UKVI visa, ATAS processing and RTW Check updates

Sponsor guidance document updates (06/03/2026)

UKVI has updated the guidance to further explain ‘genuine intention’ requirement for sponsorship. This does not make any material difference to the way that The Staff Immigration Team already assess role and individual for sponsorship eligibility.

English language requirements for Skilled routes (08/01/2026)

From 8 January 2026, the minimum English requirement for the Skilled Worker, High Potential Individual, and Scale-up routes will increase from B1 to B2 on the CEFR scale.
Employers sponsoring skilled migrants will need to ensure candidates meet the higher threshold. Individual migrants may need to obtain new English-language evidence, such as a new English-language test, if applying in 2026.
Applicants already in the UK under one of these routes and extending their immigration permission in the same route will remain subject to the B1 level English requirement.

Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) increase (16/12/2025)

ISC increased by 32% from 16 December 2025.

The ISC applies only to specific occupations and to cases where the applicant is not switching from the student visa route; therefore, we do not pay this fee in all Skilled work visa cases. 

Multiple significant changes to route rules (22/07/2025)

Following the publication of the Government’s Immigration White Paper (May 2025), the Home Office announced significant changes to the Skilled Worker Route (SWR) visa category from 22 July 2025.

Please find below a summary of the key changes and potential implications.

Increase in skill level

• To be eligible for Skilled Worker Route (SWR) sponsorship, the job's skill level must meet a minimum threshold, determined by the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code rather than the applicant's qualifications.
• The minimum skill level increased from RQF level 3 (A level) to RQF level 6 (degree level), reversing the 2020 change that lowered the level. This means that approximately 180 occupations at RQF levels 3-5 will no longer be eligible for sponsorship.
• This change will not affect current SWR visa holders, including those who apply using a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) assigned before 22 July 2025, or roles that appear on the current Immigration Salary List or the new Temporary Shortage List (see below).
• These transitional measures will not be in place indefinitely and will be reviewed in due course. 

Increase in salary levels

• To be eligible for the Skilled Worker Route (SWR) salaries must meet the General Salary Threshold (GST), and the occupation specific Going Rate Threshold (GRT), determined by the relevant Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code for the role, whichever is higher. The GST must be met in full; however, the GRT may be prorated based on working hours.
• Both GSTs and GRTs will rise in line with the 2024 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) data.
• These changes will apply to anyone making a new SWR visa application or applying to extend an existing SWR visa from 22 July 2025. Immigration Salary List (ISL) and Temporary Shortage List (TSL)

• The current Immigration Salary List (ISL), which includes shortage occupations that benefit from discounted salaries, will be replaced by a new Temporary Shortage List (TSL) controlling access to roles below RQF level 6 following a MAC review in spring 2026.
• In the meantime, RQF level 3-5 roles on either the expanded ISL or interim TSL will qualify for sponsorship up until 31 December 2026.
• However, those submitting a new SWR application for an ISL/TSL role will not be permitted to bring dependants, except for children born in the UK or for whom they have sole parental responsibility. This does not apply to RQF level 6 occupations or to SWR visa holders already sponsored for RQF levels 3–5 occupations before 22 July 2025.

The Staff Compliance Team (SCT) reviewed the potential implications for staff and roles that may be affected by the revised skill level and salary thresholds.

Current staff

• A review of staff employed and sponsored on SWR visas showed that:
• Increased skills level – all either meet RQF 6 or will be covered by the RQF 3-5 transitional arrangements
• Increased salary level – all meet the salary requirements for their current leave period.
• However, as there are no transitional arrangements for salary level changes, some will require closer scrutiny to ensure they meet the relevant minimum salary thresholds when a visa extension is required. 

Recruitment

• A review of roles likely to be affected by the revised skill level and salary thresholds indicates that:
• There will be little impact on Academic and Research roles, and limited impact on Learning & Teaching and Professional roles, at RQF level 6.
• The main impact will be on Professional, Technical & Operational roles at RQF levels 3-5, particularly those at the lower end of the salary scale, as well as part-time staff.
• Since the minimum skill level was reduced to RQF level 3 in 2020, the SWR has provided considerable flexibility, enabling us to sponsor most Professional, Technical & Operational roles over the past few years. Unfortunately, these changes greatly reduce this flexibility.
• Whilst we encourage you to continue recruiting the best candidate for the job, please be aware that these changes may affect our ability to hire some potential candidates. We therefore advise you not to reject any suitable reserve candidates until the SCT has confirmed a suitable visa route for the preferred candidate. Where the selected candidate may need visa support, it would be advisable to inform interviewed candidates of the decision notification timescale that accounts for this assessment.
• We will also continue to encourage the use of, and review eligibility for, Global Talent Visas (GTV), which is Imperial's preferred visa route for Academic and Research roles, and recommend that eligible individuals apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (settlement) to keep SWR sponsorship to a minimum.

Please review our full guidance on the Recruiters' Guidance for Skilled Worker visa route 

Skilled Worker Route minimum salary – visa salary advance loan repayment rule change (09/04/2025)
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 review whether the salary, after the visa loan repayment deduction, meets 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 under review and will be updated shortly to align with the above rule change.
• Additionally, the Staff Compliance Team is reviewing its processes to ensure it provides 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.   

Academic & Research appointments route changes (08/04/2026)

UKVI recently confirmed changes effective on 8^th April 2026.

• The changes mean that we may be able to consider using this route for researchers where previously the route was limited to Research Fellows / Lecturers and more senior graded academic & research roles.
• The changes do not impact on the other Global Talent endorsement routes (e.g. UKRI endorsed funder route).

The changes are reflected on the GOV.UK and endorsing body webpages:

• https://www.gov.uk/global-talent-researcher-academic/academic-or-researcher
• Immigration Rules - Immigration Rules Appendix Global Talent - Guidance - GOV.UK
• https://royalsociety.org/grants/global-talent-visa-overview/route-1-academic-and-research-appointments/

Staff Immigration Team is currently updating guidance and templates following these changes.

Revised Eligibility Criteria for GTV route 1 (Academic and Research route).

The A&R appointments route has been categorised into two streams for individuals at eligible employers who either:

1. Hold responsibility for academic, research, or innovation leadership and development.
2. Perform research or innovation as ‘a primary function’ of their role.

Please note to be considered eligible for endorsement, research or innovation must be a primary function of the role, meaning it is one of the main responsibilities that defines the appointment.

In the updated framework, “Research and Innovation as primary function” will replace the previous “Leading or Directing research” category.

UKVI have also confirmed the specific PhD skill/qualification requirements that apply to this endorsement route.

To be eligible for endorsement under the A&R route the role must require a PhD (or equivalent research experience – e.g. in industrial/clinical work setting) as an essential qualification on the job description.

• The Job Description must explicitly state that a PhD or equivalent is "essential”.
•  If the Job Description states that a PhD degree or equivalent, or near completion of PhD is an essential requirement, then the role will be considered eligible.
• ‘Near completion’ is defined as when the individual has submitted first version of thesis and has Viva date.
• In roles where a PhD is listed as "desirable", or where the requirement can be met by a lower postgraduate degree without equivalent research experience will be ineligible.

Individual Fellowships List update (28/11/2025)

In an update to the list of eligible fellowships three types of Imperial specific institutional fellowships were added to the list in Autumn 2025:

• Imperial College Research Fellowships (ICRF’s)
• Robert Borland Fellowships
• Chapman Fellowships

UKRI-endorsed funder route eligibility clarifications

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 the 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 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 were 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, we may need to assess and explain to UKRI how their contributions are ‘critical’ to the research project.

Global Talent Visa extensions – timing of application submission

When applying to extend a GTV, please be aware that UKVI will always grant the number of years requested from the date of the visa caseworker's decision, rather than adding the year to the existing visa expiry date. Please be mindful of this when deciding when to submit the visa application before the current visa expiry date. In many cases, it is best to apply for stage 2 just before the visa expiry date to avoid any shortfall in the total period granted to cover the employment period or to reach settlement visa eligibility.

High-Potential Individual route expansion (04/11/2025)
The route now includes a broader range of institutions and is capped at 8,000 applications annually.

The updated list of eligible universities was published on 1 November 2025, and the change took on 4 November 2025. Information and eligible universities can be reviewed: High Potential Individual (HPI) visa: Eligibility - GOV.UK

Sponsored Researchers – Home Office (UKVI) visa sponsorship system pilot end

The Staff Compliance Team participated in a pilot of a new SponsorUK system from 14 May 2025 for the Government Authorised Exchange route (for Sponsored Researchers) only.

• The team used the new sponsorship system to manage all current and prospective Sponsored Researchers and provided feedback on it to UK Visas & Immigration.
• The pilot ended in November and UKVI confirmed that the move to this new system would not proceed. We moved back to the sponsor management system (SMS) and continue to use this system to sponsor and manage sponsored researchers.  

Proposed changes to continuous residence / ITLR qualifying requirements (TBC)

The 2025 Immigration White Paper proposes further work-related immigration policy changes, including:

• Increasing the qualifying period for settlement (Indefinite leave to remain) from 5 to 10 years. Some exemptions may remain, and expedited paths to settlement are likely to be available.
• A public consultation was undertaken in late 2025 and concluded in January 2026. We are currently awaiting UK Gov updates on the final iteration of rules, and when any changes would take effect from.
• More information and summary can be reviewed here: Changes to UK visa and settlement rules after the 2025 immigration white paper - House of Commons Library
• Increasing numbers are coming to the UK through the highly skilled and talent routes by expanding the Global Talent route, reviewing the Innovator Founder category, and exploring a targeted, capped expansion of the High Potential Individual (HPI) route.

Home Office have published updated visa fees (08/04/2026)

Please see the previous and new rates on: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visa-fees-transparency-data

• Increases in Skilled Worker and Government Authorised Exchange (Sponsored researchers) visa fees, Indefinite Leave to Remain fee, UK Naturalisation fee,
• No change to Global Talent visa fees, priority/ super priority fees, and Certificate of Sponsorship fees.

Graduate route period reduction for new applications (01/01/2027)

Non-PhD graduates will be granted a reduced leave period of 18 months, down from 2 years, if they apply under the Graduate route on or after 1 January 2027. PhD graduates will continue to benefit from a three-year leave period.
This change, effective from 11 November 2025 under the Immigration Rules, will only impact applications submitted on or after 1 January 2027.

Afghanistan nationals (26/03/2026)

Afghanistan nationals are no longer eligible to apply for entry clearance from 26 March 2026

Switching from Student to Innovator Founder route 25/11/2025)
From 25 November 2025, to encourage entrepreneurial international students at UK universities to set up new businesses in the UK, the Student route work conditions will allow Student visa holders to establish and work for their own business, provided they have completed their course. They are switching to the Innovator Founder route. 

New 'Part Suitability' (11/11/2025)
Refusal and cancellation grounds, including criminality, deception, public good and security, will be consolidated into a new section of the Immigration Rules entitled Part Suitability. Clarifications on overstaying and the definition of 'permission' may affect eligibility assessments. These changes will apply across immigration routes from 11 November 2025. 

Electronic Travel Authorisation

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

Visitors apply for an ETA via a quick, simple process in the UK ETA app.
An ETA costs £16 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
• visits for a 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 the 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.

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.

Applicants awaiting an in-UK visa decision

Where an individual is applying to extend or switch visa from within the UK, UKVI rules state 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 while awaiting a decision on their application; otherwise, the visa application will be automatically cancelled, which could affect their 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 the 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 continue working legally, leaving the UK would mean Imperial would have no choice but to suspend/end employment until the individual can provide evidence of their new visa status, once granted.

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

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. Please review the information below with this in mind.

Global talent visa endorsement (stage 1) applications:

• For accelerated endorsement routes, most endorsement applications are being decided within 3-4 weeks
• For the standard peer review endorsement route, most endorsement applications are decided within 5-8 weeks

In-country visa applications  (all routes):
UKVI is currently working to its usual 8-week standard for a visa application decision, from the point at which an in-time application is submitted, all fees and surcharges are paid, and the applicant's biometrics are provided.

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

• For extension/switching applications, individuals cannot leave the UK or the common travel area until their new visa is granted and checked, and applicants/departments may choose to pay for priority processing.
• For changes of employment from another sponsor, please factor the above processing times into your start date selection. Candidates may wish to extend their current role/notice period to avoid being unable to start employment with Imperial, having left their former employer/sponsor, and not being eligible for UK public funds/benefits in the interim. Applicants' departments may exercise discretion to reimburse applicants 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-week service standard above. Applicants may decide to pay for super priority processing (additional £1000 cost).

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 the point at which application fees are paid, and biometric information is provided.

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

Academic & Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS)

ATAS application processing for employees / sponsored researchers/visitors: FCDO advises that 6 weeks is the standard processing time. However, we see most applications processed within 6-16 weeks.

We regularly see delays, and some cases have taken 3-6 months. Please be aware that this will affect potential start dates, particularly for new hires who require an ATAS before they can apply for a UK visa.  

Unfortunately, there is no way of expediting ATAS applications. If 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 the FCDO as feedback on their processing times and to confirm the application is still progressing. Applicants can log in to their ATAS application portal and confirm that their application remains ‘live’.

Please be aware of a known technical issue affecting @gmail.com accounts, and the applicant is not receiving the ATAS decision. The employer/hosting organisation (i.e., Imperial) will still receive the outcome and communicate it via the Staff Compliance Team to the department and the applicant.

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

For delayed ATAS applications for current or prospective Imperial students, please continue to liaise with the relevant 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 service-level agreements web page for general SLAs and performance in operational teams.

Right to work checks

Where the Staff Compliance Team is copied into conditional employment contracts to conduct a right-to-work check for individuals holding a suitable time-limited UK visa, the team generally completes these checks within 3 full working days of the date the conditional contract is issued. Whether the check can be completed will depend on the prospective new hire providing the necessary evidence promptly and being available 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 the individual is cleared to start work.

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

Providing advice to the People Function Hub teams and hiring departments

Where the Staff Compliance Team is requested by the Recruitment Hub or the 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.
• Due to significant changes to the Skilled Worker Visa route's eligible occupations and salary requirements since 22 July 2025, some assessments may take longer than usual to ensure eligibility checks are accurate.

*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 communicated the following change:

• VCC’s are now only valid for a maximum of 12 months. You will see the validity field automatically set to 12 months, and a new field labelled End date, which should be completed. The VCC team has requested that a 2-month expiry date be set unless a standing order is in place.
• However, as a further exception to this rule, please ensure that a 6-month expiry date is set for any VCCs raised for Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS). As a VCC is often raised well before the Staff Compliance Team can assign the CoS (e.g., when an ATAS application is delayed), it is important to ensure the VCC remains valid for use once the team can assign the CoS.