UK government raises Skilled Worker Visa salary threshold for employers

Key Takeaways

• Skilled Worker Visa salary threshold increased from £26,200 to £38,700, impacting care, health, and hospitality sectors.
• Care workers cannot bring dependents, must earn at least £25,000, and face stricter recruitment and hiring requirements.
• Employer penalties for visa violations now include two-year sponsorship bans and strict action plans for minor infractions.

In 2025, the UK government 🇬🇧 introduced major changes to its visa rules. These new measures are affecting many employers who rely on foreign workers, especially in the care sector, health care, and hospitality. These changes are the most serious in years and are shaping how businesses in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 plan for the future.

Let’s break down what’s changing, why it matters, and what it could mean for workers, employers, and the people who depend on these services.

The New Skilled Worker Visa Rules: A Tougher Landscape

The Skilled Worker Visa is a common way for people from other countries to work in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧. Before 2025, the salary requirement for this visa was £26,200 each year. Now, the UK government 🇬🇧 has raised that to £38,700—a jump of close to 50%.

What does this mean in everyday life? If you work in the care sector, for example, jobs like care worker or nurse often pay far less than the new threshold. Take a care worker earning £28,000. They used to qualify to renew their visa. Now, that same worker does not meet the new salary rule and cannot stay unless their pay goes up by over £10,000.

This change hits sectors like care and hospitality the hardest. These are jobs where pay is usually lower than the new requirement. The message from the UK government 🇬🇧 is clear: only the highest-paid jobs will get permission for foreign workers in the future.

Special Restrictions for the Care Sector

The care sector is one of the most affected by the changes. The new rules require care companies to look first for people who are already living in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 under the Skilled Worker Visa, before they try to hire from abroad.

Other changes make it even harder for overseas care workers to move to the country:

• No Dependents: Overseas care workers are now banned from bringing family members, such as children or spouses, with them to the United Kingdom 🇬🇧.
• New Minimum Salary: Care workers from abroad must now earn at least £25,000 per year to qualify for a visa.

These rules mean that even if jobs are available, not everyone who wants to fill them can meet the rules. For many families hoping to move together, or for care workers with lower wages, the pathway has narrowed sharply.

Cracking Down on Bad Employers

The UK government 🇬🇧 is also coming down hard on employers who break the rules. If a company does not pay at least the national minimum wage, or if it makes workers pay big fees just to get a job or visa sponsorship, it faces stiff penalties.

Some of the new punishments include:

• Ban on Sponsoring Workers: If a company is found guilty of serious breaches, it cannot sponsor workers from abroad. This ban used to be for one year, but now repeat offenders get at least two years.
• Action Plans: Companies that break rules, even for minor reasons, will have to follow strict action plans to fix problems before they can sponsor more workers.

This effort is not just about protecting jobs for locals. It’s also meant to stop the abuse and exploitation of foreign workers, making sure companies treat all workers fairly and legally.

Changes for Foreign Graduates

Until now, international students graduating from UK 🇬🇧 universities had as long as two years after finishing their studies to stay in the country while they looked for a job. The UK government 🇬🇧 is planning to tighten this rule.

If the new measures go ahead, graduates will have to find a graduate-level job offer right away to stay. If not, they may need to leave soon after finishing their degree. This is a big shift from earlier years, when graduates could use that time to find the right role and settle into their careers.

Focus on Certain Countries and Sectors

The changes are not just about jobs and pay. The UK government 🇬🇧 is also targeting visa applicants from certain countries. According to recent policy:

• People from countries with high rates of overstaying visas (not leaving when they should) or making asylum claims, such as Pakistan 🇵🇰, Nigeria 🇳🇬, and Sri Lanka 🇱🇰, are facing more restrictions.
• The Home Office, which manages visas and borders, is using new data systems to spot people it thinks are more likely to overstay or claim asylum improperly. These people may find their visa applications rejected even before a full review.

Analysis from VisaVerge.com suggests that the aim is to keep out people the UK government 🇬🇧 believes may use other visa routes to try to stay permanently or to seek asylum.

The Care Sector: The Numbers Tell the Story

The impact on the care sector is already clear in the numbers:

• Over the past year, health and care worker visa applications dropped by 70%. They went from 129,000 last year to just 26,000 this year.
• At the same time, there are still more than 100,000 unfilled jobs in England’s care sector. These are jobs caring for older people, people with disabilities, and others who need daily help.

So, with stricter rules and fewer overseas workers coming in, the care sector is facing a staff shortage—even as demand for care is rising.

A Shift in Hiring: Local First

The UK government 🇬🇧 now requires businesses to show that they have tried to find and train British nationals before turning to the overseas job market. This means employers have to prove they advertised jobs and offered training before even thinking about hiring someone from abroad.

These steps are part of a longer-term goal: reducing the country’s need for migrant labor, especially in lower-paid jobs.

What Are Employers Saying?

Business groups have expressed deep concern over the changes. Many warn that the stricter rules could make it much harder to run basic services like hospitals, care homes, and restaurants. Some fear that staff shortages could be so bad that companies or service providers might have to close down or reduce their hours.

The NHS, which is the public health service in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧, relies heavily on overseas staff. With fewer people coming in under the new Skilled Worker Visa and more leaving when their visas expire, the pressure on hospitals and clinics is expected to get worse.

In hospitality, where wages are almost always below the new visa minimum, restaurant and hotel owners say it’s nearly impossible to attract enough staff. Some business leaders say these changes might even push up prices for customers.

Why Is the UK Government 🇬🇧 Doing This?

These changes are not random—they are part of a bigger plan by the Labour-led government. The party faced pressure after tough election losses and promised to bring net migration numbers down. Net migration is the difference between the number of people coming to live in the country and those leaving.

Even though net migration fell a bit last year, the UK government 🇬🇧 is trying to crack down on abuses of the system. Government officials have said that some people are using the system to stay in the country longer, sometimes by entering as students or temporary workers and later switching to asylum claims or other pathways.

There’s also a focus on protecting foreign workers from unfair treatment, like low pay or workplace abuse. To do both—to cut costs and stop misuse—the government says it must set tougher rules for both employers and workers.

At A Glance: The Big Rule Changes

Here’s a summary of the main policy changes and who they impact:

What Does the Future Look Like?

Employers are facing a lot of uncertainty. The rule changes have come fast and are strict. If businesses cannot adapt quickly—by either raising pay, offering training to local workers, or changing how they hire—many could face real trouble.

The care sector is on the front lines. With a rapidly aging population, the need for care workers will only rise. Without enough staff, there’s increasing risk of reduced care, longer wait times, and even closures of care services. This could put more pressure on hospitals, which are already stretched.

Other sectors, like hospitality and cleaning, also face problems. They have struggled to attract British workers and often relied on those from overseas to fill roles. Now, they may be forced to reduce hours or services, or in some cases, close shops or restaurants.

Broader Impacts

The sharp drop in visa applications also affects the wider UK 🇬🇧 economy. Fewer workers mean fewer people spending money, paying taxes, and helping businesses grow. There are fears of a ripple effect—where job losses in one sector spill over into others.

For many overseas workers, the dream of moving to the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 for work has become far less possible. Families are especially hard-hit, as new rules block dependents from joining, and the costs of meeting new salary requirements can put even decent jobs out of reach.

Voices of Concern

Leaders in health and social care warn that “harsh cuts” on skilled worker migration will hurt not just businesses, but the well-being of the elderly, the sick, and the vulnerable who rely on regular care.

Some suggest that unless the country acts quickly to boost skills and pay for British workers, or reconsiders some of these changes, serious service disruptions are likely. The government is being urged to balance control of its borders with the real-life needs of the economy and society.

What Can Employers and Workers Do Now?

Employers who want to hire from outside the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 must now:

• Carefully check all new rules for each visa type, especially the Skilled Worker Visa.
• Plan well ahead to fill job gaps, as the process is now longer and harder.
• Look at training and promoting local staff to fill more roles.

For workers and those hoping to immigrate, it’s vital to check the latest government guidance, as rules can change quickly. The official UK government visa and immigration website has regular updates and resources for both employers and migrants.

Final Thoughts

With these changes, the UK government 🇬🇧 is making it clear: the country wants to bring down migration numbers and cut abuses, even if it means tough choices for employers and workers. The focus for now is on jobs with higher pay and stricter controls on how and who companies can sponsor.

Whether these moves will solve the country’s labor shortages or simply push problems into the future remains to be seen. The next few years will show whether training home-grown talent can meet the need—or whether critical sectors like health care and the care sector will be left struggling to cope, with real consequences for everyone.

For more details about how the Skilled Worker Visa works or what to expect from future policy changes, keep an eye on trusted sources like VisaVerge.com and official United Kingdom 🇬🇧 government pages. There, you’ll find practical advice and up-to-date rules to help you plan your next steps.

Learn Today

Skilled Worker Visa → A UK visa allowing qualified overseas workers to take certain jobs, now with stricter salary and eligibility requirements.
Dependents → Family members, such as spouses or children, that foreign workers may wish to bring with them to the UK.
Sponsorship Ban → A prohibition preventing employers from hiring foreign workers if they violate visa or employment laws.
Net Migration → The difference between the number of people entering and leaving a country within a specific timeframe.
Graduate Route → A visa pathway letting international students remain in the UK temporarily after graduating, now with stricter employment conditions.

This Article in a Nutshell

The UK’s 2025 visa reforms raise barriers for foreign workers, especially in care and hospitality. The new Skilled Worker Visa requires higher salaries, limits dependents, and imposes major penalties on employers breaking rules. These changes seek to reduce migration but may intensify staffing shortages and raise concerns for critical services nationwide.
— By VisaVerge.com

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