What you need to know
The Home Office has reduced the number of roles eligible for sponsorship in the UK and has also increased the salary threshold. These changes will take effect from July 22, 2025.
What you need to do
Check your current recruitment process to meet the new threshold.If possible, submit sponsorships that will otherwise hinder application procedures due to changes in the rules.
Following the government's immigration whitepaper released in May, details are provided in the latest change statement filed before Congress on July 1. This briefing outlines the major immigration changes that will take effect on July 22, 2025. Reforms primarily affect the routes of skilled workers through significant increases in skills and pay thresholds.
What has changed?
The new Skilled Worker Certificate of Sponsorship (COS) skill level has returned to Regulatory Qualification Framework (RQF) Level 6 (Degree Level), effectively reversed the 2020 concessions.
Over 100 previously qualified roles (e.g., many managers, technicians, and related professional positions) will be removed from the key eligibility table unless:
(i) The immigrants are already on skilled workers routes (or have held pending applications submitted by July 22, 2025). or
(ii) This role will appear in one of two provisional missing lists (see below).
For now, existing skilled workers may expand in the role of RQF 3-5, change employers, or adopt supplementary employment, but the Ministry of Home Affairs says these transitional concessions are “not indefinitely”.
Additionally, the Home Office completed the delayed survey of the 2024 Annual Survey (ASH) uplift across all sponsored routes, implementing an increase in both skilled workers and global mobility routes.
For skilled workers, the new general threshold will increase from £38,700 to £41,700 (note that the fees still available to newcomers and PhD applicants).
Global Mobility – The route for senior or professional/expansion workers will also increase from £48,500 to £52,500.
Furthermore, “migration rate” figures for all individual occupations are rising along ASHE data.
Importantly, transition protection does not apply to pay increases. Any extension, change of employment, or new hires relying on COS issued after July 22, 2025 must meet the numbers in effect on the date the COS is assigned.
What are the interim arrangements for the role of low skill (RQF 3-5)?
Until December 31, 2026, RQF 3-5 occupations will be sponsors, even if listed in either case.
(i) Expanded Immigration Salary List (ISL) – Include the roles identified by the MAC as missing. or
(ii) New tEmporie shortage list (TSL) – Covers the roles prioritized under the government's modern industrial strategy.
The ISL will eventually be phased out and an updated TSL will be issued. Importantly, the government reserves the right to remove its role earlier than the long stop date of December 31, 2026.
An important limitation to note is that workers sponsoring the RQF 3-5 ISL/TSL occupation may not take their dependents to the UK (with limited exceptions).
What should our business do?
To ensure you are prepared for the impact of these changes, consider the following:
We map all current and forecast sponsor roles for the skilled occupation tables in the new appendix (currently separated in Table 1-3 for RQF 6+ and Table 1-3 for the role of shortage competition in RQF 3-5). Do they still meet the requirements?By July 22, 2025, we will accelerate the COS allocation for affected positions to ensure protection. When updating your current leave, identify currently employed individuals who need to increase their pay to meet the new threshold.
From July 22, 2025, the UK sponsorship regime has become significantly selective, with only degree-level roles being considered skilled work, unless they are allowed to make untimely concessions, and all routes of sponsorship will face a higher wage bed. Organizations need to respond promptly to ensure that they have grandfathers wherever possible, avoid impending pay hikes, and maintain a critical talent pipeline.
