Changes to UK Immigration Rules in April 2025 – What next?

Changes to the Skilled Worker Route

Recruitment of Care Workers

The care sector employs many overseas sponsored care workers and senior care workers. According to Government figures, between July 2022 and December 2024, the Government revoked more than 470 sponsor licences in the care sector to clamp down on abuse and exploitation. More than 49,000 workers have been associated with these sponsors since October 2020. There is a growing pool of workers in this immigration route who no longer have sponsorship, because their sponsors have been unable to offer sufficient work and/or lost their sponsor licences.

The changes are summarised below:

• 1. As from 9 April 2025, licensed sponsors will be required to recruit from those already in the UK on the skilled worker route who are seeking new employment before seeking to sponsor new recruits from other immigration routes or from overseas.
• 2. To enforce this requirement, sponsors will be required to provide confirmation from the relevant regional partnership or sub-regional partnership (set up for the purpose of delivering activity which prevents and responds to exploitative employment practices with the international recruitment of care staff, in the area in which the sponsor is located or recruiting) that they have tried to recruit in this way, and confirm that no suitable workers were available from this pool.
• 3. The above changes relate only to jobs with working locations entirely in England. Applications relating to working locations in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland are unaffected. The changes also do not apply to workers in England who were already sponsored in these occupations before the changes take effect (including those changing employers) or those switching from other immigration routes who have been working lawfully for their sponsor for at least three months.

Skilled Workers – Salaries

The changes are summarised below:

• 1. Changes are being made to update the minimum salary floor from £23,200 per annum (or £11.90 per hour) to £25,000 per annum (or £12.82 per hour).
• 2. It is standard practice to update this and other salary requirements across work visa routes each year, using the latest Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). As the Government intends to publish an Immigration White Paper shortly, the changes are being limited to only updating the minimum salary floor. This is to ensure it reflects the latest ASHE data and remains significantly above the National Living Wage, which is also increasing in April 2025.
• 3. While the general salary threshold for most skilled worker visas is £38,700 per annum (or the going rate for the occupation, if higher) the new floor of £25,000 will apply to certain workers such as care workers and senior care workers, new entrants joining the job market, roles on the Immigration Salary List, certain Health and Education roles and roles for which STEM PhDs are relevant.
• 4. Going rates for individual occupations in healthcare and education are also being updated, where they are drawn from national pay scales, so they continue to reflect the latest pay scales. Updates to going rates for other occupations are being made only to reflect the new minimum salary floor of £25,000 per annum/£12.82 per hour.
• 5. Changes are also being made to the rules concerning deductions from a skilled worker applicant’s salary and the rules are being updated to confirm that where an applicant is claiming a “new entrant” salary reduction based on training towards a recognised professional qualification, this must be a UK qualification.

Introduction of a Visit Visa Requirement for nationals of Trinidad and Tobago

Nationals of Trinidad and Tobago will need to apply for and obtain a visit visa prior to visiting the UK and as a consequence, Trinidad and Tobago will be removed from the list of countries whose nationals are eligible to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) prior to a visit to the UK.

There are other amendments being made to the Immigration Rules. These include the following:

• 1. Changes to the Ukraine Schemes.
• 2. Addition of French national children (aged 18 and under) visiting the UK as part of a French school group, to the list of those who do not need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) before visiting the UK.
• 3. Removing British Nationals (Overseas) from the list of nationalities requiring an ETA before visiting the UK.