The UK government has announced immigration changes for skilled workers, international graduates and employers, with measures due to roll out across 2027. HM Treasury set out the package in Budget 2026, promising a system it called the “most pro-business migration system in Europe for high-skill workers.”
The proposals combine revised salary tests with changes to post-study work and routes for high-skilled talent. Some details remain undecided. Final salary figures and several eligibility rules have not been published.
Ministers say the policy will improve the offer to international talent while keeping tighter controls on low- and medium-skilled migration. The measures range from changes to sponsored-worker pay calculations to tax treatment of employer fees.
The package also expands options for some graduates and sponsored workers. But the government has not supplied a complete implementation timetable for every measure.
Graduate applicants face the first fixed cutoff, while salary details remain open
The changes touch several groups, and their schedules differ. The table separates the announced measures from the unresolved details.
The government has not issued final pay figures. That leaves employers and applicants without the precise thresholds for the revised salary test.
| Group or route | Change announced | Timing or current position |
|---|---|---|
| Skilled Worker applicants | Occupation-specific pay tests shift from the median to the 25th percentile; the general threshold will also be uprated | spring 2027; final figures pending |
| Most Graduate route applicants | The ordinary post-study period shortens from two years to 18 months; PhD graduates retain three years | Applications made from January 1, 2027 |
| Graduates of qualifying universities | A two-year Graduate visa remains available to graduates of “high-compliance” institutions with “strong labour market outcomes” | Eligibility criteria and university list pending |
| High Potential Individual applicants | Eligibility expands to graduates with qualifications from the top 150 institutions; the cap rises proportionally | University list and revised cap pending |
| Highest-skilled sponsored workers whose jobs end | A possible period of up to six months to find another job, compared with the current general position of 60 days | Government says it will work toward implementation during 2027 |
| Global Talent applicants using the endorsed funder pathway | More R&D-intensive businesses in key Industrial Strategy sectors may support overseas talent | Further expansion planned in spring |
| Employers paying the Immigration Skills Charge or Certificate of Sponsorship fees | Payments stop counting as taxable benefits in kind | Payments made from October 28, 2026 |
The Graduate route will have two tracks. Most applicants face a shorter period of post-study work, while graduates from qualifying institutions keep the longer period. The government has not defined “high-compliance” or “strong labour market outcomes,” and has not named the universities that would qualify.
That leaves students with an unresolved institutional test. Lisa’s Law Solicitors advised graduates due to finish their studies next year to check early whether their university may qualify.
The sponsored-worker changes do not remove the underlying salary and skill requirements. The pay test changes, but the government has yet to publish its new figures.
Salary calculations and discounts are changing, but the figures are not final
The occupation-specific threshold will be set against the 25th percentile of earnings for each occupation, replacing the median-wage measure. The shift implements recommendations from the Migration Advisory Committee, or MAC.
The general salary threshold will be recalculated using 2026 earnings data. Officials expect to revise it annually using the latest Office for National Statistics wage data. The final amount has not been released.
The package also consolidates some discounts. Separate concessions for students, recent graduates and people in professional training will become one New Entrant discount, while the existing PhD holder salary discount will be removed.
The government says the revised criteria are intended to reflect labour-market conditions across the UK. Employers in Scotland and other areas where prevailing pay differs from London and the south east could be affected by how the occupation-specific measure is set.
Tsara Mirza Reina of Harper Macleod cautioned that the changes “should not, however, be viewed as a wholesale relaxation of the Skilled Worker route.” Skill requirements and the general salary threshold will still apply.
Employers gain a longer hiring window as talent routes expand
The government plans to give the highest-skilled sponsored workers more time to find another job if their employment ends. It says the measure would help employers identify and hire high-skill workers before they have to leave the country.
Who qualifies remains unclear. Harper Macleod said the category of “highest skilled” workers needs definition, and the allowed period is expected to depend on how long a person held a previous highly paid role. The government has described this as work it will pursue, rather than a fully specified rule.
The High Potential Individual route will also widen to include graduates with eligible qualifications from institutions among the world’s top 150. The route remains unsponsored, but the government has not published the qualifying-university list or the revised cap.
The Global Talent changes focus on the endorsed funder pathway. UK Research and Innovation will work with regional organizations to identify additional research and development-intensive businesses in key Industrial Strategy sectors that could support overseas hires.
The pathway had already been expanded since Budget 2025. More than 100 R&D-intensive businesses can now support scientists and engineers coming to work in UK industry.
Employers will also see a tax change for two sponsorship costs. The Immigration Skills Charge and Certificate of Sponsorship fees will no longer count as taxable benefits in kind for payments made from October 28, 2026.
Existing rules stay in force while settlement plans remain unsettled
The new package builds on immigration changes already in effect. Since July 22, 2025, most Skilled Worker roles have required RQF level 6, with the usual minimum salary set at the higher of £41,700 and the going rate.
The English-language threshold for Skilled Worker, Scale-up and High Potential Individual routes rose from B1 to B2 on January 8, 2026. The Immigration Skills Charge increased by 32% on December 16, 2025, reflecting inflation since its introduction in 2017.
The High Potential Individual university list expanded from 50 to 100 institutions, alongside a new annual limit of 8,000 applications from November 4, 2025. Students who complete their studies can switch to the Innovator Founder route from inside the UK, a change that took effect November 25, 2025.
The package did not announce a new investor route or add details on earned settlement. The proposed model would make ten years the normal qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain, but no change has been laid in the Immigration Rules; existing five-year settlement routes remain in those rules.
The Home Secretary told the Home Affairs Committee on September 15, 2026, that the final settlement policy, including any transitional arrangements, would be set out later in 2026 and before February 2027. The Home Secretary did not promise a minimum notice period before new rules take effect.
A separate B2 English requirement for settlement on most work, family and long-residence routes begins March 26, 2027. Applications are decided under the Immigration Rules in force on the date they are made, so applicants nearing eligibility and employers planning sponsorship changes should track the rules as they are issued.
