One of London's most respected law firms responds to new tougher Skilled Worker and Spouse Visa rules

The London law firm has helped over 1000 businesses recruit employees from overseas with its highly effective Skilled Worker Visa and Sponsor Licence service, which boasts a 100% success rate in Sponsor Licence applications. This success has led to the firm being recognised as a leading solicitor in this field across the London area. 

Home Secretary James Cleverly has announced a raft of measures designed to curb immigration, including increasing the minimum salary for foreign skilled workers to £38,700 from £26,200, with the exception of the healthcare sector.

Senior Immigration Solicitor at Osbourne Pinner, Richard Young said: “These new regulations are going to have a significant impact on UK businesses seeking to recruit skilled workers from overseas.

“The raised minimum salary is a large jump and will mean that some UK companies can no longer afford to recruit workers from overseas. 

“We strongly advise companies who are looking to recruit foreign skilled workers to enlist the support of a legal expert to establish what effect the new regulations will have on the process.”

The new regulations are estimated to reduce migration by 300,000 per year by making it harder for companies to recruit overseas workers and for the workers themselves to have more difficulty in obtaining a skilled worker visa.

Successful sponsor licence applications allow firms to employ skilled candidates from outside the UK, including the European Economic Area (EEA) under the Skilled Worker rule for Tier 2 and Tier 5 visas. The licence is valid for four years and will then be up for renewal. The sponsorship is only granted to the company if they meet all the visa conditions.

Richard added: “Anyone seeking to employ overseas workers should be mindful of the record-keeping, reporting and monitoring that is required by the Home Office to ensure that your company complies with the regulations. We can assist with this, but an in-house HR team is highly beneficial.

“Since the legislation changed in April 2023 to the points-based immigration system, the legalities around recruiting overseas workers now has added complexity. The updated regulations will add further complications to the process, so having legal aid to guide you through the process is strongly recommended.

“Time will tell as to what the impact the new rules will have, but our team has a 100% success rate in this field so we will be able to assist companies as they navigate the regulations and understand what is now required of them to ensure compliance.”