The latest Statement of Changes: the top 5 things employers need to know

Along with daffodils, chocolate eggs and unpredictable weather, Spring is traditionally also a time for the Home Office to make widespread changes to the Immigration Rules. On 9 April 2025, many of the changes from the Home Office’s latest Statement of Changes came into effect. In this article, we explore the five changes that are most significant for employers and businesses and explain the impact they are likely to have.

Restriction on recouping costs from sponsored workers

One major change for employers to be aware of is the introduction of further restrictions on the types of costs which they can legitimately recoup from a sponsored worker. Sponsors were already prohibited from passing on the Immigration Skills Charge, Certificate of Sponsorship fee and costs of obtaining the sponsor licence to their sponsored workers. The change to the rules, as confirmed by new Home Office guidance, means that employers cannot seek to recoup any costs incurred to obtain, use or maintain their sponsor licence. This includes fees for premium or priority processing services, legal fees for advice provided to the sponsor and legal fees for advice provided to the sponsored worker (unless the worker had a genuine choice about whether and how to obtain the advice).

This means that sponsors must be extremely careful when entering into any sort of clawback or salary deduction with a sponsored worker, even if this is not immediately enforceable (e.g. it only takes effect if the sponsored worker leaves the business before a minimum time period has passed). We would strongly recommend that employers take legal advice before entering into any such arrangements.

Existing clawback or salary deduction arrangements which were entered into before 31 December 2024 (for Skilled Workers) or 9 April 2025 (for those on Global Business Mobility, Minister of Religion, International Sportsperson, Scale-up or Seasonal Worker visas) may not be caught by the new rules but should still be reviewed to ensure they do not amount to a compliance breach.

Any breaches of these rules are likely to result in the sponsor’s licence being revoked, as part of the Home Office’s continued crackdown on compliance.

Certain repayments deducted when calculating compliance with the minimum salary threshold

In a related change, when calculating whether the minimum salary threshold for a particular sponsored role is met, the Home Office will also subtract any costs or investment in the sponsoring business which the migrant worker is required to pay to their sponsor (or a related organisation). This will cover business costs, immigration costs (those that the sponsor is not prohibited from passing on, such as the Immigration Health Surcharge or visa application fees) and related loan repayments. On the face of it, this would also appear to include investments in the business such as employee stock options, partnership loans etc. There is an exception for payments which represent an additional benefit which the worker has a genuine choice over – for example, salary sacrifice schemes such as pension contributions or cycle to work schemes.

Any deductions will be averaged over the length of time the migrant worker is sponsored for to calculate whether the threshold is met or not.

In practice, this means that sponsors must be extremely careful when making or proposing any deductions to a sponsored worker’s salary. Any payments must not fall within the prohibited categories (see above) and they must not result in the worker’s salary falling below the applicable minimum threshold, especially where the proposed salary is close to the minimum threshold anyway. There are also a number of employment law considerations relating to salary deductions which must be factored in and our colleagues in Employment are best-placed to advise on these.

Changes for new entrants

The minimum salary threshold for some Skilled Workers who qualify as ‘new entrants’ has increased from £23,200 to £25,000 (an hourly rate of at least £12.82), or 70% of the going rate for the applicable role, whichever is higher. This applies to those who meet the ‘new entrant’ criteria (such as being under 26 years old) and who have continuously held leave as a Skilled Worker since before 4 April 2024. It also applies to some health & care workers and STEM PhD holders who entered the Skilled Worker category before 4 April 2024.

The new rules also clarified that those who meet the ‘new entrant’ criteria because they are working towards a professional qualification, must be working towards a recognised UK qualification.

In practice, sponsors of ‘new entrants’ need to be aware of the new salary threshold if the migrant in question entered the Skilled Worker route before April last year, and ensure that those who are in professional training are working towards the correct qualification.

New recruitment rules for care providers

The Statement of Changes also included major change for care providers in England only, which partially results from the Home Office’s ongoing focus on employer compliance in this sector.  

Sponsors looking to employ care workers or senior care workers will have to recruit from the pool of existing migrant care workers in the UK before recruiting from other visa categories or from overseas. The pool includes care workers already in the UK in the Skilled Worker category who are looking for new sponsorship because their previous sponsors either cannot offer enough work or have had their licences revoked.

Sponsors must contact their local regional care partnership (or the partnership in the area they are recruiting in) and they will be given contact details of any displaced care workers. Sponsors must then take responsibility for assessing these candidates and retain evidence of how they identified the worker they eventually recruit for the role.

Note that this change does not apply if the sponsor is recruiting someone who already had leave as a care worker/senior care worker before 9 April 2025 or where they are looking to sponsor someone who has already been working for them lawfully in another immigration category for at least three months.

Business visitors on Permitted Paid Engagements

A change has been made to the rules for visitors, which states that those entering the UK for a ‘permitted paid engagement’ (PPE) must declare it if asked at the UK border. The PPE must fall within the specific list set out in the Immigration Rules, which includes circumstances such as experts coming to lecture at a UK university or research organisation, conference speakers, and professional artists invited by a UK-based creative organisation or broadcaster.

If the visitor in question is a visa national, they will usually need to declare their PPE when applying for their visit visa. They should also declare it at the UK border if asked.

If the visitor is a non-visa national, they should declare their PPE when applying for their Electronic Travel Authorisation if asked at that stage, otherwise they must declare it if asked at the UK border. If they are not asked at the border (because, for example, they enter through the eGates), then they are not obliged to declare it. They should, however, still ensure all aspects of their visit comply with the Immigration Rules.

In practical terms, businesses should ensure that any overseas visitors understand and comply with the relevant Immigration Rules. This may mean directing them to the relevant Home Office pages on GOV.UK or seeking legal advice, especially if the circumstances are complex. Non-compliance with the rules can result in visa cancellation, detention and/or removal from the UK and can cause significant future immigration issues.

Conclusion

Whilst this Spring’s Statement of Changes is by no means the most sweeping the Home Office has ever produced, there are nonetheless some key things that employers need to be aware of, especially in relation to payments from sponsored workers to their employers. Sponsor compliance continues to be a key area of focus for the Home Office; businesses can save themselves a lot of time, trouble and expense further down the line by ensuring they stay up to date and fully compliant now.