Intro:
We are back with another Blog, today we’ll be talking about UK Skilled Worker Visa – Rules On Minimum Salary.
What Are The Additional Benefits In The Skilled Worker Minimum Salary?
The Skilled Worker Visa replaced the Tier 2 General visa rule on 01 December 2020. The rules on what can be contained in the minimum salary for a Skilled Worker visa are different to what could be calculated towards minimum pay for the Tier 2 General Visa.
The minimum income for Skilled Worker has to be the highest of the following:
- £25,600, £10.10 per hour, or the Soc Code minimum.
There are few exceptions when the lower salary can be paid.
What Are Included In The Minimum Salary For Skilled Workers?
For a Skilled Worker Visa, only basic gross pay is included in the minimum salary. No other additional payment or beneficial elements should be measured while considering Skilled Worker’s minimum salary. Other income and benefits that are not included are mentioned in the immigration rules, paragraph SW 14.2 (the following is not a complete list).
According to the paragraph SW 14.2, salary does not include other income and advantages such as:
- Income which cannot be assured because of the nature of the job indicates that hours fluctuate;
- Further income based on shifts, overtime or bonus pay ( whether guaranteed or not)
- Employer’s pension and employer’s national insurance contributions;
- Any additional payments which include accommodation, living allowances or any other allowances
- In-kind benefits including, shares of equity, health insurance, school or university fees, company cars or food.
- One-off payments, like ‘golden hellos’ or
- Any further expenses related to immigration costs, such as the fee or immigration health charge.
- Other payments cover the business expenditures, such as not restricting travel to and from the candidate’s country of residence, equipment, clothing, travel or subsistence.
Exceptions When Allowances Can Be Added To Minimum Income
As per the Skilled Worker visa rule paragraph 14.5, there are transitional arrangements for Tier 2 General migrants who want to apply for visa extension or Settlement (Indefinite Leave to Remain – ILR). Worker’s salaries for permission to stay or ILR can persist to include allowances if the following obligations are fulfilled.
- Submitting an application to extend with the same sponsor
- The application must be submitted before 1 December 2026
- Guaranteed allowances
- The allowances will be given for the period of approval (one-off bonuses will not be included and they cannot be pro-rated)
- These allowances would be granted to a local settled worker in identical conditions (like London weighting)
Outro:
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