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Immigration Rules error: some minimum salaries for Tier 2 work visas are wrong

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The Home Office has issued a correction to the published minimum salary levels for certain roles. An addendum, or urgent update, to the guidance on Tier 2 work visas states:

The Tier 2 salary rates listed in Appendix J of the Immigration Rules were amended through Immigration Rules changes in March 2019 to reflect the latest available occupational salary data (‘appropriate rates’) for each occupation. Due to an issue with the source data used, a number of Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) codes have incorrect salary levels. To ensure that no individual migrant or sponsor is impacted adversely, the salary levels for the occupations listed below should be applied for applications for Tier 2 Certificates of Sponsorship assigned on or after 30 March 2019, as follows:

Affected SOC codesWhat the March 2019 Rules sayThe salary that should be applied on or after 30 March 2019
2111 Chemical scientistsNew Entrant: £24,600New Entrant: £22,300
2112 Biological scientistsNew Entrant: £23,100 Experienced Worker: £29,200New Entrant: £22,300 Experienced Worker: £29,000
2113 Physical scientistsNew Entrant: £24,600 Experienced Worker: £32,500New Entrant: £22,300 Experienced Worker: £29,000
2114 Social and humanities scientistsNew Entrant: £24,600 Experienced Worker: £30,000New Entrant: £22,300 Experienced Worker: £29,000
2119 Natural and social science professionals not elsewhere classifiedNew Entrant: £27,300 Experienced Worker: £32,500New Entrant: £22,300 Experienced Worker: £29,000
2232 MidwivesNo rate listedSee Table 9 of Appendix J
2311 Higher education teaching professionalsNew Entrant: £31,400 Experienced Worker: £40,000New Entrant: £26,500 Experienced Worker: £33,000
2412 Barristers and judgesNew entrant: £21,800New Entrant £20,800
2431 ArchitectsExperienced worker: £33,800Experienced Worker £33,200
3535 Taxation Experts£36,900£36,200

In all cases, as set out in the Immigration Rules, the appropriate rate only applies if it is higher than the Tier 2 minimum salary threshold listed in Table 11CA of Appendix A of the Immigration Rules, or paragraph 245HF(d)(vi) of the Immigration Rules where the application is for settlement.

The Immigration Rules will be updated to reflect the correct pay scales at the next available opportunity.

As Jessica Walker points out on the Carter Thomas website, work visa sponsors find the complex minimum salary rules a nightmare to navigate. Apparently so does the Home Office.

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CJ McKinney

CJ McKinney is a specialist on immigration law and policy. Formerly the editor of Free Movement, you will find a lot of articles by CJ here on this website! Twitter: @mckinneytweets.

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