Immigration is currently a key area of focus for the UK government as shown by the publication of the “Restoring Control Over the Immigration System” white paper published on 12 May 2025 (“the White Paper”) and the references to immigration included within the government’s policy paper, “the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy” published on 23 June 2025 (“the Industrial Strategy”) which provides further detail to some of the policies outlined in the White Paper.
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has made sweeping changes to the immigration system intended to “take back control of our borders” and head off political challenges from the anti-immigration right.
Raising the skills threshold for skilled worker visas to the equivalent of a UK bachelor’s degree or higher (and associated changes to salary thresholds as a result) and removing 111 occupations from the list of roles eligible for a skilled worker visa. Current Skilled Worker visa holders can still extend, bring dependents, change employment and take on supplementary work below RQF level 6 but this will not apply indefinitely and is subject to future review.
A new TSL has been published which lists 52 occupations (for occupations with a skilled requirement of A Level or higher but below degree level) which are crucial to delivering the government’s Industrial Strategy and where there have been long term shortages. These occupations will be temporarily exempted (until the end of 2026) from the planned increase to the skills threshold for Skilled Worker visas.
The TSL will be reviewed in the spring of 2026, all roles will be automatically removed from the TSL unless the Migration Advisory Committee states otherwise – for a role to be added or remain on the TSL past the end of 2026, there will need to be an appropriate plan in place with the relevant sectors of these occupations to develop domestic skills and increase local recruitment.
Those on the TSL will not be able to bring dependents with them and they will not be provided with salary or visa fee discounts.
The minimum salary requirement is also being raised for several visa categories. For the Skilled Worker visa, the threshold is increasing from £38,700 (about ₹41.8 lakh) to £41,700 (about ₹45 lakh) annually.
Other routes, including Global Business Mobility and Scale-up, will also see revised salary benchmarks. Crucially, all Skilled Worker visa holders applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) after July 22 must meet the new salary threshold—even if they applied earlier under the old rules.
Note: Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) is a UK immigration status that allows a person to live, work, and study in the UK without any time restrictions. It’s a step towards permanent residency and, ultimately, British citizenship.There is no transitional relief. “The new salary thresholds apply immediately for those seeking settlement, so employers must plan accordingly,” said a release by the UK government.
Employers cannot sponsor new overseas care worker visas.Providers expected to hire from the pool of international care workers already in the UK while improving pay and conditions to attract domestic workers.
With the new system now live, employers are under pressure to act quickly to stay compliant and avoid disruption to staffing pipelines. Immediate steps include:
This is unclear. During a statement on May 12, 2025, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said:
“We will set out further details of the earned settlement and citizenship reforms later this year, and we will consult on them”.
She added: “We want the settlement rules to be amended as swiftly as possible and to apply widely, but we will consult on the detail”.
So far, the government has not said whether people already on existing visa routes will be affected or whether the ten-year requirement will apply only to new arrivals.
