The UK should relax salary requirements for skilled worker visas, which currently block some essential roles, non-London employers, and younger workers from accessing the immigration system, a government advisory committee has recommended.
In a report published on Wednesday, the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) said that the occupation-specific salary thresholds are now higher than necessary to prevent migrants from undercutting UK wages.
These thresholds often force employers to pay overseas workers more than UK staff doing the same jobs, raising concerns about fairness. The rules also exclude certain jobs and regions outside London from using the immigration system.
For instance, in academia, universities could hire a professor but not a lower-paid research fellow or junior lecturer, even if the roles fall under the same occupation category. A librarian earning £41,700 would qualify, while an IT director on £85,000 would not.
The current rules, introduced last year by the previous Conservative government, require employers to pay overseas workers both an hourly rate at the UK median for their occupation and a general salary threshold of £41,700 across all jobs. These thresholds were sharply increased to reduce net migration, which surged after the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit.
Further restrictions by the Labour government this year limit work visas to graduate-level jobs, except in sectors vital to the UK’s industrial strategy.
Since the tightening of rules, net migration has fallen from 649,000 in the year to June 2024 to 204,000 in the year to June 2025 – below pre-Brexit levels. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has indicated the government aims to reduce it further.
MAC chair Professor Brian Bell noted that net migration is likely “close to bottoming out.” He added that further reductions would require restricting student and worker visa routes, which could be more economically costly than controlling asylum inflows.
The committee recommended that occupation-specific thresholds be set at the 25th percentile, meaning migrant workers would need to earn more than a quarter of UK workers in comparable roles. Currently, many workers, like software developers earning £44,900, do not qualify because the median for their occupation is skewed by higher-paid positions.
Maintaining the general threshold at £41,700 could slightly increase net migration but ensure all migrants earn enough to contribute positively to the UK economy. Raising the general threshold further would reduce migration but at the cost of lost tax revenue.
The report also highlighted challenges for younger workers who qualify for a lower salary initially but must later achieve a significant pay rise to remain in the UK – a situation often seen as unrealistic by employers and unfair to UK staff.
The government requested this review after last year’s general election. Ministers are now considering whether to implement the MAC’s recommendations, with any changes likely to take effect in April 2026 during the regular immigration rules update.
LawSentis provides expert guidance on UK skilled worker visas and salary thresholds, helping employers and applicants navigate changes in immigration rules. Contact us today for tailored support.