HC 1333: Skilled Worker and work route changes laid on 14 October 2025

Statement of changes HC 1333 was laid on 14 October 2025. It raises the English requirement for Skilled Worker, High Potential Individual and Scale-up from B1 to B2 for first-time grants from 8 January 2026. It caps High Potential Individual at 8,000 applications a year from 4 November 2025. It replaces Part 9 with Part Suitability from 11 November 2025.

What’s changing

The main changes are:

• English language. The Skilled Worker, High Potential Individual and Scale-up routes move from English level B1 to B2.
• High Potential Individual. The list of eligible institutions doubles, and the route is capped at 8,000 applications a year.
• Graduate. Permission for a UK bachelor’s or master’s degree level qualification gets shorter, from 2 years to 18 months, for applications from 1 January 2027.
• Seasonal Worker. The time limit is counted over a rolling 10-month period instead of a 12-month period.
• Part Suitability. It replaces Part 9 as the main source for refusal and cancellation grounds.
• Skilled Worker. There are no new salary figures. Some rules and the notes on some occupation tables change.

Details are below.

Who it affects

• Skilled Worker, High Potential Individual and Scale-up applicants. People applying for a first grant of leave on these routes from 8 January 2026 need English at B2. People who already got permission where they had to show B1 stay at B1 when they apply to extend on the same route. (explanatory memorandum)
• High Potential Individual applicants. The new cap applies.
• Graduate route applicants. The length of permission depends on the qualification and the application date.
• Students switching to Innovator Founder, and Seasonal Workers. See the sections below.

When it starts

Date	Changes that start
14 October 2025, 1500 BST	Botswana visit visa requirement and ETA national list (APP VN1, APP VN3, APP VN4, APP ETANL1)
4 November 2025	High Potential Individual: Global Universities List definition (INTRO1), the 8,000 cap (APP HPI1, APP HPI2) and APP HPI7
11 November 2025	Most other changes, including Part Suitability, Appendix Skilled Worker (APP SW1, APP SW2, APP SW4 to APP SW7, APP SW9 to APP SW16), Appendix Skilled Occupations (APP SO1 to APP SO8), Appendix Immigration Salary List (APP ISL1), Global Business Mobility, Graduate and Seasonal Worker
25 November 2025	Students switching to Innovator Founder (APP ST6)
8 January 2026	English language at B2: APP SW3, APP SW8, APP HPI5, APP HPI6, APP SCU3, APP SCU5

For several groups of paragraphs, a transitional rule applies. An application made before the start date is decided under the Immigration Rules in force the day before. This covers:

• the 4 November 2025 group above (other than APP HPI7)
• the 8 January 2026 group
• a group of 11 November 2025 changes that includes Appendix FM, the Student maintenance figures (APP ST3 to APP ST5) and Appendix Child Student

For the Seasonal Worker changes (APP TWSW1, APP TWSW3, APP TWSW4), the rule applies to an application made using a certificate of sponsorship issued before 11 November 2025. (Implementation section)

What changed for the Skilled Worker English language requirement?

The explanatory memorandum says the English language requirement for the Skilled Worker, High Potential Individual and Scale-up routes goes up from B1 to B2. This is on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) scale.

It says:

• the new requirement applies to people applying for a first grant of leave on a relevant route from 8 January 2026
• people who already got permission where they had to show B1 stay at B1 when they apply to extend on the same route

Route	Rule	Before	After
Skilled Worker	SW 4.1	Level B1	Level B2 or, where the applicant’s most recent permission was as a Skilled Worker and was granted subject to a requirement at level B1, level B1
Skilled Worker	SW 7.1	“of at least level B1”	“to at least the level specified by SW 4.1”
High Potential Individual	HPI 4.1	Level B1	Level B2
High Potential Individual	HPI 6.1	“of at least level B1”	“to at least the level specified by HPI 4.1”
Scale-up	SCU 4.3	Level B1	Level B2 or, where the applicant’s most recent permission was as a Scale-up worker and was granted subject to a requirement at level B1, level B1
Scale-up	SCU 9.1	“of at least the level B1”	“to at least the level specified by SCU 4.3”

APP B1 deletes Appendix B: English Language. See the Skilled Worker English language guide and the High Potential Individual and Scale-up route pages.

What changed in Appendix Skilled Worker?

There are no new salary figures for the Skilled Worker route. The changes are:

• Part Suitability. SW 2.1, SW 2.2, SW 20.1, SW 20.2, SW 27.1, SW 27.2, SW 38.1 and SW 38.2 now refer to Part Suitability instead of Part 9. They refer to the “Exceptions for overstayers” section of Part Suitability instead of paragraph 39E. SW 2.2 and equivalent paragraphs include the requirement that the applicant must not be on immigration bail.
• SW 4.2(b). An applicant can only get points from options F to J in one of two cases. Either they are sponsored for a Health and Care ASHE salary job. Or the date of application is before 4 April 2030, they were granted permission as a Skilled Worker under the rules in place before 4 April 2024, and they have had continuous permission as a Skilled Worker since then.
• SW 6.1(d) to (f). Sponsorship is possible in Table 1a, Table 2aa or Table 3a of Appendix Skilled Occupations if the applicant was granted permission as a Skilled Worker under the rules in place before 22 July 2025 and has had continuous permission since then. It is also possible in Table 2aa for options F to J where SW 4.2(b)(ii) is met. It is possible in Table 2a for options F to J where SW 4.2(b)(ii) is met and the applicant is applying to work for the same sponsor as in their most recent permission.
• SW 6.1B, SW 6.1C, SW 29.1A and SW 32A.2. References to overstaying now point to the “Exceptions for overstayers” section of Part Suitability.

See salary thresholds and how to find your SOC code.

What changed in Appendix Skilled Occupations and the Immigration Salary List?

The explanatory memorandum says the statement clarifies and amends technical points relating to the occupation tables laid in HC 997. It does not add or remove SOC codes. The changes are:

• APP SO1 to APP SO5 add a sentence to the text above Tables 1, 1a, 2, 2aa and 2a. Tables 1 and 1a relate to points options A to E in Appendix Skilled Worker. Tables 2, 2aa and 2a relate to points options F to J.
• APP SO6 replaces the opening words “Except where option D, option I or the Temporary Shortage List in SW 6.1A applies” in the text above Table 3a. APP SO7 replaces “Except where option D or the Temporary Shortage List in SW 6.1A applies” in the text above Table 4. Both are replaced with “Except for “6131 Nursing auxiliaries and assistants”“.
• APP SO8 and APP ISL1 change the note on 6131 Nursing auxiliaries and assistants from “registered nurse roles” to “registered nurse or other registered healthcare professional roles”.

See Appendix Skilled Occupations, the Immigration Salary List and the Temporary Shortage List.

What changed for other work routes?

High Potential Individual

The explanatory memorandum says the statement doubles the list of eligible institutions, subject to any exclusions the Secretary of State thinks right. It also puts a cap of 8,000 applications a year on the route.

• INTRO1 defines the Global Universities List as the list the Home Office publishes on GOV.UK. It is put together every year. It is made up of non-UK institutions ranked in the top 100 of at least two of three ranking systems: Times Higher Education World University Rankings, Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings and the Academic Ranking of World Universities.
• The route introduction now says the route is capped at a maximum of 8,000 applications a year. The allocation year runs between 1 November and 31 October.
• HPI 1.6A says the number of applications, for both entry clearance and permission to stay, must not have gone over 8,000 in the allocation year.
• HPI 9.2(d) adds “or research” after “study”.

Graduate

GR 8.1 sets how long permission lasts:

Qualification	Period
PhD or other doctoral qualification	3 years
UK bachelor’s or master’s degree level course, or another relevant qualification, application made before 1 January 2027	2 years
UK bachelor’s or master’s degree level course, or another relevant qualification, application made on or after 1 January 2027	18 months

See the Graduate route.

Students switching to Innovator Founder

ST 26.8 now lets a Student be self-employed if all of these are true:

• they have applied for permission on the Innovator Founder route
• an Innovator Founder endorsing body supports the application with an endorsement
• they made the application while they had permission as a Student
• no decision has been made, or an administrative review has not been finally decided

The explanatory memorandum says this replaces a similar rule that applied to people switching into the Start-up route. See the Innovator Founder route.

Seasonal Worker

The explanatory memorandum says seasonal workers may spend no more than six months working in the UK in any rolling 10-month period, instead of any rolling 12-month period. The appendix text changes “12-month” to “10-month”.

SAW 3.2 adds that an applicant for entry clearance must not have been in the UK as a Seasonal Worker during the 4 months just before the date of application. See the Seasonal Worker route.

Global Talent

APP GT1 to APP GT5 change GTE 4.3 and GTE 4.4. Evidence can now be given for work as an individual, as a named member of a group or as a contributor. The explanatory memorandum says this widens the requirements for the architectural field, as agreed with Arts Council England and the Royal Institute of British Architects.

APP GT6 to APP GT13 replace Part 9 references with Part Suitability.

The statement also changes Appendix Global Talent: Prestigious Prizes. The explanatory memorandum says 27 prizes are added to the list and one is deleted. See the Global Talent route.

Global Business Mobility, Scale-up and other routes

These routes replace references to Part 9 with Part Suitability and the “Exceptions for overstayers” section:

• Global Business Mobility (APP GBM1 to APP GBM29)
• Scale-up (APP SCU1, APP SCU2, APP SCU4 and APP SCU6 to APP SCU11)
• Minister of Religion (APP MOR1 to APP MOR8)
• Representative of an Overseas Business (APP ROB1 to APP ROB8)
• UK Ancestry (APP UKA1 to APP UKA8)
• Innovator Founder (APP INNF1 to APP INNF8)
• International Sportsperson (APP ISP1 to APP ISP8)
• the Temporary Work routes

Other changes in this statement

• Part Suitability replaces Part 9: Grounds for Refusal as the main reference for refusal and cancellation grounds. Paragraph 39E moves into Part Suitability under “Exceptions for overstayers”. The definition of “permission” is made clearer. It means permission to enter or permission to stay, and includes settlement.
• Family and Private Life: Appendix FM, Appendix Private Life, Appendix Adult Dependant Relative and Appendix Settlement Family Life use Part Suitability instead of their own suitability rules.
• Visitors: a visit visa requirement for nationals of Botswana. Palestine is added to the Visa National List. There are changes for German school groups.
• Appendix Statelessness: dependants can apply from 11 November 2025 where they were part of the family unit before the stateless person was granted permission to stay.
• Appendix Temporary Permission to Stay for Victims of Human Trafficking or Slavery: validity requirements are corrected.
• Student route maintenance: ST 12.3(a) changes from £1483 to £1529, ST 12.3(b) from £1136 to £1171, and ST 12.4 from £1483 to £1529.
• Child Student: a new definition of “guardianship organisation” and a revised definition of “nominated guardian”.
• Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme: changes to line up a child’s permission with a legal guardian.
• Appendix Global Talent prestigious prizes, EU Settlement Scheme changes, deletion of old Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) rules, and the addition of the British Kendo Association and Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby to Appendix Sports Governing Bodies.
• Government Authorised Exchange schemes: the BUNAC scheme is renamed “BUNAC – Intern UK”. “Law Society GAE scheme for migrant lawyers” is renamed “The Law Society GAE Scheme”. The Khebrat Leadership for Change Programme entry is deleted.
• Small changes to line up the wording and to correct paragraph references and drafting errors.