Which jobs will be affected by the Immigration White Paper?

The Prime Minister released a white paper last week that outlines major changes in overseas recruitment. Ross Kennedy examines the jobs that are most likely to be affected by this change and how employers can react.

This month, the government released its long-awaited Immigration White Paper. It outlines changes to immigration rules and policy. The changes are extensive and will affect both employers and employees.

Changes to the headlines include:

• Ending sponsorship of overseas care workers;
• Raising the minimum level of skill to sponsor Skilled Workers from RQF6 to RQF6.
• Limited temporary sponsorship of lower-skilled jobs in key sectors, with workforce strategies focusing on training, pay, and conditions.
• Increase the annual Immigration Skills Charge by 32%
• Raising the minimum English language proficiency level from “intermediate user” to “independent user”
• The Graduate Visa can be reduced to 18 months.
• Double the time to qualify for permanent settlement to ten year

The government’s decision to only allow the most highly skilled migrants to migrate, the cost increases in the immigration skill charge, and the doubling of the sponsorship period required to remain permanently (which means double the skills charge, plus the surcharge for health and visa extension fees).

Who will be affected by the changes?

Employers in the private and public sectors may face higher sponsorship costs, and they will need to re-evaluate their recruitment, retention, and training strategies. Social care will be the hardest hit if visa sponsorship is removed.

In 2024, there were estimated to be 131,000 vacancies for adult social care. Many sponsors lost their licenses after a recent crackdown against employers who exploited care workers. There were also around 39,000 careworkers in the UK that needed new visa sponsorship.

Employers can still sponsor care workers who are in this pool or already have working rights in the UK, but they will no longer be able to bring new care workers into the UK.

Major changes will occur with the increase of the minimum level of skill required to sponsor skilled workers. I’ve counted 171 occupations that will no longer be eligible under the new immigration rules.

Hospitality, construction, and retail are the sectors that have seen the greatest number of job losses, although a wide range of occupations were deemed to be unqualified.

The list of roles is too long to include them all, but here are some examples:

• Yes, scientists and engineers – no, lab and engineering technicians
• Managers of manufacturing, construction, and energy, yes. Managers of retail, hospitality and healthcare, no.
• Sales executives and associates are not eligible to be Business Development Managers.
• Yes, creative sector directors and producers. No, entertainers, musicians, dancers, and other performers.

Here is the complete list of jobs that are no longer eligible for sponsorship from abroad . These include aircraft technicians and butchers. They also include clothing designers, data analyst, estate agents, gardeners.

Many UK employers will be concerned by the sheer magnitude of this problem, which will affect their hiring policies and business costs.

According to an analysis published by the government, in a technical annex to the whitepaper, these visas accounted for about 23% of all skilled worker visas issued.

What good news can we find in the Immigration White Paper?

There is no way to predict when the new requirements will apply to applicants from abroad. However, workers who are already in the skilled worker category can rest assured that they will continue their visa extension, be able change jobs and have a supplementary job, even if it’s in a lower RQF6 occupation.

If occupations that are in critical shortage, are placed on a Temporary Shortage list, some sectors may benefit from a temporary respite from the new skill-level hike.

The Government has stated that it may include the construction industry and other industries vital to UK priorities, infrastructure projects and the UK’s priority sectors on its Temporary Shortage List.

In order to sponsor foreign workers, employers must demonstrate that they have a workforce plan, including training, pay, and conditions. It is hoped that local workers will eventually be trained to reduce reliance on foreigners.

White paper states that those who make the most “contribution” to the economy and society will get a settlement sooner than 10 years. This could include NHS workers, scientists, and other talents on the government payroll.

The government wants to encourage people with high skills to work in sectors that are high-tech and high-growth.

The white paper outlines measures like increasing the number of research interns and expanding the global talent visa to include scientific and design talent. It also makes it easier for students to apply for an innovator founder visa.

Employers who are concerned about hiring lower-skilled workers may find some comfort in reports that the EU as a whole may join the countries which currently have Youth Mobility Scheme agreement with the UK.

These reciprocal agreements usually allow Brits between 18-30 years old to work in another country for two years, or even three (in some cases up to 35 years of age).

Visas will likely be limited, just like in other schemes.

According to the latest figures available, only 24,437 youths entered the UK in 2024 as part of these schemes – not a significant workforce impact.

What can employers do to improve their business in the short term?

The timeframe for these measures is not well-defined. Some measures will be implemented within the next few weeks. Some measures will require consultations, or even primary legislation within parliament. Others will not.

Employers should be on the lookout for Statements of Changes or other immigration announcements.

Some workers already on routes will be reassured, but others may face a longer settlement process, depending on the generosity of the government’s transitional measures.

Employers can take certain steps to stay ahead of the curve. Home Office will likely anticipate an increase in applications for jobs that are deemed to be too low-skilled.

Sponsors should move quickly to ensure that they have enough sponsorship certificates available for these roles. The Home Office wants to know the specifics of sponsorships planned and doesn’t like requests for allocations based on speculation.

It may be necessary to consult immigration experts in some cases about other immigration options that prospective employees could use, such as personal or work-related immigration.

It may be more cost-effective to sponsor international students and hire them as skilled workers rather than hiring graduates on graduate visas.

Students who switch to skilled worker visas, instead of obtaining a graduate visa, are exempted from the immigration skill charge during the period they will be sponsored in the same position and by the same employer. This could result in massive savings for employers.

It is important that employers engage their sector organisations to help shape the content of the strategies.

The workforce strategies that are required to be listed on the Temporary shortage List will support the training and recruitment of the UK workforce with the aim to eliminate the need for overseas recruiting.

In such situations, employers will need to invest in training so that they are prepared for the day when it comes.

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