From 4 April, foreign workers seeking a visa to work in the UK will have to be paid at least £38,700 – up from the current threshold of £26,200.
Previously, architects enjoyed a 20 per cent discount on the minimum salary threshold as the industry was on the list of shortage occupations. However, this will come to an end in the coming weeks.
A report published last month by the government’s Migration Advisory Committee recommends that architects be removed from the new Immigration Salary List (ISL) – a replacement for the Shortage Occupation List.
This means the profession will become one of 21 industries where the discount to the new minimum threshold of £38,700 will no longer apply.
Reacting to the changes, RIBA president Muiwa Okey said:
It’s really disappointing that architects have been removed from what is now the Immigration Salary List. Early-career architects come from around the world to gain experience in the UK, and London in particular, which is seen as the design capital of the world. In doing so, they bring innovative skills, knowledge and diverse perspectives that enrich our architectural environment, bringing about a virtuous circle of creativity that underpins our global reputation. These new higher salary requirements for skilled workers will likely make it far more difficult to recruit early-career architects – our critical pipeline of talent. We will therefore continue to advocate for an effective immigration system that works for the future of our profession and the wider sector.
Under the new immigration rules, only new arrivals under the age of 26 will be eligible for a 20 per cent discount on the overall £38,700 threshold.
All applicants must also meet the salary requirements. For new entrants, including those moving from graduate to skilled worker status, there is a 30 per cent discount from the current rate, which the Home Office has said will remain in place.
From 4 April, the rate excluding the discount for architects with occupation code 2451 is likely to be around £45,894 a year.
Nicholas Rollason, a partner at law firm Kingsley Napley, noted:
Whatever the final figure is, our experience tells us that many firms (particularly smaller and regional firms) won’t be able to sponsor these new entrant graduate hires who are qualifying. They will have to turn away foreign graduates who need to be paid more than their current graduate programmes allow. The only way to have access to this talent is to increase their salaries.
When the changes were announced last December, they drew widespread criticism from members of the profession, including the Section of Architectural Workers (SAW) union, which called £38,700 “a particularly dangerous metric as median salaries for architects often fall below this figure”.
The union said in a statement :
Many architectural workers in and outside of SAW hail from migrant backgrounds. SAW categorically rejects what it sees as a naked attempt to erase migrants and to pit workers against each other.
SAW says that of the firms listed in The Pay 100 index, which ranks UK practices by median salary, only the top 36 can meet the new threshold.
Salaries in last year’s Pay 100 survey showed earnings varied widely between practices, ranging from £19,000 to £31,000 for part 1 assistants – well below the new visa threshold.
Part 2 assistants’ salaries range from £28,000 to £43,000, the study said, with qualified architects and architectural designers earning between £34,500 and £56,000.
According to the government’s Shortage Occupation List Review, just 87 skilled worker visas (for architectural and urban design technicians) were issued between 2021 and 2023, representing just 0.1 per cent of the workforce.
The government claims that the change in visa eligibility will reduce net migration by 300,000 people per year.
