With effect from 22 July 2025, the salary thresholds for the Skilled Worker visa, along with Global Business Mobility and Scale up visas, are to be increased.
The new levels were outlined in the Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules HC 997, published on 1 July 2025.
Skilled Worker Visa Salary Changes from 22 July 2025
Skilled worker visa salary thresholds are increasing across the board for Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) assigned on or after 22 July 2025 as follows:
- General threshold (Option A) rises from £38,700 to £41,700, a 7.8 % increase.
- The “90 % of going-rate” band used for roles on the Immigration Salary List or PhD-level roles in STEM subjects only (Option B) moves from £34,830 to £37,500.
- The three “80 % / new-entrant / PhD-discount” bands (Options C, D and E) each climb from £30,960 to £33,400.
- The new-entrant floor (Option F) increases from £29,000 to £31,300, and the lowest “70 % of going-rate” band (Option G) from £26,100 to £28,200.
- All occupation-specific going rates in Appendix Skilled Occupations are being uprated in line with the 2024 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE).
In light of the increased thresholds, sponsors must now pay whichever is higher: the updated median ASHE figure or a minimum of £17.13 per hour. Where that £17.13 test produces a higher figure than the stated 70 %, 80 % or 90 % discount, the £17.13 value is deemed to meet the discount.
Only the first 48 working hours per week can be counted toward meeting these thresholds.
No transitional provisions are available for applicants extending their skilled worker leave or changing sponsor after 22 July. Extensions have to satisfy the new thresholds, unless their application relies on a Certificate of Sponsorship issued before that date.
| Salary band (points option) | When it is used | Old minimum (up to 21 Jul 2025) |
New minimum (from 22 Jul 2025) |
£ change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General threshold – Option A | Standard Skilled-Worker cases with no salary discount | £38,700 | £41,700 | +£3,000 |
| 90 % rate – Option B | Immigration Salary List roles or STEM-PhD discount | £34,830 | £37,500 | +£2,670 |
| 80 % rate – Options C / D / E | Most new-entrants & non-STEM PhD discounts | £30,960 | £33,400 | +£2,440 |
| New-entrant floor – Option F | Absolute floor when 80 % calc. would dip lower | £29,000 | £31,300 | +£2,300 |
| 70 % rate – Option G | Lowest permissible discount band (limited cases) | £26,100 | £28,200 | +£2,100 |
| Universal hourly floor | Applies across all bands in addition to annual test | (none) | £17.13 per hour | — |
Impact on New Skilled Worker Visa Applications
From 22 July 2025, any Skilled Worker application that relies on a CoS dated that day or later must satisfy the higher salary bands introduced by Statement of Changes HC 997. Only applications linked to a CoS assigned before 22 July continue to be assessed against the previous, lower figures.
For employers, the most immediate consequence is the need to raise headline pay offers. The general salary threshold (Option A) has risen from £38,700 to £41,700, while the 90 per cent “shortage/PhD” band moves to £37,500. The 80 per cent bands, used for most new entrants and STEM-PhD discounts, now sit at £33,400. The new entrant floor is £31,300 and the lowest 70 per cent band is £28,200.
Occupation specific going rates have also been recalculated using 2024 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings data and the rules now impose a new absolute floor of £17.13 per hour. Sponsors must therefore pay the higher of (i) the refreshed going-rate for the SOC code or (ii) the relevant discounted option.
The first 48 working hours per week are the only hours that count towards meeting these thresholds, so longer weeks cannot be used to “top up” an otherwise inadequate salary.
In practical terms, employers should review all salaries that will be quoted in CoS after 21 July and budget for the necessary increases. Roles that previously cleared the threshold may now fall short. In this event, unless the salary level can be uplifted, the vacancy will no longer be eligible for sponsorship under the skilled worker route.
Recruitment adverts, offer letters and payroll instructions should also be reviewed and adjusted accordingly to reflect the relevant new figures before a CoS is assigned; a late adjustment after the application has been submitted will not cure a refusal.
Where employers rely on the discounted bands, such as the 80 per cent new-entrant rate, they must still check that the hourly £17.13 floor is met, particularly for part-time patterns, and retain payslips as evidence in case of a Home Office compliance audit.
Finally, staff using the Sponsor Management System (SMS) should be trained to select the renumbered tables in Appendix Skilled Occupations so that the CoS cites the correct, post-uplift going-rate. Failure to align salary data with the new rules after 22 July risks refusals for individual migrants, potential downgrading of the sponsor licence and expensive business disruption.
Impact on Skilled Worker Visa Extensions
From 22 July 2025, any Skilled Worker who needs to extend their permission or apply to change their sponsor, and therefore rely on a new CoS, will be subject to the higher thresholds where the CoS will be dated on or after 22 July. Only extensions that use a CoS assigned before that date can still be judged against the earlier, lower figures.
The Home Office also makes it explicit that “there are no transitional arrangements relating to the updates to salary requirements”. The Home Office expects wages to track UK market growth, so any worker who applies to extend on or after 22 July must already be paid at, or be contractually guaranteed, a figure that meets the new thresholds when the application is made.
The only flexibility is the date on which the CoS is issued: once that is 22 July or later, the higher rates apply.
Failure to align salaries with the post-22 July regime can lead to extension refusals, curtailed leave to remain for the worker as well as potential sponsor licence enforcement action.
Employers are advised to review every sponsored employee whose leave expires after 21 July and confirm that their actual gross pay will clear the new general threshold and the refreshed going rate before a CoS is assigned under the new rules.
Where salaries fall short, any contractual variation to meet the new requirement – such as a pay rise – should be applied in good time. Retrospective uplifts cannot be relied on after an extension has been refused.
Also check that part-time staff meet the hourly £17.13 floor and that compressed hours arrangements do not rely on crediting more than 48 hours a week toward the threshold.
As with all aspects of visa sponsorship, record keeping is critical. Keep board minutes, payroll instructions and signed contract changes on file, in the event of a Home Office compliance audit.
In relation to forward planning, the same higher figures have been written across to the Skilled Worker settlement rule, so employees approaching five years’ residence will also need to meet the £41,700 / £33,400 / £31,300 bands if applying for indefinite leave to remain.
Impact on Skilled Worker Visa to ILR
From 22 July 2025 the salary test for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) under the Skilled Worker route will align with the wider salary uplifts. Skilled Worker to ILR applications made on or after 22 July 2025 must satisfy the higher of (i) the updated general settlement thresholds and (ii) the refreshed “going-rate” for the occupation, calculated from the 2024 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. The table in SW 24.3 reads £41,700 (Option A), £33,400 (Option B) and £31,300 (Option C), replacing the former figures of £38,700, £30,960 and £29,000, from 22 July 2025.
Only the full going rate column in the new Appendix Skilled Occupations counts for settlement purposes; the 70 %, 80 % and 90 % discounts that can be used at the entry stage are expressly disapplied.
Whichever option is relied on, an hourly floor of £17.13 and the “first-48-hours-only” cap on how much overtime can be credited also bite at ILR stage.
Again, no transitional relief is available; the Home Office expects sponsored pay to track UK wage growth, so anyone applying for ILR after 21 July must already be earning the new figures on the day the application is submitted.
Employers are advised to identify those Skilled Workers whose five-year residence are due after 21 July 2025 and model their projected pay against the £41.7 k/£33.4 k/£31.3 k bands and the new going rate for their SOC code. Where a gap emerges, schedule contractual uplifts well before the ILR application date, as retrospective increases will not rectify a refusal.
Another important development relates to skill level. Settlement normally requires the worker to be in an RQF 6 occupation in Tables 1–3. Workers in lower-skilled roles can still qualify but only if they have held continuous permission under the pre-22 July 2025 rules; no fresh sub-degree sponsorship will lead to ILR. This will needed to be factored into career development and retention planning.
Global Business Mobility & Scale Up Salary Increases
Salary changes also apply to the Global Business Mobility and Scale up visas, with route-specific figures.
For the GBM Senior or Specialist Worker visa, the absolute salary floor in rule SNR 8.1 climbs from £48,500 to £52,500, while the linked extension/settlement threshold in SNR 8.2A is uprated to the same £52,500.
The UK Expansion Worker visa mirrors that jump: rule UKX 8.1 now requires £52,500 and the discounted “sectoral” floor in UKX 8.3 rises to match.
Under the GBM Graduate Trainee visa, the baseline in GTR 8.1 increases from £25,410 to £27,300. The same figure replaces £24,220 in the reduced-hours formula at GTR 8.3(a).
Although no headline numbers are listed for the Service Supplier, Secondment Worker and UK Service Supplier sub-routes, the Rules replace route-specific worked examples with higher notional wages, signalling that their going rates have also been refreshed in line with the 2024 ASHE data.
The Scale-up route is likewise tightened. The sponsored phase threshold in rises from £36,300 to £39,100, an increase of 7.7 %. The same £39,100 figure applies to each subsequent salary test for extension and ILR, with tapered lower rates preserved only for legacy CoS assigned before 22 July 2025.
Across both routes, the revised £17.13 hourly minimum and “first-48-hours-only” rule apply, ensuring that sponsors cannot reach the new annual totals through excessive working time.
As with Skilled Workers, no transitional relief exists. Any application that relies on a CoS dated 22 July 2025 or later must meet the higher figures.
Need Assistance?
Employers are left with little time to review and make any adjustments required to comply with the new rules. The new salary regime takes effect on 22 July 2025, and from that date, every skilled worker Certificate of Sponsorship you issue, every skilled worker extension you support and every skilled worker to ILR application you endorse will be assessed against the higher headline thresholds and going rates. To protect your licence and your employees’ right to remain, you should act now.
In most cases, it will be advisable to start with a compliance audit, before reviewing sponsored visa salary levels against the new thresholds. Training will be important for anyone involved in overseas recruitment and personnel management, to ensure the uplifted thresholds, and the 48-hour cap, are adhered to.
Strategically, workforce plans may need redevelopment where the higher thresholds ‘price out’ overseas candidates. This may involve upskilling existing workers or hiring domestically where roles now exceed budget.
Remember also to document and retain all related decisions, payslips and contract changes to reduce the risk of compliance breaches.
To discuss the impact of the changes on your organisation – such as on skilled worker applications, recruitment planning, salary reviews – speak to our UK immigration advisers.
Author
Founder and Managing Director Anne Morris is a fully qualified solicitor and trusted adviser to large corporates through to SMEs, providing strategic immigration and global mobility advice to support employers with UK operations to meet their workforce needs through corporate immigration.
She is a recognised by Legal 500 and Chambers as a legal expert and delivers Board-level advice on business migration and compliance risk management as well as overseeing the firm’s development of new client propositions and delivery of cost and time efficient processing of applications.
Anne is an active public speaker, immigration commentator, and immigration policy contributor and regularly hosts training sessions for employers and HR professionals
