From April 2024, the minimum salary required to acquire a Skilled Worker Visa for the UK will be increasing to £38,700 – up 48% from the current salary minimum of £26,200.
The threshold will not apply to some jobs – such as in health and social care. However, overseas care workers will no longer be able to bring family members.
The UK operates a Points Based System (PBS) for inbound work visa applicants from EU and non-EU countries. A minimum of 70 points are required and these can be derived from;
- 50 points from a confirmed job offer
- 20 points from a combination of salary, employment in a shortage occupation (e.g. software developers, graphic designers, scientists) or, having a relevant PhD application
However, the shortage occupation list is set to be reformed to a reduced number of occupations – though it highly unlikely that any software development, tech-based or pharma-related roles will be impacted.
A recently announced salary threshold increase for allowing family member / dependents to enter the UK has been now delayed until 2025.
An increase to the earnings threshold to £38,700 per annum – from £18,600 currently – had been announced in early December 2023. However, the Government now says that the increase will be phased in 2 two stages.
In Spring 2024, the salary threshold to enable family members to join will increase to £29,000 and will then rise to £38,700 a year later.