The Evening Standard quotes Kelvin Tanner on the rush to complete Skilled Worker visa applications

Our immigration team have observed a rush to complete Skilled Worker visa applications in sectors and for roles that are most impacted by the planned increase in the Skilled Worker minimum salary threshold.

The minimum salary required for those arriving in the UK on a Skilled Worker Visa will rise to £38,700, from £26,200, on April 4.

Kelvin Tanner, Partner, in our immigration team comments:

"The size of the salary increases that businesses are facing is what is causing the rush to apply. 

"Despite shortages of skilled workers in many sectors, it will become unviable for businesses to utilise the Skilled Worker visa route to fill certain vacancies with overseas workers. This may especially impact SMEs and start-ups and could discourage overseas businesses and entrepreneurs from investing in the UK.

“Amongst our clients, we have seen the biggest rush to file applications within the hospitality, retail and manufacturing sectors and for regional roles that would be unable to meet the higher minimum salary thresholds when they are introduced. 

“Although salary levels are often higher in and around London, the size of the planned increases means that they will still cause difficulties for employers.

"We have clients in the hospitality sector in London that were already finding it very difficult to fill vacancies for specialist chefs from within the UK following the end of EU free movement.

"In addition to training people locally, they were forced to develop overseas recruitment pipelines that will become unviable based on the new Skilled Worker salary levels.”

Read the full piece in the Evening Standard here.