News and updates from the world of staff immigration in 2025. Please let your colleagues know about this page if you think our updates would be useful to them.
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You may also want to check our archive pages for 2023 and 2024.
Action for Department colleagues
Please:
- download a copy of our new Skilled Worker CoS form which captures the change detailed below; and
- bear in mind that we will need to confirm the actual amount of loan provided, which may be different from the amount the individual requests, to be able to accurately assess eligibility for sponsorship; this is likely to cause delays to the issuing of a CoS; and
- to mitigate this, send CoS application forms at least 2 weeks before an existing visa is due to expire, as we cannot otherwise guarantee that the individual will be able to submit an in-time visa application.
The detail
When assessing a Skilled Worker visa applicant’s annual salary for sponsorship purposes, we now need to take into account whether they plan to request a visa loan to cover the costs. The amount they borrow must be averaged over the length of the CoS and the annual salary amount reduced accordingly. For example, a £9,000 visa loan for a 3 year CoS would reduce annual salary for sponsorship purposes by £3,000.
This will affect existing employees who are requesting a visa loan to:
- apply to extend their Skilled Worker visa; or
- apply to switch from another UK visa type to a Skilled Worker visa
Also affected, if they are an Skilled Worker visa holder with a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) which was assigned to them on/after 9th April 2025, are those requesting a visa loan to:
- apply to switch from a Skilled Worker visa to a Global Talent visa; or
- apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) as a Skilled Worker visa holder.
We have updated our visa loan guidance and application form.
New employees applying for a Skilled Worker or Global Talent visa are entitled to have their visa fees paid for them by the University so are not affected.
Please see our page on financial support for visas for details of both the visa loan scheme and the visa fee payment scheme.
22 April 2025
Changes to the way Skilled Worker visa (SWV) salary assessments are made will have an impact on our interest-free loan scheme with effect from 9th April 2025.
The whole of a person's basic salary can currently be taken into account for SWV purposes. However, from 9th April 2025 the University must subtract any money paid by an SWV applicant to their sponsor (the University) in the form of deductions from salary and repayment of loans from salary before assessing whether it is sufficient for sponsorship.
The loan scheme is available to existing staff who are applying for a Skilled Worker or Global Talent visa, or Indefinite Leave to Remain for themselves and their families. Only SWV applicants who take out a visa loan from the University will be impacted.
24 March 2025
With immediate effect, the University is no longer able to offer interest-free visa loans to members of staff who are not already on our payroll.
In 2023, the Government of the time introduced the Economic Crime Levy (ECL), an annual charge on entities which are supervised under the Money Laundering Regulations (MLR) and whose UK revenue exceeds £10.2 million per year, as part of the its efforts to develop a sustainable way to fight economic crime. It was hoped that the University might be exempt due to our educational and charitable status but we were advised that, as things stood, this was not the case and we would be liable for a £250,000 ECL fee every year. The ECL is only charged in relation to loan schemes where the money is loaned prior to the employment relationship starting, and it has therefore been decided that we will effectively end the existing visa loan scheme and launch a new ‘post-employment’ scheme. No other rules of the visa loan scheme will change.
The HR Compliance team is in the process of identifying all staff who were provided with a visa loan before their employment relationship with the University began, to transition them onto the new post-employment loan scheme. This will require the current loans to be closed with new loans awarded immediately. On a practical level, the employees will not be required to repay the money and re-apply for a loan, as the transition will be a paper exercise only. Nor will their repayments change. We will liaise with the employees concerned to provide new loan agreements.
Skilled Worker and Global Talent visa applicants who are to be employed but not yet on our payroll are entitled to have their visa fees and associated costs paid for them. Please see our information on financial support for visas for more information.
10 January 2025
Changes to the Immigration Rules were announced recently, along with increases to visa and sponsorship costs. Our webpages will be updated in due course.
Skilled Worker (effective 9th April 2025)
Existing Skilled Worker visa (SWV) holders where their first Certificate of Sponsorship was assigned before 4th April 2024
- The absolute minimum salary level will increase from £23,200 to £25,000. Please bear in mind that this is based on a 37.5 hour working week and may be superseded by the going rate for the job. It will primarily affect New Entrant minimum salary rates. Please contact the HR Compliance Team if you need advice.
- The going rate for some SOC codes will change, where a CoS is assigned on or after 9th April 2025:
- 2114 Physical Scientists: reduced, meaning that the minimum salary without tradeable points for a 37 hour working week falls from £36,507 to £31,672
- 2161 Research and Development (R&D) Managers: reduced, meaning that the minimum salary without tradeable points for a 37 hour working week falls from £37,888 to £37,296
- 3573 Information technology trainers: reduced, meaning that the minimum salary without tradeable points for a 37 hour working week falls from £30,192 to £29,000
Existing employees applying for a Skilled Worker visa
Please see our update below on the University visa loan scheme.
Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) (effective 9th April 2025)
- The cost of a CoS will increase from £239 to £525 for Skilled Worker, and from £25 to £55 for Temporary Work - GAE.
- The CoS validity period will change from 3 months to 90 days.
Visa and sponsorship fees (effective 9th April 2025)
Most visa fees are set to increase. The most common visa types to the University will increase as follows:
| Fees category | Current fee | Fee from 9th April 2025 | Fee change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Visitor (up to 6 months) | £115 | £127 | £12 |
| Academic Visitor | £200 | £220 | £20 |
| Global Talent endorsement (stage 1) - main applicant | £524 | £561 | £37 |
| Global Talent visa (stage 2) - main applicant | £192 | £205 | £13 |
| Global Talent visa - extensions and dependants | £716 | £766 | £50 |
| Skilled Worker - overseas application, 3 years or less | £719 | £769 | £50 |
| Skilled Worker - overseas application, more than 3 years | £1,420 | £1,519 | £99 |
| Skilled Worker - in-country application, 3 years or less | £827 | £885 | £58 |
| Skilled Worker - in-country application, more than 3 years | £1,636 | £1,751 | £115 |
| Temporary Work – Government Authorised Exchange (GAE) | £298 | £319 | £21 |
| Settlement (Indefinite Leave to Remain) | £2,885 | £3,029 | £144 |
| British citizenship (Naturalisation) | £1,500 | £1,605 | £105 |
| Sponsorship: Skilled Worker CoS | £239 | £525 | £286 |
| Sponsorship: Temporary Work – GAE | £25 | £55 | £30 |
There is no change to the cost of priority and super-priority visa services.
Please see gov.uk for full details of fees increases.
Visitors (effective immediately)
Visitors from Trinidad and Tobago will need to apply for, and be granted, a visa before they travel to the UK unless their travel booking was confirmed before 15:00 GMT on 12 March 2025 and where arrival in the UK is before 15:00 BST on 23 April 2025. They are no longer eligible to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA).
24 March 2025
The following changes have been made to the Immigration Rules:
Visa requirement
Citizens of Colombia will now need a visa before coming to the UK, where previously they did not. They are no longer eligible to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA).
Ukraine Schemes
- A new 'Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme' will open at 9am on 4th February 2025, replacing the existing Ukraine Extension Scheme which will close to new applications at the same time. This does not affect those with existing permission under the Ukraine Extension Scheme. The new scheme will enable Ukrainian nationals and their eligible family members in the UK with permission to stay under the Ukraine Schemes to apply for an additional 18 months’ permission to stay.
- Time spent in the UK with permission under the Ukraine Schemes cannot be used toward the qualifying period for a 10 year Long Residence settlement (Indefinite Leave to Remain) application.
3 January 2025
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The ETA scheme is in the process of being phased in. You can check whether an ETA is required. The following groups are exempt from requiring an ETA:
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*UPDATE*
- Holders of a British National (Overseas) passport are exempt from requiring an ETA to travel to the UK. They also do not require a visa in advance of travel.
- The cost of an ETA will increase to £16 on 9th April 2025.
24 March 2025
Various updates have been announced with regard to the ETA scheme:
- The scheme is now open to applications from European nationals who plan to travel to the UK on or after 2nd April 2025. The scheme is now in place for everyone except the exemptions mentioned above.
- The ETA requirement for dual nationals and those with Right of Abode in the UK has now been clarified - see above.
- Those who are exempt from immigration control do not need an ETA.
- The ETA can be paid for using Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB, Apple Pay or Google Pay
- The easiest way to apply for an ETA is by downloading the 'UK ETA' app from the App Store (Apple) or Google Play (Android). If you cannot use the app, you may instead apply online. Other websites may charge more for an ETA, but cannot give a faster decision.
5 March 2025
ETA guidance has been updated as follows:
- Advice for US passport holders who may have difficulty scanning the biometric chip in their passport. This may also be helpful for holders of other passports.
- Clarification for dual nationals on exemption requirements (see above).
18 February 2025
From 27 November 2024, a further group of non-EEA nationals should apply for an ETA before travelling to the UK, if their travel date is on or after 8th January 2025.
Please see the gov.uk webpages on ETAs for further information and a link to apply for an ETA.
27 November 2024
*UPDATE* With immediate effect, you are no longer required to carry out right to work checks for the following groups of staff:
- Visitors (unless they hold a GAE (Temporary Work) visa, in which case a right to work check is still required)
- Self-employed people
- Volunteers
- Those undertaking work experience
Our guidance has been updated accordingly.
5 March 2025
*UPDATE* Our online right to work guidance is now a set of webpages rather than a PDF download.
5 March 2025
Further right to work updates are as follows:
- UK and Irish passport holders - a short or long birth certificate is considered acceptable with official evidence of name and NI number issued by a government agency or a previous employer.
- New employees from overseas - though BRPs have been discontinued, they will still receive an entry clearance vignette in their passport. Please see our eVisas page for further information ("Other paper document holders" section > "If you are coming to the UK from overseas for more than 6 months and you have an entry clearance vignette sticker in your passport")
18 February 2025
New guidance has been issued by the Home Office relating to UK and Irish passports. Please see our manual right to work check page for details (under Step 1, List A).
13 February 2025
We've updated our wepages on right to work.
Let us know please if you have any thoughts/comments/questions!
22 January 2025
*UPDATE* Following the announcement allowing use of a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP), an EU Settlement Scheme Biometric Residence Card (EUSS BRC) or a vignette sticker in a passport expiring on or after 31 December 2024 as valid evidence of permission to travel until at least 31 March 2025 (previously 31 December 2024) as long as your permission itself remains valid, this has now been extended to 1 June 2025. We have updated our webpage with advice for those travelling over the next 3-4 months.
5 March 2025
See the archive for previous announcements relating to eVisas.
*UPDATE* The Premium Customer Service has received a stay of execution! The Service will now run "until further notice" to allow the Home Office to "ensure that internal mechanisms are in place to accommodate the transition".
16 January 2025
We have been informed by the Home Office that the PCS will cease from 1st February 2025.
The University has, over a number of years, been one of a small number of HEI’s which has paid a fee to the Home Office for access to enhanced visas and immigration support. The PCS has allowed us to easily make checks on immigration applications and to enable intervention on behalf of staff who are experiencing difficulties with a visa application.
Following a report from the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration in 2022, the Home Office has been reviewing its provision and it has been decided that, due to a variety of factors, the PCS is no longer viable. We understand that “future value added services” may be considered by the Home Office but it is not clear what these may entail.
From 1st February, the University will therefore no longer be able to intercede with the Home Office on a visa applicant’s behalf; instead, the applicant will need to make case specific enquiries by contacting UKVI themselves.
10 January 2025
Following extensive consultation with the Russell Group, UCEA, UKCISA and select HEIs, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has updated its guidance on ATAS. This now includes information specifically aimed at contracted researchers and visitors.
Please let us know if you have any thoughts on the new guidance so we can provide feedback to FCDO.
10 January 2025
*Update*: We have discovered a further error on newly issued GAE (Temporary Work) eVisas relating to supplementary work. As with the error referred to below, the underlying permission is correct and the Home Office is working to fix this but, in the meantime:
(a) we are required to contact the Employer Checking Service to evidence the person's right to work in the UK; and
(b) the visa holder must report the error using the Report an error with your eVisa - GOV.UK online form.
Action required
If you see the text below on a GAE visa holder's right to work, next to their photo, please inform them of the situation and ask them to:
- report the error via the link above
- send you a signed copy of the ECS permission letter and the vignette sticker in their passport (if they have one)
Please carry out a right to work check as normal using the incorrect right to work document and the vignette if available, and send the verified document(s) and signed ECS letter to the HR Compliance Team. Once their status has been corrected, please carry out a follow-up right to work check and send the verified version to the HR Compliance Team.
The visit/employment can begin once you have undertaken the right to work check, even though the eVisa has the wrong details.
Incorrect text |
Correct text |
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Additional part-time work While they are working in the job they are sponsored for, they can also do part-time work. Part-time work must:
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Conditions They must work for the employer who sponsored their current grant of permission to enter or stay. They can only work in the role for which they are being sponsored. They can also work in a part-time job (up to 20 hours per week) if it is one of the following:
The part-time job must be outside the hours of their main job. They can also:
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8 January 2025
Newly issued eVisas for GAE (Temporary Work) visa holders may show incorrect information. The Home Office has confirmed that there is an issue within their system which leads to GAE eVisas showing work conditions for an International Agreement (Temporary Work) visa. The underlying permission is correct and they are working to fix this but, in the meantime, we are required to contact the Employer Checking Service to evidence the person's right to work in the UK.
If you see the text below on a GAE visa holder's right to work, next to their photo, please inform them of the situation and:
- ask them to sign a copy of the ECS permission letter and send it to you; and
- if they have a vignette sticker in their passport, send that to you as well; and
- send the signed permission letter and a verified copy of both the vignette and the right to work document to the HR Compliance Team (if they do not have a vignette sticker in their passport, just send the verified right to work document please).
The HR Compliance Team will carry out the ECS check.
The visit/employment can begin once you have undertaken the right to work check, even though the eVisa has the wrong details.
Incorrect text |
Correct text |
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Conditions
Working for an overseas government or international organisation If they work for an overseas government or international organisation, they must work for the employer who sponsored them. They can do additional part-time work. This can be done:
Working as a private servant If they work as a private servant, they can stop working for their sponsor and start work as a domestic worker in a different household. They can only be employed in a job that is the same type of job as the one they are sponsored for. Restrictions They cannot work as a professional sportsperson or coach. |
Conditions They must work for the employer who sponsored their current grant of permission to enter or stay. They can only work in the role for which they are being sponsored. They can also work in a part-time job (up to 20 hours per week) if it is one of the following:
The part-time job must be outside the hours of their main job. They can also:
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December 2024
UKRI have issued a minor wording clarification to their full Economic Costs (fEC) grant 'standard T&Cs of grant guidance' with regard to visa costs following some reported confusion about eligible costs.
The key clarifications are:
- Visa costs for international researchers who are not named on the grant at point of application are eligible. However, these costs must be met within the existing grant cash limit.
- Funds can be transferred within a grant to cover these costs.
Please note this is a wording clarification to improve understanding. It is not a policy change.
The full revised wording is below, and can be found on UKRI’s website
"Visa costs, including the IHS and Certificates of Sponsorship, incurred as a direct result of an individual being employed as Directly Incurred (DI) staff for at least 50% of their contracted time, can be charged to the grant. Visa costs for family members cannot be charged to the grant. Costs incurred by individuals recruited to DI posts after the grant start date are eligible if they meet the minimum 50% time requirement. All costs must be met within the original grant cash limit. Funds can be transferred from other DI or indirect funds to cover these costs. Contingency costs for unknown researchers at point of application are not eligible."
UKRI seek to improve their understanding of where UKRI standard grant T&Cs currently support international research recruitment well, and where they could go further to do so and welcome feedback. Please contact UKRI directly if you have any questions and/or feedback on the above.
8 January 2025