Immigration Rule Changes

Tuesday 1st July 2025 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Seema Malhotra)]

My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary is today laying before the House a statement of changes in immigration rules.

Changes to the skilled worker and other work routes as set out in the immigration White Paper

These changes implement the first phase of reforms to work visas set out in the immigration White Paper, “Restoring Control over the Immigration System”, published on 12 May 2025.

The key change is raising the threshold for skilled worker visas from occupations at regulated qualifications framework level 3 and above (approximately A-level skills) to occupations at RQF level 6 and above (mainly graduate professions).

Salary requirements for work visas are being raised in line with the latest Office for National Statistics data, ahead of an upcoming thorough review of salary requirements (including discounts) by the independent Migration Advisory Committee.

The immigration salary list and a new, interim temporary shortage list provide time-limited and conditional access to the skilled worker route for occupations below the new RQF level 6 threshold, but with no ability for applicants to bring dependants. The ISL will be phased out in future and the TSL will be reviewed by the MAC.

Skilled worker entry clearance applications for care workers and senior care workers are being closed, while maintaining in-country switching applications for a transition period until 22 July 2028.

The changes include transitional arrangements, allowing existing skilled worker visa holders to continue to extend their visas, bring dependants, change employment and take supplementary employment in occupations below RQF level 6, while applying the new rules to applicants from overseas and those applying to switch from other routes.

The changes to the immigration rules are being laid on 1 July 2025.

The changes relating to the skilled worker and other work routes will come into effect, as detailed in the statement of changes, from 22 July 2025.

An additional change is also included in this package of rules changes that will close the Afghan relocations and assistance policy to new principal applications. Detail of that change is being announced today in a statement by the Minister for the Armed Forces from the Ministry of Defence.

Alongside the closure of ARAP, we will also be closing the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme. This means that HMG will not launch any further pathways nor accept any further referrals. Over 12,800 people have been successfully resettled under the ACRS since 2021 and over half of these arrivals have been children and a quarter women.

The Home Office will continue to consider those referrals that were made under the ACRS separated families pathway, but that have not yet received a decision. This Government will honour our commitments to anyone found eligible, and to those who have already been found eligible for the ACRS but are not yet in the UK.

[HCWS759]