UKVI visa, ATAS processing and RTW Check updates

Skilled Worker Route minimum salary – visa salary advance loan repayments rule change

• Where a current or prospective employee who holds or requires a Skilled Worker Route (SWR) visa, based on a Certificate of Sponsorship issued on or after 9 April 2025, needs a UK visa salary advance loan, the loan repayments must now be subtracted from the individual’s salary before calculating whether the salary meets the minimum SWR requirements.
• Therefore, as part of the salary advance loan approval process, the Staff Compliance Team will now review whether the salary with the visa loan repayments deduction will meet the required minimum thresholds and will advise accordingly.
• Please refer to the process outlined on the Salary Advance Form - UK Immigration Application Fees. This form is currently being reviewed and will soon be updated in line with the above rule change.
• Additionally, the Staff Compliance Team is reviewing its processes to ensure the team provide relevant information and guidance once it is identified that a SWR visa is required. The team will aim to make the permissible loan sum and repayment period clear as early as possible in the onboarding process to avoid unsuitable or rejected loan requests.   

Visa fee increases

Certificate of Sponsorship costs are significantly increasing for certificates issued from 09 April 2025:

• Skilled worker visa CoS increasing from £239 to £525
• Government Authorised exchange (sponsored researchers) CoS increasing from £25 to £55

Please ensure that Virtual Credit Cards (VCC) are raised for the new sums to ensure that Staff Compliance Team has sufficient payment for the increased sums, should CoS-issuance before 09 April 2025 not be possible. If higher VCC is raised and lower sum paid before 09 April, the excess non-spend will be returned to the applicable budget.

Please see the full fee increases on the Gov Uk website.

• Most categories will see a fee increase of 5% to 10% including those used commonly to take up roles at Imperial, e.g. Skilled Worker Route and Global Talent Visa route.
• Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) for visitors not applying for / holding UK visa will also raise from £10 to £16.
• There are currently no published changes to Health Surcharge, (Employers) Immigration Skills charge, or for visa application priority/super-priority costs.
  
  

Skilled worker minimum salary floor increase

To be eligible for the Skilled Worker Route (SWR) salaries must meet the General Salary Threshold (GST) applicable to their circumstances, and the occupation specific Going Rate Threshold (GRT), determined by the SOC code for the role, whichever is higher.

From 9 April 2025, the minimum salary floor for SWR visa applicants will increase from £23,200 per year to £25,000 per year.

The £25,000 minimum floor rate will apply to the following roles, subject to the provisions set out in Appendix Skilled Worker 4.4 (options H, I, J and K):

• Roles where a STEM PhD is relevant*
• Roles on the Immigration Salary List (formerly the Shortage Occupation List)
• New Entrants
• Certain health and education roles

For the time being, the changes to salary have been limited to updating the minimum salary floor.

*Note: Those individuals that are currently sponsored via a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) issued prior to 4 April 2024 now have a minimum salary of £25,000 or the SOC2020 occupation code requirement, whichever is greater. This means that PhD holders on a salary below £25,000 will now need to meet the new minimum floor for their next sponsored period.

Transitional arrangements for salary on the Skilled Worker route

The 40-hour working week used to calculate the going rate in paragraph SW14.5 of Appendix Skilled Worker is being reduced to 37.5 hours.

Where we are sponsoring an employee and are reliant on the transitional salary arrangements to meet salary going rate threshold minimums, for future certificates of sponsorship issued after 09 April 2025 we will need to use the 37.5 weekly hours for our calculation.

Right to work (RTW) check evidence change – UK/British Passports

Please note that a ‘clipped’ cancelled British/UK Passport is no longer accepted as right to work evidence.

An expired British/UK Passport is still accepted, if the corner has not been clipped. The removed corner indicates that a new renewed passport has been issued by UK Passport Office, and should be held by the individual, and therefore used as their evidence of RTW.

In the cases where a ‘clipped’ passport is provided, and the individual confirms they have had their new passport stolen, or is lost – in these instances if they are awaiting a new passport – we can accept other List A documentation e.g. a UK Birth / naturalisation certificate along with evidence of their permanent National Insurance number.

By April 2025, all visitors who do not need a visa, except British and Irish citizens, will need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) – a digital permission to travel to the UK.

Visitors will be able to apply for an ETA through a quick and simple process using the UK ETA app.

ETA is extending in two phases:

• Eligible non-Europeans can apply in advance from 27 November 2024 and will need an ETA to travel to the UK from 8 January 2025.
• Eligible Europeans can apply from 5 March 2025 and will need an ETA to travel to the UK from 2 April 2025.

Visitors can find out when they will need an ETA here:  Check when you can get an electronic travel authorisation (ETA)

An ETA costs £10 (rising to £16 from 09 April 2025) and permits multiple journeys to the UK of up to six months at a time over two years or until the holder’s passport expires – whichever is sooner.

ETA applies to:

• visits of up to 6 months for tourism, visiting family and friends, business, or short-term study
• visits of up to 3 months on the Creative Worker visa concession  Creative Worker visa concession
• visits for a permitted paid engagement  permitted paid engagement
• transiting through the UK – including if you’re not going through UK border control

Further information and how to apply:   www.gov.uk/electronic-travel-authorisation

Where a visitor is coming to UK with ETA to undertake visiting research that is not exempt from the ATAS requirement (either through exempt nationality, or the research not being in field, level that requires ATAS), they would continue to need an ATAS certificate in place before starting any research at Imperial, in line with individuals who need to obtain a standard visit visa.

The Staff Compliance Team sent out communications to departments and to relevant Imperial employees potentially impacted by these changes in September 2024, and have published online information and instructions on the steps that should be taken by individuals to ensure that they can continue to evidence their UK Immigration status, and for travel in and out the UK without issues at the border.

UKVI have published online guidance with some key information about what holders of BRP cards that expired at the end of 2024 should do, and guidance for individuals who hold other types of legacy documents.

Passengers whose immigration permission is still valid but whose BRP/EUSS BRC expired on or after 31 December are advised to continue to carry their expired BRP/ EUSS BRC with them when they travel until 01 June 2025. This transitional measure is intended to provide additional reassurance to travellers during the early phase of this transition. Passengers may also wish to create a View and Prove share code in advance of travel, which is valid for 90 days. UK Border Force will continue to check all passengers through existing border processes to ensure they still have valid immigration permission.

BRP cards are no longer issued since 31 October 2024, and individuals are instead given instructions on how to create UKVI account and attach their eVisa status to evidence their rights.

UKVI will continue to issue some individuals UK entry vignettes in their current passports for initial travel to the UK - 90-day vignettes (or where their visa period is for less than 6 months total), but it is expected this will also be phased out in time.

As there will be no more BRP cards for UK National Insurance numbers to be automatically issued and confirmed on, this change does mean that individuals are likely to need to submit their own application for an NI number once they arrive in the UK.  

Applicants awaiting in-UK visa decision

Where an individual is applying to extend or switch visa from inside the UK, the UKVI rules confirm that the applicant should not travel until the visa decision has been confirmed and new leave to remain granted. Employees/new hires should not leave the UK during the period that they are awaiting decision on their application, otherwise this will lead to automatic cancellation of the visa application which would impact on the individuals’ rights to live and work in the UK.

Although the immigration rules state that the pending visa application will be cancelled if the applicant leaves the UK or common travel area (Ireland, Channel Islands, Isle of Man), the ‘3C Leave’ status rules confirm that ‘3C Leave’ ends if the applicant leaves the UK during the period their application is live. Where an individual needs 3C Leave to be able to continue legally working, leaving the UK would mean that Imperial would have no choice but to suspend/end employment until the individual is able to evidence their new visa status, once granted.

Therefore, we strongly advise against any international travel during this period, and if an employee needs guidance on timing of submitting their application around any existing travel commitments, they should contact the Staff Immigration & Compliance Team

Global Talent Visa – UKRI endorsed funder route eligibility requirements

UK Research & Innovation Global Talent Visa teams have confirmed that:

• The earliest that a GTV endorsement application can be submitted is:
  • 6-months before the start date of the position/move to the UK (endorsement is valid for 3 months, and the earliest a valid GTV stage 2 application can be submitted is 3 months before UK arrival date); and
  • No earlier than 6-months before the researcher is funded from the eligible award (e.g. where a research role may have more than one funding source).
• When assessing whether the UKRI endorsement criteria of ‘that at least 50% of the applicant’s time will be spent working on the eligible grant or award by the endorsed funder’ – it has been confirmed that this can include individuals who are have a part-time contract.
  • However, we must still be able to demonstrate that they are truly providing ‘critical contributions’ to research.
    • g. If a researcher was employed at 0.8 fte, and funded 50% of their time on one award, 50% on another – this would likely be acceptable at 0.4 fte of their time providing critical research contributions on the eligible award. However, if they have a lower fte contract / on the eligible award, then we may need to assess whether / explain in more detail to UKRI how their contributions are ‘critical’ to the research project.

• The Staff Compliance Team is participating in a pilot of the new SponsorUK system and will start using this system from 14 May for the Government Authorised Exchange route (for Sponsored Researchers) only.
• The team will use the new sponsorship system to manage all current and prospective Sponsored Researchers and will provide feedback on the new system to UK Visas & Immigration.
• Please note that between 7 and 14 May, the team will not have access to either the current Sponsor Management System or the new SponsorUK system whilst UKVI transfer information to the new system. Therefore during this period the team will be unable to assign sponsorship, add sponsor notes or submit any sponsor reports for Sponsored Researchers. Having reviewed our current Sponsored Researcher records, we expect this to have a minimal impact on Sponsored Researchers and their host departments.

• The Skilled Worker Route is not included in the pilot and will be unaffected by this change.

We would not expect any significant or noticeable changes to this process from the hosting department side, and the new system will provide Imperial greater visibility through the application and sponsorship journey. Benefits of joining the pilot:

• Help shape the new system
• Improved view of information
• Access to dedicated support
• Get early access to future features

For awareness, joining the pilot may mean that initially, issuing sponsorship to researchers to submit their visa application could take slightly longer as these are currently (temporarily) being granted by UKVI caseworkers on a case-by-case basis rather than having a yearly allocation to assign at any time. Therefore, to mitigate any impacts, we will amend our GAE visa/visit end date reminder process to contact the sponsored researcher and hosting manager earlier than we do currently, to ensure sufficient time for sponsorship and in-time application, if an extension is required.

Skilled worker route defined certificate of sponsorship applications:
Defined COS for overseas Skilled worker route applications can take up to 2 weeks to be granted by UKVI for the Staff Compliance Team is issue. Please review below information with this in mind.

Global talent visa endorsement (stage 1) applications:

• For accelerated endorsement routes – most endorsement applications are being decided within 3 weeks
• For standard peer review endorsement route – most endorsement applications are being decided within 5 weeks

In-country visa applications:
UKVI are currently working to their usual standard of 8 weeks for visa application decision from the point that an in-time application is submitted, all fees and surcharges paid, and applicants biometrics provided.

There may be priority (£500 additional for 1 week decision), or super priority (£1000 additional for 1-2 working day decision) options available, where required. These fees must be paid at time of visa application submission and cannot be added separately later.

• For extension/switching applications – individuals are unable to leave the UK and common travel area until their new visa is granted and checked, and applicants/departments may decide to pay for priority processing.
• For changes of employment from another sponsor, please consider the above processing times when setting start dates. Candidates may wish to extend their current role/notice period to avoid the situation where they are unable to start employment with Imperial and have left their former employer / sponsor and are not eligible for UK public funds/benefits in the interim. Applicants/departments may decide to use discretion to reimburse applicant for priority processing.
• Please be aware that applications for Indefinite leave to remain (settlement) have a 6-month standard processing service standard rather than the 8 weeks above. Applicants may decide to pay for priority processing.

Out-of-country visa applications:
Please review the UKVI guidance on how quickly you will receive a decision on your UK visa application if you are applying from outside the UK. Most overseas applications are expected to be a 3-week standard decision from point application fees are paid and biometric information provided.

Overseas priority application options are subject to availability, and dependent on the country of application but operate with the same priority/super-priority timescales where available.

Academic & Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS)

ATAS application processing for employees / sponsored researchers / visitors – FCDO advise that from 6 weeks is the standard processing time. However, we see most applications processed within 6-16 weeks. We see delays regularly and some cases have taken from 3-6 months.

The Staff Compliance Team has noticed slower processing for recent ATAS application decisions. The ATAS guidance explains that, as more people apply from April to August, processing times may be longer during this period. Please be aware that this will impact potential work start dates, particularly for new hires who require ATAS before they can apply for a UK visa.  

Unfortunately, there is no way of expediting ATAS applications. Where the ATAS application for an employee / sponsored researcher / visiting researcher or academic has taken over 12 weeks please email the Staff Immigration & Compliance Manager and we will flag this delay to FCDO as feedback on their processing times and to check the application is still progressing. Applicants can login to their ATAS application portal and see that their application is still showing as ‘live’.

Where it becomes clear that ATAS is not legally required (e.g. individual changes route and applies for Global Talent Visa or other route that does not have ATAS work requirement) it is possible to withdraw the ATAS application, if no longer needed for visa application or to commence research work.

For delayed ATAS applications for current or prospective Imperial College London students please continue to liaise with the relevant College student admissions / international student support team. The Staff Compliance Team is unable to assist with student or admissions ATAS queries

Please see the timescale estimates guidance for where a new hire needs to apply for and obtain a Skilled Worker or Global Talent visa to work in the UK.

Please see the Human Resources service level agreements webpage for general SLA’s and performance in operational teams.

Right to work checks

Where the Staff Compliance Team is copied into conditional employment contracts to undertake a right to work check for individuals who hold a suitable time-limited UK visa status, the team is generally able to complete these right to work checks within 3 full working days of the date the conditional contract is issued. Whether the check can be fully completed will depend on the new-hire prospective employee providing the necessary evidence promptly, and their availability to meet and complete the check.

The Staff Compliance Team will send a ‘contract RTW conditions met’ email to the new employee cc’ing departmental contact / line manager and Recruitment/Staff Hub, once the check is completed and individual is cleared to start work.

If any other pre-employment checks are needed before work can start the Recruitment/Staff Hub will confirm where right to work check is not the final pre-employment check/condition.

Providing advice to HR Hub teams and hiring departments

Where the Staff Compliance Team is requested by Recruitment Hub or HR Staff Hub to review the UK visa documents / eligibility for UK work-route visa, in most cases the team can meet our processing aim of providing an initial response/advice within 5 working days of the request from the Recruitment/Staff Hub, cc’ing the key departmental contact in our response.

Where there are multiple possible route options (e.g. Global Talent, Skilled work & Health and Care visa) the assessment may take longer.

*The initial response may ask for further information/evidence from the prospective employee and/or hiring department to make a full assessment of eligibility for our preferred employment visa routes.

Virtual Credit Cards for visa sponsorship

The Virtual Credit Card team have recently communicated the following change:

• VCC’s are now only valid for a maximum of 12 months.  You will see the valid for field automatically entered as 12 months and a new field labelled End date, which should be completed. The VCC team have asked that a 2-month expiry date is set unless a standing order.

However, as a further exception to this rule, please would departments ensure that a 6-month expiry date is set for any VCC’s raised for Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS). As a VCC is often raised a long time before the Staff Compliance Team can assign the CoS (e.g. where ATAS application is delayed), it is important to ensure that the VCC remains valid for use once the team is in a position to assign the CoS.