To kick things off, we are pleased to share our UK team’s thoughts on what to expect this year as well as the key points from the Migration Advisory Committee’s (MAC) latest report on salary requirements for UK immigration routes. Please watch the video and you can also have a look at round up of the key points below.
The MAC published its report on 17 December 2025 reviewing salary requirements across the Skilled Worker, Health and Care Worker, Global Business Mobility and Scale-up routes.
The MAC recommends reducing occupation-specific salary thresholds (SOC codes) for the Skilled Worker route from the median to the 25th percentile of full-time earnings, reiterating its view that this level is sufficient to protect resident workers while allowing normal labour market variation. The general Skilled Worker threshold is treated as the principal control on migration volumes and is recommended that it should remain at £41,700, subject to annual uprating in line with wage growth.
The Committee again rejects the introduction of regional salary thresholds. It also proposes retaining a single new entrant salary of £33,400, but with a longer discount period than the current four years, potentially up to six years, subject to interaction with settlement policy.
For other routes, the MAC advises that the Temporary Shortage List (TSL) threshold should be set slightly lower, at around £30,900, with eligible occupation-specific thresholds (SOC codes) remaining at the median. It also recommends that the TSL route should not provide a path to settlement.
By contrast, for the Global Business Mobility Senior or Specialist route, the MAC recommends increasing the occupation-specific thresholds (SOC Codes) to the median in line with the overall threshold to reflect the seniority of roles. It is recommended that a single salary threshold should be set for the Graduate Trainee route of £33,400, with occupation-specific rates (SOC codes) being removed completely.
Alongside the MAC report, the Home Office has recently closed its consultation on extending right to work checks to gig economy and zero-hours workers. A further consultation on “earned settlement” remains open until 12 February 2026. That consultation proposes a move away from automatic settlement after a fixed period, towards a contribution-based model with a 10-year baseline or 15 years for roles below RQF level 6, shorter routes for higher earners, and potential retrospective application. The EU Settlement Scheme is not part of the consultation.
To learn more please join us for our next Authorising Officer Academy.
Join us on Tuesday, January 13, 2026 at 2:00 PM Greenwich Mean Time.
Registration link available here.
For a deeper discussion on the above, please reach out to your Vialto Partners point of contact, or alternatively:
Awale Olad
Senior Manager
Kate Gamester
Manager (Solicitor)
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