Changes to the salary rates for Skilled Worker visas have been announced.
From 12 April 2023 the general salary threshold for Skilled Worker visas will increase from £25,600 to £26,200 per annum (£10.75 per hour) and new entrants will see an increase from £20,480 to £20,960 per annum. A welcomed change designed to bring salaries in line with the national living wage with current hourly rates of £9.50 increasing to £10.42 from 1 April 2023.
Changes to the going rates
The Statement of Changes published on 9 March 2023 sets out changes to the going rates of pay which, depending on the SOC code, will see some minimum salaries increase and some decrease. An important change here is that salaries will no longer be based on a 39-hour working week but instead, 37.5 hours which is much easier to calculate given that this is the general working hours for most and thus no need to pro-rata.
Would it make a difference if my CoS was assigned before 12 April 2023?
If your CoS was assigned before the new changes come into effect then according to the new Statement of Changes the old salary thresholds in force on 11 April 2023 will apply.
Would these changes affect my ILR application?
The answer is yes, from 12 April 2023 the minimum salary threshold for an application to settle in the UK will increase to £26,200. This will be the case even if a majority of your leave is based on salary that pre-dates the new salary threshold. There are however two exceptions to this which are as follows:
· The job is in an education or health occupation code; or
· For any of the qualifying 5-year period the applicant was sponsored for a job in the following SOC codes 2111, 2112, 2113,2114, 2119, 2150 and 2311.
For new entrants if neither of the above exceptions apply then the salary must be increased to at least £26,200 to meet the eligibility criteria for settlement.
For more information please email information@manislaw.com