£11.90/hour)	£25,000/year (£12.82/hour)

🏥 For healthcare and education roles, thresholds are updated based on national pay scales.
👷‍♂️ For other roles, the new minimum is £25,000 or the going rate, whichever is higher.

3. Salary Deductions and Cost Transparency

New protections for workers include:

Stricter rules on salary deductions to ensure workers are fairly paid.
Employers cannot pass sponsorship costs onto the worker.
It’s now illegal for applicants to self-finance by investing in or loaning money to the sponsoring business.

These changes aim to eliminate exploitation and ensure wages are genuinely paid by the employer.

4. Changes to ‘New Entrant’ Salary Discounts

New Rule: To claim the reduced salary threshold for "new entrants" in training, the qualification must now be UK-based.

This prevents misuse of the discount by those pursuing overseas qualifications not aligned with UK workforce needs.

5. Enforcement & Crackdown on Abuse

Since 2022, 470+ care sector licences revoked, affecting 39,000+ workers.
Government focus on:
- Preventing unsustainable worker debt
- Stopping fraudulent sponsorship
- Removing non-compliant employers

Compliance checks and sponsor audits are expected to increase.

6. Employer Action Points

To stay compliant and competitive:

Care Sector Employers (England):

Build relationships with regional workforce partnerships.
Create a clear process for proving domestic recruitment attempts.
Prioritise workers already in the UK who are actively seeking new sponsors.

All Employers Using Skilled Worker Route:

Update job offers to meet new salary thresholds.
Review employment contracts for deductions and benefits to ensure compliance.
Avoid offering sponsorship to workers funding their own wages via business investment.

7. What’s Next? Immigration White Paper

Expected soon:
A comprehensive White Paper on immigration, expected to align policy with: