(UNITED KINGDOM) The UK Government’s 2025 immigration changes, in force from July 22, 2025, raise the skill and salary bars for the UK Skilled Worker visa and reshape hiring across the sports sector well beyond headline athletes. While the International Sportsperson route is unchanged, many non‑playing roles that keep stadiums open and events running now face tighter sponsorship rules, new paperwork demands, and hard choices about family movement.
Policy changes — quick summary
Under the Immigration Rules update and the 2025 White Paper, the minimum skill level for most sponsored roles has moved from RQF Level 3 to RQF Level 6+ (graduate level). That single shift is decisive for the sports sector, where a large share of game‑day and facility roles sit below degree level.
Jobs such as ground staff, stadium operators, event coordinators, and some club support posts that were previously eligible now fall outside the qualifying skill range unless covered by limited exceptions.
Key measures affecting sport employers and workers include:
- Higher Skill Threshold: Sponsorship now generally requires RQF Level 6+. Roles below this level are out unless approved under a temporary carve‑out.
- Salary Threshold Increase: The general floor for Skilled Worker pay rose to £41,700 per year. For Health & Care visas, the floor is £25,000.
- Temporary Shortage List (TSL): A new, narrow list allows temporary sponsorship for certain critical roles below degree level. Employers must file a workforce strategy showing efforts to hire locally. TSL roles come with strict limits: no dependants, and no salary or fee discounts.
- Abolition of the Immigration Salary List (ISL) by December 2026: Any relief for lower‑skilled roles under ISL will be gone after that date, ending a transitional pathway many sports operators relied on.
- Dependants Restrictions: Anyone sponsored below RQF Level 6 (via ISL or TSL) cannot bring dependants.
- Closure of the Social Care Worker route: Not sport‑specific, but it signals the broader tightening on lower‑skilled pathways.
Employers who assigned Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) for sub‑degree roles before July 22, 2025 may still benefit from previous conditions tied to that CoS. Any new sponsorship after that date must meet the updated skill and salary rules or fall within the TSL.
For official guidance on the Skilled Worker route, see the UK government page: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa
Impact on applicants and employers
The sports sector relies on a “hidden workforce” that supports match days, training facilities, tournaments, and community programs.
- According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, the UK counts an estimated 197,500 sports and fitness workers as of Q1 2025. This pool includes coaches, instructors, officials, and a broad layer of support staff.
- Many of these posts do not reach RQF Level 6, placing fresh pressure on clubs, venues, and operators that previously filled shifts with sponsored workers when local hiring fell short.
The new £41,700 salary floor will test budgets for roles that do qualify at degree level. Stadium operations managers or sports performance analysts may clear the threshold; ticketing supervisors or facility team leads often will not.
Smaller clubs and event organizers face hard choices:
1. Raise salaries to meet the rule.
2. Redesign roles to meet RQF Level 6.
3. Retrain and recruit domestically at pace.
TSL — narrow relief with trade‑offs
The TSL offers a limited release valve but comes with steep trade‑offs:
- Employers must submit a credible workforce strategy detailing domestic recruitment steps and justifying overseas hires.
- Workers sponsored on the TSL cannot bring family members.
- There are no fee or salary discounts for TSL roles.
- The temporary and conditional nature of the TSL complicates long‑term workforce planning.
For many candidates, the family restriction alone will deter applications. For employers, the extra paperwork and fleeting nature of the relief make long‑term planning tricky.
ISL phase‑out and the December 2026 deadline
The ISL phase‑out adds a countdown for roles currently relying on that relief.
Employers have two broad options when ISL relief disappears:
– Upgrade roles to RQF Level 6 and raise pay.
– Move fully to domestic hiring, potentially investing more in training and apprenticeship pathways.
Sector bodies warn that seasonal spikes, evening schedules, and weekend peaks are hard to cover with local labour alone—especially in smaller towns with limited candidate pools.
What this means for different worker groups
- Professional athletes and coaching staff can continue to use the International Sportsperson route (unchanged).
- Skilled Worker applicants must show their job meets RQF Level 6+ and the £41,700 threshold, or fit within a TSL role (with no dependants allowed).
- Anyone below RQF Level 6 sponsored under TSL or the soon‑to‑end ISL should plan for:
- Family separation rules,
- Visa cost realities,
- Possible changes after the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) review.
Practical actions for employers and HR teams
Employers holding sponsor licences should audit every sponsored role linked to stadium operations, events, facilities, and community programmes. If a role cannot be redesigned to meet RQF Level 6, consider whether it could fall under the TSL and, if so, prepare a robust workforce plan showing:
- Local advertising and outreach,
- Training or upskilling steps,
- Evidence why domestic supply remains insufficient for the role.
Clubs and venue operators should also track the MAC’s coming review of the TSL. Occupations, pay guidance, and eligibility could shift again, which may open—or close—windows for key sub‑degree roles tied to safety, pitch maintenance, or event logistics. Planning assumptions should include the risk that today’s TSL role may not be available tomorrow.
Typical match‑day example:
– Before July 2025, a venue might have sponsored several event coordinators at RQF Level 3–4 under lower pay points.
– Under the new rules, those coordinators must meet RQF Level 6 and the £41,700 threshold—or fall within the TSL with no dependants and added compliance.
– If neither path is feasible, operators will need to:
– Expand domestic hiring,
– Invest in training, or
– Re‑scope responsibilities into fewer, higher‑skilled posts that meet the new eligibility.
Strategic implications and outlook
Some stakeholders argue the changes could:
– Speed up automation,
– Boost local training programmes for operations and turf management.
Others warn that weekend and late‑night schedules, plus seasonal demand, make a fully domestic model hard to sustain without service cuts.
The government’s position in 2025 policy documents is that higher‑skilled migration should take priority, with temporary relief only where the market clearly cannot supply.
Checklist — practical next steps
- Confirm the job’s Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code aligns with RQF Level 6+.
- Check offered pay against £41,700 (or the relevant going rate, if higher).
- If considering the TSL, prepare evidence for a workforce strategy and plan for the no‑dependants rule.
- Audit current CoS assignments issued before July 22, 2025 to determine which conditions still apply.
- Monitor the MAC review and government updates for changes to the TSL and ISL timelines.
- Use the official Skilled Worker guidance on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa
The next 18 months will be decisive. As the ISL ends by December 2026 and the TSL evolves under MAC review, sports organisations must decide how to staff the essential roles that fans rarely see—but always feel—when the gates open and the lights come on.
Frequently Asked Questions
This Article in a Nutshell
From July 22, 2025, UK rule changes force sports employers to reassess staffing. RQF Level 6+ and a £41,700 salary floor remove many game‑day roles from sponsorship. The narrow TSL offers temporary relief without dependants, pushing clubs toward redesign, domestic recruitment, or higher‑skilled consolidation urgently and pragmatically.
