There were concerns when the Home Secretary announced that the minimum salary threshold for skilled worker visas would rise from £26,200 per year to £38,700 per year for people not on the immigration pay list. Many described the difficulty of obtaining wages.
“What we’re seeing is people asking more questions,” said Maryem Ahmed, an immigration lawyer at OTS Solicitors in London. pie news.
“We are looking at this from many different angles. because [students] “You might read or hear something on the news but you don’t understand it, so you ask yourself if you are affected by it without knowing.”
Discounts on current salary standards for skilled workers are possible, which would allow international graduates to get jobs with a minimum salary of £20,960, which Farhoon Asim, founder of International Hustlers, pointed out to students on social media. or 70% of the “progress rate” for the occupation over a period of up to four years (referred to as the new entry threshold).
The condition is that the graduate must be one of the following:
- under 26 years old
- A person who recently (within the last 2 years) graduated or is expected to graduate and holds a student visa
- Get a postdoc job offer in a profession such as chemistry, physical sciences or HE education specialist. Eligible occupations are listed on the Home Office website.
- The applicant is fully registered or working towards full registration with the professional body for the profession being sponsored (e.g., lawyer or accountant).
- Those who currently hold a graduate school visa
However, there has been some confusion about whether this discount will remain for international graduates when the salary threshold rises on April 11.
“When we made this clear in December… they recognized that new entrants to the labor market would not be able to claim a salary of £38,700 and that there would be discounts as they are now,” said Thal, director of corporate immigration. Vashishta said. Paragon Law.
“What they haven’t done is commit to what the discount will look like. [for international students].”
The MAC rapid review of the Immigration Salary List, published on 23 February, details that the £30,960 threshold will apply to 21 listed occupations, but does not detail exactly this for new immigrants coming on student visas or visas. No explanation. Graduate route visa.
ISLs also represent only 8% of job roles eligible for the skilled worker pathway through employment.
“The government has announced that it is now offering discounts for new subscribers aged 26 and over.
Continued below. In its current form, this discount offers a 30% class-specific discount.
The MAC review read that students and graduates over this age who would normally be eligible for a fresher's discount would be required to pay a 20% discount on the regular salary threshold (whichever is higher), without detailing whether they would be eligible. Yes.
“What they haven’t done is commit to what the discount will look like. [for international students]”
“It’s a case of ‘watching this space,’ waiting for these things to be released, and then putting our heads down and trying to explain how it’s going to impact students. And in the meantime, the immigration health surcharge has increased,” Ahmed said.
Another caveat of using a new entrant visa after using a graduate route visa for two years is that it may mean that half of the period the graduate can sponsor will be invalidated.
But those PIE spoke to emphasized that graduate pathways remain a vital cog in the machine of attracting international graduates into the workforce.
“One of my clients is a very large optometry company, and they rely on the graduate route to hire graduates at lower salaries,” Vashishta said.
The MAC review also said employers could see “increased incentives” to use under-26 discounts due to higher pay thresholds across the board. “We encourage the government to consider the impact of the rule changes on the use of new policy discounts on entry fees.”
Vashishta said that even if new entry-level salary norms for international graduates are raised to avoid discrimination issues or the government introduces graduate route salary norms, it could lead to wage inflation. This is “something we don’t believe the government wants.” .
“One of my clients was a large optometry company and they rely on the graduate route.”
He urged: “The Home Office must decide very urgently what the prevailing salary scale will be for new entrants to give certainty to students, universities and employers, given the impending review of postgraduate pathways.” He urged that this was a particularly important matter.
MAC chair Brian Bell said in a cover letter to the ISL that he was still awaiting commission on a review of the graduate pathway.
One alternative proposed by City Legal lawyer Adarsh Girijadevi was a government-approved exchange program for temporary workers.
“[It’s] Designed for internships, [and] The stipend ensures we remain accessible to international graduates from around the world.
“The requirements are set in line with the UK’s national minimum wage,” he elaborated.
The Home Office has confirmed that further immigration rules will be published on March 14.
Sign the petition here asking the government to commit to maintaining graduate pathway visas.