Changes to skilled worker visa salary thresholds, expanded routes for overseas graduates, and extended six-month visa curtailment for skilled workers
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In today's Autumn Budget, the Chancellor has announced a series of immigration reforms aimed at strengthening the UK's appeal to highly skilled international workers and supporting businesses struggling to recruit talent.
The Treasury says the reforms are being introduced to help deliver the most pro-business migration system in Europe for high-skilled workers. Measures include changes to skilled worker visa salary thresholds, expanded routes for overseas graduates and greater flexibility for skilled workers whose employment comes to an end.
From spring 2027, the Government will implement recommendations from the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to reduce occupation-specific minimum salary requirements from the median wage to the 25th percentile, while updating the general salary threshold in line with wage data. The Budget also expands the High Potential Individual visa to graduates from the world's top 150 institutions and extends the Graduate visa to two years for eligible graduates from high-compliance universities with strong labour market outcomes.
Highly skilled sponsored workers will be given up to six months to find a new job if their sponsorship ends, while additional measures will support research-intensive businesses in bringing international scientists and engineers to the UK.
The Government will also change the tax treatment of employers' payments for the Immigration Skills Charge and Certificate of Sponsorship fees, so these are not treated as taxable benefits in kind for payments made from 28 October 2026
Excerpts about the visa reforms from today's Budget 2026 policy paper are reproduced below:
Policy paper
Budget 2026
Published 28 October 2026
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To ensure the immigration system supports a dynamic labour market and innovative firms, the government will deliver the most pro-business migration system in Europe for high-skill workers. The government has tightened the immigration system for low and medium-skill individuals while improving the offer to international talent. Since Budget 2025, the Global Talent visa-endorsed funder pathway has been expanded, giving more than 100 R&D-intensive businesses the ability to support the world's best scientists and engineers to come to work in UK industry. To go further in attracting the world's best graduates, the government will expand the High Potential Individual visa to support applicants with eligible qualifications from the top 150 of the world's best institutions, with a proportional increase to the cap under the scheme. The government will also increase the duration of the Graduate visa to two years for graduates from high compliance universities where there are strong labour market outcomes.
The government is making the visa system work for all regions of the UK. By implementing changes to minimum salary requirements, the government will ensure that visa criteria better reflect labour market conditions across the UK, supporting employers across the entire country. The government will also work towards allowing the highest skilled workers to access a visa curtailment period of up to six months, allowing these highly skilled sponsored workers longer to find a new job. This will enable employers to locate and bring on board high-skill employees before they have to leave the country.
The government is committed to the UK being a leading destination for global talent and responding where issues emerge, which is why it has worked with the Global Talent Taskforce to identify and resolve barriers for those looking to move here. The government is taking action in this Budget to address the unavailability of double tax relief for some UK residents investing through US limited liability companies and make it easier for people with existing trusts to move to the UK. In line with that, and supported by emerging evidence next year, the government will continue to assess whether the residence-based regime is striking the right balance between international competitiveness, fairness and support for the public finances – and has shown its willingness to take action to ensure that balance is best achieved.
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7.4 Public spending
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A change to the tax treatment of the Immigration Skills Charge and Certificate of Sponsorship fees – The government will introduce legislation in Finance Bill 2026-27 so that an employer's payment of an Immigration Skills Charge or Certificate of Sponsorship fee is not treated as a taxable benefit in kind. The change will apply to payments made on or after 28 October 2026.
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7.9 Backing business and British Industry
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Implementing Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) recommendations on visa salary requirements – The government is implementing MAC recommendations on visa salary requirements from spring 2027. These comprise: reducing occupation-specific minimum salary thresholds from the median to the 25th percentile of wages; uprating the general threshold based on 2026 wage data; annually updating salary thresholds using the latest ONS wage inflation data (ASHE); levelling new entrant discounts into a single figure for those studying, recently graduated, or in professional training; removing the PhD discount.
Extending visa curtailment to six months – The government will allow the highest skilled workers to access a visa curtailment period of up to six months. This will give highly skilled workers longer to find a new job, with the duration varying depending on how long they have worked in their previous, highly-paid job, with implementation in 2027.
Expanding the High Potential Individual visa – The government is expanding the High Potential Individual visa route to the top 150 global institutions. There will be a proportional increase to the cap under this scheme.
Extending the graduate visa from 18 months to two years for eligible universities – The graduate visa duration will be set at two years for individuals who graduate from high-compliance universities where there are strong labour market outcomes.
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7.13 Young people and labour markets
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Global Talent Visa Expansion – To drive regional R&D-led growth, UKRI will work with organisations in regions across the UK to identify additional R&D-intensive businesses in Industrial Strategy sectors who could act as host organisations on the endorsed funder pathway of the Global Talent visa route by spring 2027.