By: Christian Aboagye | Social Worker & Mental Health Practitioner
IMMIGRATION CHANGES – 2025 – 1
From 22nd July 2025, the United Kingdom will implement sweeping changes to its Skilled Worker visa system. In a clear pivot toward prioritising high-skilled migration, the government has raised the academic threshold for eligible jobs to RQF Level 6 — effectively limiting the visa to roles requiring a bachelor’s degree or higher.
This is more than just a policy shift; it is a silent reshaping of who gets to belong, work, and build a future in Britain.
What’s Changing?
Until now, the Skilled Worker visa route included a range of jobs from administrative assistants to care workers and support staff. However, under the new regulations, only roles classified at or above RQF Level 6 — including engineers, doctors, teachers, and IT specialists — will qualify for sponsorship. The lower and mid-skilled roles that once helped stabilise sectors like healthcare, logistics, and construction will now be excluded from new applications.
A temporary reprieve exists: a new “Transitional Shortage List” will allow select occupations to remain eligible until December 2026. Yet, this is a stopgap, not a solution.
The Human Cost
From the social work frontlines, the implications are grim. These reforms risk entrenching precarity for many who have already made sacrifices to live and work in the UK. Migrants in lower-skilled roles — many of whom provide essential services — may suddenly find themselves locked out of the system, unable to renew their visas or bring family members to join them.
Many of these individuals are already living paycheck to paycheck, often supporting relatives back home. They are not faceless numbers; they are cleaners in NHS wards, assistants in care homes, or receptionists in overstretched mental health teams. What happens to them when their visas expire and no renewal pathway exists?
Social care, in particular, is facing a recruitment and retention crisis. Removing a vital recruitment channel when there is no local pipeline to replace it is not only shortsighted — it’s potentially catastrophic. Vulnerable people in need of support, especially the elderly and disabled, will feel the ripple effects.
A Legal Crossroads
From a legal standpoint, the changes draw a distinct line in the sand. Only those whose Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) are issued before 21st July 2025 will be able to apply under the old system. For everyone else, the new requirements apply — no matter how long they’ve worked in the UK or how much they’ve contributed.
While current visa holders may still extend under transitional rules, job changes or new applications must meet the RQF 6 threshold. Sponsors, too, are under pressure. Companies must reassess every role, revise pay structures, and prepare for higher compliance standards.
Solicitors and advisors now face an urgent responsibility: informing clients of these changes, auditing existing staff profiles, and updating sponsorship policies — fast.
What Should Be Done?
We must not ignore the people who are falling between the cracks. Advocacy organisations, unions, and civil society must demand a more humane approach — one that recognises that skill is not just about degrees but about dedication, experience, and service to community.
Local authorities and health trusts need support to fill gaps left by this policy change. More importantly, a national conversation is needed — one that centres not just economics but dignity.
Final Word
This is not immigration reform. This is social engineering. In tightening the legal criteria, the UK is closing the door on thousands of honest workers who have quietly kept its systems afloat. As a mental health practitioner and social worker, I’ve seen the quiet courage of these individuals and a storm that’s coming.
Let’s not wait for another crisis to act.
