The Autumn Budget presented on 28 October 2026 was not an immigration statement, but it contained several measures that will change how skilled workers, graduates and employers use the UK system over the next eighteen months. Read alongside the earned settlement reform confirmed a few days later, it gives a clear picture of where UK policy is heading: more selective, more focused on earnings, and more favourable to the highly skilled.
Most of these measures still need detailed rules or guidance before they take effect. Here is what was announced, and who it concerns.
Skilled Worker: new salary thresholds from spring 2027
The Skilled Worker route sets two minimum salaries: a general threshold, and an occupation-specific "going rate" for each job code. Both are changing.
- Occupation going rates will move from the median salary for each occupation to the 25th percentile, from spring 2027. For many roles this will lower the occupation-specific bar.
- The general threshold will be updated using 2026 wage data, and then reviewed every year.
- The discounts for new entrants will be standardised, and the specific discount for PhD holders will be removed.
In practice, employers should not assume that a role which qualifies today will qualify on the same terms in 2027, or the reverse. Each certificate of sponsorship will need to be checked against the tables in force on the day it is assigned.
More time to find a new sponsor, for some
Today, a Skilled Worker whose employment ends usually has a short window before their permission is curtailed. From 2027, the most highly skilled workers may be given up to six months to find a new sponsor, depending on how highly paid their previous role was. The criteria have not yet been published. For senior professionals, this would remove one of the main anxieties of sponsored employment.
High Potential Individual: wider eligibility
The HPI route allows recent graduates of top universities to live and work in the UK without a job offer. Eligibility will expand to qualifications from the world's top 150 institutions, with a proportionate increase in the annual cap. This is good news for graduates from strong universities that fell outside the previous list.
One caveat: under the earned settlement reform, time on the HPI route is not expected to count towards settlement. The route remains an excellent way to start a career in the UK, but it is not a step towards Indefinite Leave to Remain on its own.
Graduate visa: two years for some universities
The government plans a two-year Graduate visa for graduates of high-compliance universities with strong graduate outcomes. The list of qualifying institutions has not yet been published. Students choosing a UK university in 2027 should watch for it, since it may change the value of one offer over another.
Global Talent: more businesses as hosts
By spring 2027, UK Research and Innovation will identify more research-intensive businesses in the industrial strategy sectors that can host applicants under the endorsed funder pathway of the Global Talent route. For researchers working in industry rather than academia, this should widen access to one of the most flexible routes in the system, and one that remains favourable under earned settlement.
Sponsorship costs: a tax clarification for employers
The Finance Bill 2026 to 2027 confirms that when an employer pays the Immigration Skills Charge or the Certificate of Sponsorship fee, this is not a taxable benefit in kind for the worker, for payments made on or after 28 October 2026. This is a clarification rather than a new cost: the sponsor must pay these fees itself and cannot pass them on to the worker or recover them from the worker's salary.
What it means if you are planning a move
- Skilled professionals should check where their role sits against the new going rates once the 2027 tables are published, and factor in the longer road to settlement.
- Recent graduates of top-150 universities gain a simple way in through the HPI route, but should plan a second route for the long term.
- Researchers and senior specialists should look closely at Global Talent, which offers flexibility and a strong position under the new settlement framework.
- Employers should budget for possible extra extensions, sponsorship charges and health surcharge payments while their employees wait longer for settlement.
How we help
We assess which UK route fits your profile today and how it is likely to lead to settlement under the new framework. For Global Talent applicants, we prepare the endorsement file and the visa application. For individuals and small employers, we check eligibility against the salary rules in force and prepare the application end to end. We will update this article as the detailed rules are published.