The Home Office has addressed a discrepancy between the salary rates for certain roles listed in the “Skilled Worker visa: going rates for eligible occupation codes” guidance and the rates in the Immigration Rules.
In July 2024, the Home Office updated its guidance on salary rates for roles eligible under the Skilled Worker visa route, aligning it with changes in the Immigration Rules (HC 590). However, a discrepancy was identified between the salary rates listed in this guidance and those in the Immigration Rules’ Appendix Skilled Occupations for some SOC codes. This related to changes made in April 2024, where some salary rates were set too high in the Immigration Rules.
Clarification of Skilled Worker Going Rates
The issue was raised by ILPA with the Home Office Work Services Team, and clarification has now been provided.
Employers are being advised that the correct, lower salary rates are now reflected in the updated guidance on the GOV.UK website. These revised rates should be used when issuing Certificates of Sponsorship, as Home Office caseworkers will assess applications based on these figures.
The Immigration Rules will be formally updated to correct the errors in the Autumn of 2024.
The Home Office has advised that it will be sending SMS notifications to sponsors confirming this update.
Need Assistance?
This latest issue in Home Office guidance compounds existing challenges with the minimum salary requirement, which remains one of the more complex aspects of the Skilled Worker visa application. If you have any questions about the change in guidance, or about going rates and the Skilled Worker minimum salary requirement, contact our experts.
Author
Founder and Managing Director Anne Morris is a fully qualified solicitor and trusted adviser to large corporates through to SMEs, providing strategic immigration and global mobility advice to support employers with UK operations to meet their workforce needs through corporate immigration.
She is a recognised by Legal 500and Chambers as a legal expert and delivers Board-level advice on business migration and compliance risk management as well as overseeing the firm’s development of new client propositions and delivery of cost and time efficient processing of applications.
Anne is an active public speaker, immigration commentator, and immigration policy contributor and regularly hosts training sessions for employers and HR professionals
