On 22nd July 2025, changes to the Immigration Salary List (ISL) were introduced as part of the Government’s Immigration White Paper reforms to the immigration system in the UK. Included in the latest changes were the abolition of the ISL and the introduction of a Temporary Shortage List, however the ISL still exists in a shortened form while the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) carries out its review. Below is a summary of the key changes.
The sectors covered in the ISL update include fishing (some Scotland-only), ship building (Scotland only), nuclear (Scotland only), arts, construction, sciences, and health and social care. For most jobs, the standard salary rate is £17.13 per hour, or £33,400 per annum. The lowest is for nurses at £12.82 per hour (£25,000 p.a.), while the highest is for archaeologists at £20.72 (£40,400 p.a.).
All occupations also have a lower rate salary. This can be paid to people in certain health and social care occupations, as well as those who received their Certificate of Sponsorship before 4th April 2024, until which people in shortage occupations could be paid at a discount, and have continuously been on a Skilled Worker visa since.
A full list of occupations and minimum salaries can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/skilled-worker-visa-immigration-salary-list. You can also find our explanation of the recent changes here and analysis of the full Immigration White Paper here.
If you are affected by any of the policies in the Immigration White Paper, you can join our Not A Stranger campaign group: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfrAM9pflZruLieyRG9RBclgTcCioIWphg8AOGkNcmFKzAjYQ/viewform?usp=preview
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