Yesterday’s Budget contained a handful of immigration announcements aimed at making it easier for UK businesses to attract and keep highly skilled people. The government says it wants “the most pro-business migration system in Europe for highly skilled workers”. The main points are as follows.

Written by Mahfuz Ahmed, Immigration Supervisor

Salary thresholds for Skilled Workers

From spring 2027 the occupation-specific salary floors will drop from the median to the 25th percentile. The general threshold will still go up in line with 2026 wage data and then be updated every year. The various new entrant discounts will be simplified into one figure, and the PhD discount will go. In short, some skilled worker visa roles should become slightly easier to sponsor, but the overall salary bar is still rising.

More time to find a new job

From 2027 the highest-skilled sponsored workers will get up to six months to find another sponsor if their job ends. That is longer than the current curtailment period and should help people who are already well established here.

High Potential Individual visa

The HPI route is being widened to the top 150 global universities, with a matching increase in the annual cap. It remains an unsponsored route for recent graduates.

Graduate visa

Graduates from “high-compliance” universities that show strong labour market outcomes will still get two years on the Graduate visa. Everyone else will see the length cut to 18 months from January 2027. We do not yet know exactly which universities will qualify.

Sponsorship costs no longer a benefit in kind

If an employer pays the Immigration Skills Charge or a Certificate of Sponsorship fee, that payment will not be treated as a taxable benefit for the worker. This removes a small but annoying tax uncertainty for sponsors.

There was nothing on a new investor route and nothing further on the Home Office’s earned settlement plans.

Our comments

These are steps in the right direction for employers who rely on skilled international staff, but they are not significant changes. The salary threshold changes will help some occupations more than others, and the overall cost of sponsorship remains high. The longer curtailment period is useful for senior people, though we will need to see the exact criteria before we can advise clients.

For universities and students, the two-year Graduate visa is only being kept for a select group. Anyone graduating next year should check early whether their institution is likely to qualify.

As usual, the real detail will come in the Immigration Rules and guidance later. Until then, sponsors and applicants should carry on planning on the basis of the current rules and treat these announcements as signals of direction rather than immediate changes. We will update clients as soon as the further detail is published.

James Cook

See Full Bio