Immigration News Weekly Roundup – 25 July 2025
The Home Office has implemented sweeping changes to the UK’s immigration system, with new rules taking effect from 22 July 2025. These updates represent some of the most significant alterations to skilled worker immigration in recent years, fundamentally reshaping eligibility criteria and salary thresholds across multiple visa routes.
From 22 July 2025, Skilled Worker sponsorship requires jobs to be at RQF level 6 (graduate level) or above. This change renders approximately 111 mid-skill occupations previously eligible at RQF 3-5 levels now ineligible, with industry estimates suggesting up to 180 roles may be affected.
Existing Skilled Worker visa holders benefit from transitional protection, allowing continued sponsorship in RQF 3-5 roles for extensions, employment changes, and supplementary employment until at least 22 July 2028 for certain positions.
The general salary threshold (Option A) has risen from £38,700 to £41,700 annually—an 8% increase affecting most standard sponsorships. PhD holders face varying requirements: non-STEM PhDs require £37,500 minimum, whilst STEM PhD holders and new entrants need £33,400.
A crucial addition is the hourly wage floor of £17.13 for Options A-E, calculated on no more than 48 paid hours weekly. This must be satisfied alongside annual salary requirements, with the higher threshold taking precedence.
Options F-K provide transitional arrangements for health and care workers, maintaining a lower salary floor of £31,300 for those first sponsored before 4 April 2024, available until 4 April 2030. However, settlement via Indefinite Leave to Remain will eventually require meeting full going rates or standard thresholds.
Two temporary lists preserve limited access for sub-graduate roles until 31 December 2026. The Immigration Salary List (ISL) contains roles with confirmed national shortages, such as laboratory technicians and bricklayers. The Temporary Shortage List (TSL) supports the Modern Industrial Strategy, including IT support technicians and logistics managers.
Both lists face firm expiry dates, with Certificates of Sponsorship for TSL roles requiring assignment by 31 December 2026.
Applicants newly sponsored from 22 July 2025 in RQF 3-5 roles on the ISL or TSL cannot bring dependants, except for UK-born children or those under sole parental responsibility. This restriction applies to skill level rather than list membership. Existing family members with leave granted before 22 July 2025 may continue extending visas.
Entry clearance applications for care workers (SOC codes 6135/6136) ceased from 22 July 2025, ending the Health and Care Worker Visa route for new overseas applicants. In-country switching remains available until 22 July 2028 for those legally employed on sponsors’ payrolls for at least three months.
Global Business Mobility (GBM) salary thresholds have increased substantially: Senior or Specialist Workers now require £52,500 annually (up from £48,500), whilst Scale-up visa thresholds rose from £36,300 to £39,100. Graduate Trainee positions face a new minimum of £27,300.
These comprehensive changes demand immediate attention from immigration advisers and employers. The elevated skill requirements, increased salary thresholds, and restricted dependant rights fundamentally reshape skilled worker immigration.
Advisers must assess existing client portfolios to identify those affected by higher qualification requirements or salary increases. The temporary nature of the ISL and TSL creates uncertainty for long-term planning, requiring contingency strategies for roles currently covered by these interim lists.
Restrictions on dependant rights may significantly impact recruitment strategies, particularly for employers seeking international talent in sectors previously eligible for family reunification. Clear communication with prospective applicants about immigration status limitations becomes essential.
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For the full list of updates on media news, reports and Home Office Guidance and Policy updates, SEE BELOW
Immigration News
New UK Immigration rules from 22nd July: What’s changing and how it matters – Times of India
The UK government’s new immigration rules, effective July 22, 2025, raise skills and salary thresholds for Skilled Worker visas, impacting sectors relying on overseas labour. Employers must act swiftly to fast-track applications, audit job roles, and realign salary structures to comply with the changes. Further developments are expected, requiring proactive workforce planning to avoid talent loss and compliance issues. For full report, click here
UK police on alert for immigration protests near London this weekend – Reuters
British police will have hundreds of officers on duty this weekend to deal with protests linked to immigration. Senior Police Officer said he was aware demonstrations were being advertised for Saturday and Sunday in Epping, in the county of Essex to London’s northeast, after protests over the last week. For full report, click here
Epping asylum hotel protesters ‘upset for legitimate reasons’, minister says – The Guardian
Police have issued a dispersal order at Epping after a series of demonstrations outside Bell hotel, which broke out after an Ethiopian asylum seeker, who had recently arrived on a small boat, was charged with sexual assault against a local girl. For full report, click here
Home Office to share asylum hotel data with food delivery firms – BBC News UK
The location of hotels housing asylum seekers will be shared with food delivery companies as part of a crackdown on illegal working, the Home Office has said. The agreement with Deliveroo, Just East and Uber Eats enables the firms to identify behaviour which indicates illegal working, such as an account spending a lot of time near one of the hotels. For full report, click here
Restaurant could lose licence over illegal workers – BBC News UK
A restaurant fined £90,000 after two illegal workers were found by immigration officials faces being stripped of its alcohol licence. Exotic Karahi in Farnham Road, Slough, was raided last September and was given the civil penalty in November. For full report, click here
Chippy owner given ‘devastating’ £40,000 fine by Home Office for allegedly illegal hire – The Guardian
A fish and chip shop owner has been handed a “devastating” £40,000 fine by the Home Office after hiring a man who had allegedly forged his identity, as ministers face calls to reduce the size of such penalties for small businesses amid a surge in enforcement. In March, Home Office immigration officers stormed Big Fry Fish & Chips in Egham, Surrey, in a raid that left staff “terrified”. Officers took away a man, who was employed by the shop, on the alleged grounds that he did not have to right to work in the UK. For full report, click here
Takeaway licence revoked over illegal workers – BBC News UK
A takeaway has had its alcohol licence suspended after illegal workers were found there during several immigration raids. New Red Lantern in Durham, was accused of assaulting and obstructing Home Office workers and not registering staff, despite repeated warnings. For full report, click here
Arrests as immigration raids target workers – BBC News UK
More than 20 people have been arrested after immigration raids across the West Midlands. Delivery drivers suspected of working illegally were targeted by officers in Birmingham, Coventry and Hereford, the Home Office said. For full report, click here
UK sanctions notorious people-smuggling gangs and their enablers in global crackdown – UKVI News
Gang ring leaders, key intermediaries and suppliers of people-smuggling equipment have been hit with the first ever sanctions targeting irregular migration by the UK. For full report, click here
Dover asylum protests pose danger to small boat arrivals, charities say – The Guardian
Charities have warned of the increasing danger to asylum seekers posed by far-right protesters after small boat arrivals were moved from their usual landing place in Dover to further along the coast to avoid clashes. For full report, click here
Immigration and deprivation causing UK public to lose faith in politicians, says Rayner – The Guardian
Immigration and deprivation are among the main factors causing public disenchantment with politicians and the government which has led to social unrest and rioting, Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister, has warned. For full report, click here
UK border officials to use AI to verify ages of child asylum seekers – The Guardian
Officials are to start using artificial intelligence to help estimate the age of asylum seekers who say they are children. Angela Eagle, the immigration minister said the government would test technology that judges a person’s age based on their facial features. For full report, click here
Corrupt officials and people assisting small boat gangs to face sanctions and UK ban – The Guardian
Corrupt foreign officials, including police officers who profit from people smuggling, face being banned from the UK and having their assets frozen. For full report, click here
Influential women urge Labour to include asylum seekers in plan to tackle violence – The Guardian
More than 50 influential women, including actors, authors and comedians, have warned in a letter to the government against the risk of creating a “two-tier” system to tackle violence against women and girls if tens of thousands of female asylum seekers are left out. For full report, click here
Leaked document shows boat slashing failed to stop migrants reaching UK – The Guardian
New concerns about the safety and viability of the flagship UK-French policy to intercept migrant dinghies at sea have emerged after a coastguard log leaked to the Guardian revealed a recent boat-slashing incident that failed to stop people reaching the UK. For full report, click here
Border Force chief who ‘suggested game of Naked Attraction’ with colleagues was able to leave civil service with unblemished record – The Guardian
A Home Office investigation has found one of its most senior officials harassed and behaved inappropriately towards a female colleague, before being able to leave the civil service with an unblemished record after a “shambolic” disciplinary process. The case has caused such alarm in the department that the new permanent secretary, Antonia Romeo, has ordered an immediate review of complaints, conduct and disciplinary procedures to “ensure confidence in the integrity of the system”. For full report, click here
Grant Shapps defends use of super injunction to suppress Afghan data leak – The Guardian
The former defence secretary Grant Shapps has defended the use of an unprecedented super injunction to suppress a data breach that led to the UK government relocating 15,000 Afghans. For full report, click here
Man jailed for smuggling woman and child into UK – BBC News UK
Polish national Dawid Flis was arrested by the National Crime Agency (NCA) on 23 March after he arrived from the Hook of Holland into the Port of Killingholme in North Lincolnshire. For full report, click here
Deprivation and immigration straining social cohesion, says Rayner – BBC News UK
Angela Rayner has identified deprivation, time spent online and immigration as factors weaking social cohesion in the UK. Presenting the findings of her year-long study, commissioned in the wake of a wave of riots across the UK sparked by the murder of three girls in Southport, the deputy prime minister told ministers they must confront people’s “real concerns” to rebuild trust. For full report, click here
Seven immigration arrests after yacht intercepted – BBC News UK
The boat, which came from northern France, was found by a Border Force cutter off the Isle of Wight on Sunday afternoon, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said. For full report, click here
Phone signal woes continue at detention centre – BBC News UK
People at a women-only detention centre continue to struggle with poor mobile phone signal despite the Home Office previously saying that finding a solution to the problem was a “priority piece of work”. The Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) said there had been “no progress” in improving phone reception at Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre in Consett, County Durham, since first detailing the issue in 2022. For full report, click here
Migration: How many people come to work and study in the UK? – BBC News UK
Net migration to the UK fell almost 50% to 431,000 in 2024. The government has set out measures it says will further reduce numbers. For full report, click here
Case Law
R (On the Application of Treal Care (UK) Ltd) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWHC 1797 (Admin)
The High court found that the Secretary of State had made irrational and inadequately reasoned decisions regarding both salary underpayments and the genuineness of job vacancies for three sponsored care workers. Crucially, the decision-maker failed to properly account for employees’ unpaid leave periods when calculating whether required annual salaries were being met and wrongly concluded that job roles were not genuine based solely on flawed salary assessments. The court quashed the revocation decision, emphasising that public bodies must provide adequate reasons and properly consider all material facts, including mitigating circumstances like compassionate leave, when making immigration sponsorship decisions. For full decision, click here
Jen and Jamie Limited v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWCC 41
This County Court judgment dismissed Jen & Jamie Limited’s appeal against an £80,000 civil penalty for employing two Sri Lankan nationals without work authorisation. Despite the company’s claims that the workers were unpaid “volunteers” receiving training, the court found they were actually employees based on their regular seven-day shifts, expectation of £5.50 hourly pay, and the control exercised over them. The court also rejected arguments to reduce the penalty amount, ruling it must follow the statutory formula regardless of the employer’s financial circumstances. For full decision, click here
Dean v The Bar Standards Board (BSB) [2025] EWHC 1860 (Admin)
This High Court dismissed a barrister’s appeal against his disbarment for dishonesty. The appellant had continued supervising immigration advisers at a firm whose registration was cancelled, then falsely told regulators he had stopped. The court rejected his various arguments and upheld both the misconduct findings and disbarment sanction, noting that dishonesty almost invariably leads to disbarment in professional regulation cases. For full decision, click here
D1914 & Anor, R (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWHC 1853 (Admin)
The High Court dismissed a judicial review challenge over the Government’s response to the Brook House Inquiry, which investigated mistreatment at the immigration removal centre in 2017. Three claimants argued the Home Secretary had failed to adequately implement the inquiry’s 33 recommendations, but Mrs Justice Lang ruled that the Article 3 ECHR investigative duty does not extend to how the State responds to inquiry findings. The Court found the Government had sufficiently addressed most recommendations and that judicial review was not the appropriate mechanism to second-guess executive decisions on inquiry responses. For full decision, click here
Home Office Guidance and Documents Policy Updates
Guidance: Register of licensed sponsors: students has been updated on 23rd July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Register of licensed sponsors: workers has been updated on 23rd July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Russia: country policy and information notes has been updated on 23rd July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: China: country policy and information notes has been updated on 23rd July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Offender management: caseworker has been updated on 23rd July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Iraq: country policy and information notes has been updated on 23rd July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: India: tuberculosis test clinics for a UK visa has been updated on 22nd July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Form UKM has been updated on 22nd July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Register of licensed sponsors: workers has been updated on 22nd July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Register of licensed sponsors: students has been updated on 22nd July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Collection: Archive: Immigration Rules has been updated on 22nd July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Immigration Rules archive: 16 July 2025 to 21 July 2025 has been published on 22nd July 2025. To view the Guidance, click here
Collection: Responses to reports by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration has been updated on 22nd July 2025. To view the updated Collection, click here
Collection: Visa processing times has been updated on 22nd July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Global Business Mobility routes caseworker has been updated on 22nd July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Form NS: guidance has been updated on 22nd July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Overview: Apply for British citizenship if you’re an Irish citizen has been updated. To view the updated overview, click here
Guidance: India Young Professionals Scheme visa: ballot system has been updated on 22nd July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Skilled Worker visa: eligible healthcare and education jobs has been updated on 22nd July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Skilled Worker visa: caseworker has been updated on 22nd July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Skilled Worker visa: jobs that qualify for a PhD salary discount has been updated on 22nd July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Skilled Worker visa: temporary shortage list has been published on 22nd July 2025. To view the Guidance, click here
Guidance: National pay scales for eligible healthcare jobs has been updated on 22nd July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Global Business Mobility: going rates for eligible occupations has been updated on 22nd July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Skilled Worker visa: going rates for eligible occupations has been updated on 22nd July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Skilled Worker visa: eligible salary if you’re under 26, studying, training or in a postdoctoral role has been updated on 22nd July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Dependent family members in work routes: caseworker has been updated on 22nd July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Skilled Worker visa: eligible occupations has been updated on 22nd July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Form B(OTA) has been updated on 22nd July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 3: sponsor duties and compliance has been updated on 22nd July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Sponsor a worker: sponsor guidance part 2 has been updated on 22nd July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Workers and Temporary Workers – guidance for sponsors part 1: apply for a licence has been updated on 22nd July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Sponsor guidance appendix D: keeping records for sponsorship has been updated on 22nd July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: UK visas on a Temporary Work route: caseworker has been updated on 22nd July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Health and Care visa: guidance for applicants has been updated on 22nd July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Scale-up worker caseworker has been updated on 22nd July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors: sponsor a Government Authorised Exchange Worker has been updated on 22nd July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Sponsor a Skilled Worker has been updated on 22nd July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Form: Register as a British citizen (form B(OTA)) has been updated on 22nd July 2025. To view the updated Form, click here
Guidance: Form UKF has been updated on 21st July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Form ROA has been updated on 21st July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Visa processing times: applications outside the UK has been updated on 21st July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Visa processing times: applications inside the UK has been updated on 21st July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Overview: Check your visa processing time has been updated. To view the Overview click here
Guidance: Immigration Rules archive: 16 July 2025 to 16 July 2025 has been published on 21st July 2025. To view the Guidance, click here
Guidance: Albania: country policy and information notes has been updated on 21st July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Streamlined asylum processing for children: caseworker has been updated on 18th July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Written by Shareen Khan – Legal Content Writer, HJT Training
STAY TUNED FOR MORE IMMIGRATION NEWS NEXT WEEK!
Disclaimer: This blog post is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Immigration advisors should consult the full decisions and official policy documents when advising clients on specific cases.
