Continent Surfer | Major immigration reforms delivered to restore order and control in the UK - Continent Surfer
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  • Major UK immigration reforms 🇬🇧 come into effect on July 22nd! Discover new salary thresholds, care worker visa changes, and tighter controls. 💼⚖️

Major immigration reforms delivered to restore order and control in the UK

In a significant move to regain control of Britain’s borders, the Home Secretary has today introduced the first phase of sweeping reforms to the immigration system. Published on July 1, 2025, and coming into effect from July 22, the new rules bring dramatic changes by raising skill and salary thresholds, ending overseas recruitment for care workers, and removing over 100 occupations from the immigration system.

written by: Continent Surfer- Continent Surfer

These changes are the initial rollout from the “Immigration White Paper” and represent a fundamental shift in the UK’s approach to immigration. The aim is to restore order to the points-based system, focusing on higher skills, lower numbers, and tighter controls. This is a crucial step in ending the UK’s reliance on overseas, lower-skilled recruitment.

Key changes and their impact:

  • Rising skill and salary thresholds: The minimum skill level for Skilled Worker visas will increase from RQF Level 3 (A-level equivalent) to RQF Level 6 (graduate level). This change will remove approximately 180 occupations from the list of eligible roles for sponsorship. The new rules apply to new applications submitted from July 22, 2025, and to those switching from other visa routes within the UK. Existing Skilled Workers already in the UK will be able to renew their visas, but this transitional arrangement is not indefinite.
  • Salary thresholds are also seeing significant increases, updated in line with the latest Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) data. The following table details these changes:
Visa typeMinimum threshold salary up to 21 July 2025Minimum threshold salary from 22 July 2025
Skilled Worker minimum salary for new applicants (no applicable discount)£38,700£41,700
Global Business Mobility salary minimum£48,500£52,500
PhD STEM / Immigration Salary List£34,830£37,500
New Entrant route£30,960£33,400
Extensions of pre April 2024 visas£29,000£31,300
  • Note that the new minimum hourly rate has been set at £17.13. Transitional arrangements with lower minimum salaries will apply to those sponsored under the Skilled Worker route by July 21, 2025, or whose applications are approved after July 22, 2025. However, this relaxation will “not be indefinite.”
  • End of overseas recruitment for care workers: Due to concerns over widespread abuse and exploitation, the social care worker visa route to overseas recruitment will close from July 22, 2025. Transitional provisions will allow in-country switching for care workers already in the UK until July 22, 2028, provided they have been legally employed by their sponsor for at least three months prior to their application.
  • Temporary Shortage List (TSL): An interim, time-limited, and conditional Temporary Shortage List will be introduced. This allows immigration access for sub-degree level (RQF 3-5) roles, restricted to critical jobs that are key to the industrial strategy or building crucial infrastructure. Workers in occupations on the TSL will no longer be able to bring dependents and will not be permitted salary and visa fee discounts. Occupations on the TSL are time-limited until the end of 2026 and will only remain beyond that date if recommended by the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC).
  • Phasing out the Immigration Salary List (ISL): The Immigration Salary List for shortage occupations will initially be expanded to include RQF level 3-5 roles, then phased out.
  • Workforce strategies: Each sector must have a workforce strategy in place to train UK workers, or it will lose access to the immigration system. This also means that before hiring foreigners, it is mandatory to recruit from the local workforce, demonstrably. The government has stated it will not hesitate to restrict immigration access further if clear signs of abuse and exploitation emerge.

Next steps:

Further changes are to be implemented by the end of this year, including raising the immigration skills charge, uplifting language requirements across the immigration system, and unveiling a new family policy framework to Parliament. The Immigration White Paper is part of a broader program of immigration and border security reforms, with additional measures on asylum and border security to be announced later this year.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper stated, “We are delivering a complete reset of our immigration system to restore proper control and order, after the previous government allowed net migration to quadruple in four years.” She added that the new rules mean stronger controls to bring migration down, restore order to the immigration system, and ensure a focus on investing in skills and training within the UK.

These reforms will fundamentally reshape the UK’s immigration landscape, urging all affected individuals and businesses to review their immigration strategies and future recruitment plans.



Did you know?

To obtain British citizenship (naturalisation) in the UK, individuals typically need to have resided legally for at least five years, demonstrate sufficient English language proficiency, and pass the “Life in the UK” test.


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Source(s):

UK Government

Taylor Wessing

EIN


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