After nearly two months of ups and downs and controversies, the latest UK work visa policy has finally landed.
The ultra-high work visa threshold of £38,700 is a foregone conclusion!
On January 30, the British Home Office released a bombshell news, giving the exact effective date of the policies in the "five-point plan" announced by Home Secretary James Cleverly on December 4 last year to restrict legal immigration.
From 4 April 2024, the minimum wage for Skilled Worker visa applicants will jump significantly from the current £26,200 to £38,700, an impressive 48% increase!
Specific time for the implementation of the policy:
From March 11, care workers are restricted from bringing their dependents and care providers are required to register with the Commission on Quality of Health Care when sponsoring immigrants.
From 14 March, the 20% discount on the maximum salary for occupations on the list of occupations in shortage will be removed.
From 4 April, the minimum wage requirement for skilled worker visa applicants was increased from £26,200 to £38,700.
From 11 April, the minimum income requirement for family visas will be increased in phases, starting at £29,000.
The student visa reform came into effect on 1 January, ending the eligibility of most international postgraduate students to bring their dependents to the UK.
What is the impact of the sharp increase in the threshold for work permits?
For those who want to find jobs in the UK and graduates, it will be much more difficult to stay in the UK, and the competition for fresh graduates will become more intense.
For popular industries such as finance, consulting, investment banking, banking, energy and technology, fresh graduates can generally earn a starting salary of $27,000 and an annual salary of $38,700 or more after four to five years, which is usually not a problem.
For graduates of arts, humanities and social sciences and pan-business, the road to job search will become more difficult due to the ultra-high salary standard. Even if a work permit is granted at 27,090 with the help of a 70% discount on the salary of New Entrant graduates, there is no guarantee that the salary will rise to 38,700 when the contract is renewed.
However, an announcement issued by the Home Office in December last year made it clear that the graduate discount would be retained. According to the current policy, people who meet one of the following conditions can enjoy a discount of more than 70% of the work permit threshold:
The applicant is under the age of 26 at the time of application for the work permit.
The applicant currently holds a student visa, is studying a bachelor's degree or above in the UK, or has been in the UK for the last two years, and the most recent visa is a student visa or visitor visa.
The applicant currently holds a Graduate Entrepreneur visa
Applicants will be able to obtain a qualification recognised by the UK regulatory industry.
The applicant will be in a position where full registration or chartered status is required in the job position sponsored.
In other words, qualified graduates can apply for a work permit directly in New Entrant for 27,090 before the end of the study permit, and at the latest when the fourth year needs to be renewed, up to 38,700.
Or apply for a graduate visa first, accumulate work experience after finding a job, and negotiate with the employer to apply for a work permit with a discount of 27,090 before the end of the graduate visa, and actively strive for a promotion and salary increase in the next 2 or 3 years.
In addition, there is a large income gap between the north and south of the UK, and it is difficult to meet the salary requirements in Scotland, Northern Ireland and parts of England, and competition will become particularly fierce in several major cities such as London and Manchester.
However, I want to tell you that even if the minimum wage threshold is raised, it is not completely out of the ordinary! There are also many majors in the UK that can get high salaries after graduation!
High Paying Majors in the UK
Finance. Average starting salary: £55,000.
According to the 2023 UK Fresh Graduate Employment Report, among the top employers in the UK, investment banks give the highest starting salary for fresh graduates, as high as 5£50,000.
The latest outlet in the financial industry is the "financial technology" industry, which refers to the use of technology to improve financial business processes, improve service quality and efficiency, and innovate financial products and services.
Fintech has become a hot field around the world, and its development has benefited from the continuous progress and application of technologies such as the Internet, mobile Internet, cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence, and blockchain.
Representative Institution: University of Oxford: 15 months salary after graduating in finance: 41,000
Imperial College London: 15 months graduate in Mathematics and Financial Statistics Salary: 40,000
UCL: Statistics, Economics & Finance 15-Months Salary After Graduation: 34,000
Computer science.
Average starting salary: £30,000.
The UK Programmer or Software Engineer position pays about $6 per year£50,000 and an entry-level job in the field is around £30,000. As one of the most popular majors today, studying computer-related majors, there are many job opportunities after graduation and a wide range of work directions, such as various internationally renowned Internet companies, "big factories", new ** companies, etc.
Representative Institution: University of Oxford: 15 months after graduating from CS Salary: 48,000
University of Cambridge: 15 months salary after graduating from CS: 50,000
Imperial College London: 15 Months Salary for Higher Computer Graduates: 64,000
Economics. Average starting salary: £29,700.
Chinese students mostly apply for economics majors, and the salary income of related majors is indeed considerable, with an average salary of about 40,000 pounds after working for more than 3 years, and about 10% of graduates earn more than 100,000 pounds after working for ten years. Most of the places of work are various financial institutions, banks, accounting firms, etc.
Representative Institutions: LSE: 15 months of graduation in economicsSalary: 44,500
Cambridge: Economics 15-month salary: 42,000
Warwick: 15-month salary after graduating in economics: 33,500
Mathematics. Average starting salary: £28,000.
Mathematics majors provide students with a wide range of career options, including accounting, finance, investment, data science, and analytics, among many more. There are many career paths and job opportunities.
Institution: University of Cambridge: 15 months after graduation in MathematicsSalary: 35,500
Cambridge is ranked 1st in the UK for Mathematics! The Department of Mathematics is characterized by a wide range of subjects and great flexibility in course selection, allowing students to delve deeper into issues of interest. Many people think that they can only become a teacher after graduating from a mathematics major, but in fact, they have a mathematics background and want to apply for jobs in business, finance, economics or other science and engineering fields, which are very popular.
Dentistry. Average starting salary: £38,000.
Dentistry has always been recognized as a high-paying profession, the dental income is very objective, the job market competition is not fierce, and the relevant talents have always been "in short supply". More than 90% of dental graduates in the UK can find a job within six months of graduation, mostly in major hospitals and dental clinics.
Representative Institution: King's College London KCL: Dentistry 15 Months Salary After Graduation: 72,500
It is obvious from the statistics that the post-graduation salary of these advantageous majors is very considerable. In particular, the salary level after entering a prestigious school can be said to have risen in a straight line.