On 12 May, the UK government published its Immigration White Paper, setting out plans for reducing net migration by tackling the underlying causes of workforce shortages and reliance on international hiring.
Now, the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has been given two additional tasks – to review salary requirements for work visas and to review the new Temporary Shortage List (TSL).
Review of salary requirements (including discounts)
The salary requirements for Skilled Worker visas are complex and have evolved over time. Workers must be paid at least the higher of either a general threshold or an occupational going rate.
There are discounts relating to the Immigration Salary List (ISL) (which will be abolished, as set out in the Immigration White Paper), PhD qualifications, new entrants, and occupations on national pay scales.
There are similar, but different, rules for Health & Care Worker visas and the Global Business Mobility and Scale-up routes.
Immigration White Paper makes it clear that salary thresholds must rise, must ensure that international recruitment is never a cheap alternative to fair pay and must reflect the new changes to the UK’s immigration system.
In this context, the MAC has been asked to consider the following questions:
- what should the general salary threshold be for the Skilled Worker route?
- should there continue to be different salary thresholds for Health & Care Worker visas and the Global Business Mobility and Scale-up routes and, if so, what should these be?
- what, if any, discounts should apply to salary requirements?
- should there be any changes to the current approach to occupational going rates?
- how frequently should salary requirements be updated?
Review of the Temporary Shortage List (TSL)
On 1 July, the government published changes to the Immigration Rules, under which occupations below RQF level 6 continue to be eligible for the Skilled Worker route where they appear on either:
- an expanded Immigration Salary List, containing the existing entries plus occupations at RQF levels 3-5, which the MAC identified as being in shortage in its 2023 review and 2024 rapid review
- an interim Temporary Shortage List, containing occupations at RQF levels 3-5 which the Department for Business and Trade and His Majesty’s Treasury have identified as being important for the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy
These lists are interim measures while the MAC carries out a more thorough review and these lists, and the occupations on them, will automatically fall out of use on 31 December 2026 as set out in the Immigration Rules.
In reaching its Temporary Shortage List recommendations, the MAC will also look at issues such as:
- how far the workforce strategy is underpinned by a skills strategy
- how far it is underpinned by a commitment to work with the Department for Work and Pensions on a domestic labour strategy
- how the sector will manage the risk of exploitation of workers, particularly migrant workers in the sector; and
- whether the strategy is sufficiently ambitious
The review is also sought about which occupations could be potentially eligible for inclusion on the TSL because they are crucial to the delivery of the Industrial Strategy or critical infrastructure.