UK April 2025 Immigration Changes Latest Updates

In April 2025, the UK Home Office implemented sweeping changes across the Skilled Worker and Health and Care visa routes, raising salary floors, updating occupation lists, tightening dependent rights for care workers, and increasing visa and sponsorship fees. These reforms aim to balance net‑migration targets against acute labour shortages—yet early data show dramatic drops in care‑worker uptake and mounting concerns over high upfront costs deterring STEM talent.

Salary Threshold Increase

On 9 April 2025, the minimum salary requirement for Skilled Worker visas rose from £23,200 to £25,000 per annum (or £12.82 per hour), reflecting updated ONS earnings data and Labour’s plan to recalibrate its points‑based system GOV.UK. The threshold applies to most roles on the Immigration Salary List, including many in education, engineering, and technology sectors.

Immigration Salary List Update

Simultaneously, the Immigration Salary List (formerly the Shortage Occupation List) was revised to align occupation‑specific “going rates” with the new £25,000 floor. Jobs with derogations below the general minimum were adjusted to ensure no profession could be sponsored at a lower wage, safeguarding against wage undercutting GOV.UK.

Health and Care Visa Dependent Restrictions

From 11 March 2024, applicants for the Health and Care Worker visa in roles coded 6135 (Care Worker) and 6136 (Senior Care Worker) can no longer include partners or children as dependants unless they held a Health and Care visa before that date GOV.UK. This rule aims to prioritize domestic recruitment but has raised humanitarian and workforce‑planning concerns.

Fee Increases and Financial Barriers

Visa Application Fees

Effective 9 April 2025, a three‑year Skilled Worker visa increased from £827 to £885, while a five‑year visa rose from £1,636 to £1,751 for main applicants GOV.UK. Sponsor licence fees also climbed by up to £103 for medium‑ and large‑sized employers (now £1,579) GOV.UK.

Immigration Health Surcharge & Upfront Costs

The Immigration Health Surcharge remains at £1,035 per year for most applicants, payable upfront. Including family members, a typical five‑year visa can cost up to £30,000 before arrival, deterring STEM specialists whose employers report students and researchers declining UK offers due to these high fees Reuters Fragomen.

Impact on Care Workers and STEM Recruitment

Initial figures signal stark behavioural shifts:

Health and Care visa applications plunged by 76% in early 2024 after dependent bans and higher thresholds took effect Financial Times.

Student dependant visas fell by 79%, as postgraduate recruits weighed cost and family separation Financial Times.

Conversely, Skilled Worker applications rose 41% immediately before new fees applied, suggesting a surge of last‑minute filings under the old regime Financial Times.

Separately, UK‑based research institutes report a 33% drop in visas for engineers and scientists in late 2024, attributing declines to combined fee and threshold hikes Artyz Furniture.

Looking Ahead

These April 2025 reforms coincide with the Home Office’s commission of a cross‑sector Labour Market Review, expected to propose further measures balancing migration controls with critical‑skills needs. Stakeholders await the forthcoming Immigration White Paper, which may adjust thresholds, streamline fees, or introduce targeted pathways to mitigate retention risks in healthcare, technology, and academia.