Home Office publishes further details of Spring 2024 Immigration Rules changes

Just before Christmas 2023, the Home Office released a fact sheet titled “Net migration measures – further details”, which attempted to clarify several key questions about the forthcoming changes to the UK Immigration Rules, due in Spring 2024. A further announcement from the Home Office published on 2 January 2024, about student visas, provided both further clarification and new questions about changes to the student route.

The Net Migration measures – further details fact sheet announces good news for those who are already in the UK under the family route and Skilled Worker route, and as care workers or senior care workers, and provides useful information about how the planned restrictions will be implemented.

Key details are:

Skilled Worker visa holders

Those who are already in the UK on the Skilled Worker route before the Immigration Rules changes take effect should be exempt from the minimum salary level (£38,700 per annum) when they change sponsor, extend their Skilled Worker visa, or settle in the UK. However, their pay should progress at the same rate as resident workers.

The new minimum salary threshold will not apply to health and care visa occupation codes. In addition, national pay scale occupations in education will be exempt from these changes.

Shortage Occupation List

The Shortage Occupation List will be renamed the Immigration Salary List. The Migration Advisory Committee will advise on which occupations should remain on that list.

The current Shortage Occupation List will remain in place until the new minimum salary thresholds are introduced in Spring 2024.

Family visas

Staged implementation of new minimum income threshold

The minimum income threshold will not increase straight away to £38,700 per annum in Spring 2024 (which is currently the 50^th percentile of earnings) as initially expected. Instead, there will be a staged implementation of this increase as follows:

• Initially, in Spring 2024, the minimum income for family visas will increase from £18,600 per annum to £29,000 per annum, which is the 25^th percentile of jobs skilled to A level or equivalent and above
• It will then be increased to the 40^th percentile of earnings (£34,500 per annum) and finally, the 50^th percentile of earnings (currently £38,700 per annum) and the level at which the Skilled Worker threshold is set.

There are widespread media reports of the minimum salary increase to £38,700 per annum being “rowed back.” However, it is important to note that the Home Office statement suggests it is still committed to increasing the minimum income to this threshold eventually, but this will be in staged phases. The fact sheet provided no further information on when we can expect the increases to £34,500 per annum and then £38,700 per annum to come into effect. However, the new announcement on 2^nd January 2024 now confirms that the minimum income requirement for this route will be increased to the full £38,700 per annum by “Spring 2025.”

In addition, the following long-awaited details about how the new thresholds will apply to existing migrants have finally been confirmed:

• Those who are already in the UK under a family visa (i.e. as a spouse or unmarried partner of a British or settled national) on the five-year route to Settlement in the UK, and those who apply before the new minimum income threshold is increased, will continue to have their applications assessed against the current income requirement (£18,600 per annum). They will not be required to meet increased salary, including for children seeking to join or accompany their parents.
  
• Those who have been granted a fiancé(e) visa before the minimum income threshold is raised will also be assessed against the current minimum income requirement when they apply for a family visa within the five-year route.
• Those who are already in the UK on a different route who apply to switch to the five-year partner / spouse route after the minimum requirement has been increased, will be subject to the new income requirement.

Graduate visas

The Migration Advisory Committee will be commissioned to review the Graduate visa route in January 2024, to “ensure that it is operating in the best interests and priorities of the UK” and in the interests of “ensuring the integrity and quality of the UK higher education system is maintained”. The review is expected to continue until late 2024.

It is unlikely that any changes will be introduced before the review concludes, so anyone who is currently in the UK on the Student route should apply as early as possible once their University confirms their course is complete in 2024.

Care workers

Care workers and senior care workers who are already in the UK on the care worker route and sponsored on the relevant occupation codes will be able to remain with their dependants. This includes when they extend their permission, change employer with the same occupation code, and when they apply to settle in the UK.

Care workers and senior care workers who are already in the UK on this route without any current dependants will be able to bring dependants over to join them while they remain sponsored on their current visa.

Individuals who are in the UK on any other route, including where that route allows dependants, who switch into this route after the date these changes come into effect will not be able to stay with their dependants or bring new dependants in to join them.

Care providers who were sponsoring workers exclusively in non-regulated activities and, therefore, not required to be registered with CQC before the rules change, should be able to continue sponsoring existing workers. This will include extensions to their visas on the same terms. However, they will not be able to hire new sponsored workers without registration.

Increasing fees

All these changes will also come into effect amidst a huge increase in UK immigration fees. The fees to file applications and to sponsor workers have already increased this year, but the increase to the Immigration Health Surcharge, from £640 per year to £1,035 per year, is yet to be implemented. Due to a scheduled Parliamentary debate on this increase on 10 January 2024, we are now expecting the date this increase comes into effect to be 31 January 2024, at the earliest.

A reminder of other changes in 2024

As well as the above changes, don’t forget that:

• Civil penalties for allowing migrants to work or rent illegally in the UK are set to triple in 2024 as explained here.
• The Visitor category will be expanded to include more business activities, including a welcome provision to allow remote working for visitors provided that this is not the primary purpose of the visit. See further details here.
• The Youth Mobility Scheme will be expanded in 2024 to include 500 allocated places for nationals of Uruguay from 31 January 2024, additional allocated places for nationals of Japan and South Korea (who will no longer need to be invited to apply), and an increase in the age range from 18-30 to 18-35 for South Korean nationals. See further details here.
• Visitors to the UK will be required to apply for electronic travel authorisation (ETA), with these provisions being rolled out to specific nationalities in phases. Currently, nationals of Qatar must obtain an ETA, and nationals of Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates will need an ETA to travel to the UK for visit / transit purposes on or after 22 February 2024 (they can apply from 1^st February 2024). See further details here and look out for further nationalities being added to the list.
• The Home Office is also increasingly reviewing the details it has on its records for licensed sponsor holders - Authorising Officers and Key Contacts are now asked to provide their national insurance numbers, and sponsors registered with Companies House will be asked to provide their Companies House reference number. Existing sponsors should add their Companies House reference number to their sponsor licence via the SMS at their earliest convenience.
• The Home Office is stepping up its audit activity, and is increasingly arranging remote audits with little or no warning. It is more important than ever to ensure all your compliance and Right to Work processes are in order.
• From 1 January 2024, most international students are no longer able to bring dependants to join them in the UK (the exception being those on postgraduate research courses and courses with government-funded scholarships). However, the Home Office’s 2 January announcement states that the government will now “work with universities to design an alternative approach, in order to continue to attract the brightest and the best to the UK, and so they can bring dependants to the UK’s world-leading universities”. It therefore appears that some students may once again be able to bring dependants to join them in the UK, if they are studying at a “world-leading” university. It is unclear when this will be introduced, which students may benefit from it, or what the requirements will be.

What does this mean for you?

For businesses

Businesses looking to hire sponsored workers in 2024 should plan and budget ahead for the increase in the minimum salary for the Skilled Worker route from Spring 2024, and the increase to the Immigration Health Surcharge at the end of January 2024.

Consider bringing forward any new hires to the early part of 2024 to benefit from the current rules and fees, especially for roles which may not meet the new income thresholds. However, do remember that there may still be salary provisions for early career applicants who are recent graduates or new entrants to the labour market.

Given the new sponsorship restrictions, it’s also worth considering alternative immigration options for your employees. For example, the Youth Mobility Scheme will be expanded from 31 January 2024 to include Australian and Canadian nationals aged 31-35 years. In addition, it now allows nationals of those countries to extend their stay in the UK for another year, totalling a maximum of three years permitted under this route. This matches the current enhanced eligibility requirements for New Zealand nationals. Note, however, that the Youth Mobility route does not count towards Settlement in the UK.

Other non-sponsored routes include UK Ancestry (if the employee has a parent or grandparent born in the UK); the Global Talent and High Potential Individual visa (which allows highly talented individuals in their field or applicants holding a degree from a recognised prestigious university to work here); or the Innovator Founder or UK Worker Expansion visa (which is mainly for senior roles, particularly for workers who wish to set up a business or work in self-employed roles); Contact us for more information about these options.

Now is also a crucial time for sponsor licence holders to ensure that their compliance processes, Right to Work check systems and record-keeping are in good order, in advance of the new penalties for illegal working. Key Contacts and Authorising Officers should be regularly logging into the SMS system and ensure that all records are up to date. They should include National Insurance number details where appropriate and add their Companies House number to their licence if they have not done so already. The start of a new year also brings new mergers and acquisitions, so do remember to consider the sponsor licence implications of any new changes in ownership.

Doyle Clayton can provide audit services to ensure you are prepared in the event of a Home Office audit. Please get in touch with us if you would like to know more.

For individuals

Individuals who are considering bringing their foreign national spouse or partners to the UK should submit their applications as soon as possible in the new year, before the new changes come into effect if possible, to benefit from the existing minimum income threshold of £18,600 per annum.

Individuals who are intending to come to the UK to undertake a care or senior care role should also consider filing their applications imminently, to benefit from existing provisions allowing them to bring their dependants to the UK.

For universities and international students

The Government has stated it intends to work with universities to “design an alternative approach”, which will allow some students to bring dependants to the UK. Universities should therefore look out for opportunities to communicate and work with the Home Office on this “alternative approach.”

International students should monitor for further developments and announcements.

Keep up to date

UK immigration law is always a fast moving area of law, but 2024 is expected to bring the biggest changes to the Rules since Brexit, so far. There is likely to be ongoing uncertainty as the new rules are further clarified and potentially challenged or amended. A General Election is also due in the UK in 2024, which may bring further changes. Keep up to date with our immigration updates, by subscribing here, or contact a member of our Immigration team directly for further information on the rule changes discussed above.