Immigration

United Kingdom | Statement of changes to the immigration rules and Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme extended to EEA nationals

Summary

The United Kingdom Government has published some changes to the United Kingdom Immigration Rules, most of which will come into effect on 9 April 2025.

The United Kingdom Government will make a major announcement on the direction of United Kingdom immigration via a White Paper at the end of March 2025. Vialto will analyse these changes when they are announced and publish an alert.

Key changes announced today are:

• Trinidad and Tobago has been added to the Visa National list effective immediately.
• Minimum salary floor for Skilled Worker visas increases from £23,200 per year to £25,000 per year.
• Skilled Worker sponsors of care workers in England will need to show that they attempted to recruit from the existing pool of care worker Skilled Worker Visa holders before they can sponsor migrant workers from outside the United Kingdom.
• The Ukrainian Scheme has been clarified to allow children under 18 who were granted Leave Outside the Rules to join parents on the scheme to regularise their immigration status under the scheme.
• British National Overseas Passport holders are no longer required to apply for ETA.

Important reminder: Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) applications are now open to EEA nationals. From 2 April 2025, it will be mandatory to apply for ETA before travelling to the United Kingdom for all visiting non-Visa nationals.

Visa Nationals (i.e. those nationals who are required to apply for visitor visas before they travel) and Residence Permit holders (all categories) do not need to apply for ETA.

The detail

Introduction of a visit visa requirement on Trinidad and Tobago

Effective immediately, Trinidad and Tobago passport holders must now apply for visas before they travel to the United Kingdom as visitors.

Significant changes to the Skilled Worker route:

Changes to salary threshold to Health and Care Worker visa:

From 9 April 2025, the minimum salary floor increases from £23,200 per year to £25,000 per year.

Clarification of recognised professional qualifications:

New entrants will no longer be able to rely on providing a ‘recognised professional qualification’ for their visa application. They will now be required to provide ‘a recognised United Kingdom professional qualification’, which will restrict ‘new entrant’ applications to United Kingdom graduates only going forward.

Consideration of payments to sponsors:

Any money paid by the applicant to the sponsor (or related organisation) will be considered as follows:

• Payments such as salary deductions, loan repayments, and investments will be subtracted from the applicant’s salary provided they do not relate to business costs, immigration costs, or investment, and the applicant had a genuine choice whether to participate in the arrangement (e.g., salary sacrifice arrangements).
• The deductions will be averaged over the length of the sponsorship.

This provision clarifies how certain payments made by applicants to sponsors should be handled when considering salary levels for immigration purposes.

Change to working hours in salary calculation:

The proposed change to the working hours used in salary calculations involves replacing the current reference of a 40-hour working week with a 37.5-hour work week. This adjustment aligns the salary calculation basis with a more standard 37.5-hour work week, which may better reflect the typical working hours for many employees.

Changes relating to care workers in the Skilled Worker route (England only)

The Home Office now requires sponsors of care workers to “try to recruit” from the pool of existing sponsored workers who are underemployed or in need of new sponsorship or have been identified as being exploited, before they can sponsor a new migrant worker from overseas.

This change applies to England only which is an interesting development in itself as it introduces a regional variation into the immigration rules.

Changes to the Ukraine Scheme

The Ukrainian Scheme, which gives a path to settlement for Ukrainian nationals fleeing the war in Ukraine, has been extended to allow applications from Children under 18 who were granted Leave to Enter the United Kingdom outside the Immigration Rules so they could join or stay with their parents.

This means that they can bring their immigration status in line with their family and be subject to the Ukrainian Scheme Rules rather than the less certain discretionary leave outside of the rules.

Appendix ETA – exemption for British Nationals (Overseas)

British Nationals (Overseas) have been removed from the list of nationalities requiring an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) for travel to the United Kingdom.

Changes relating to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS)

The main changes enable a non-EEA national applicant to use a United Kingdom-issued biometric residence card or permit which has expired by up to 18 months as proof of their identity and nationality.

There is also confirmation that a person with a pending administrative review of an EUSS decision, who has not left the United Kingdom or has been granted entry into the United Kingdom (except on immigration bail), will not be removed from the United Kingdom.

Finally, the Home Office has extended its power to refuse an application on suitability grounds based on conduct before the end of the transition period. This means that the Home Office can now reach back before 31 December 2020 and refuse applications based on the conduct of the applicant before that date.

Contact us

For a deeper discussion on the above, please reach out to your Vialto Partners point of contact, or alternatively:

Lyudmyla Davies
Partner (Solicitor)

Ian Robinson
Partner

Andrea Als
Director (Solicitor)

Tom Marsom
Director (Solicitor)

Lucy Vaux
Senior Manager (Solicitor)

Awale Olad
Senior Manager

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