A composite image of Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
More than 10,000 Nigerians working on sponsorship certificates or skilled worker visas could be deported when their contracts with sponsors end, after the UK government excluded more than 100 jobs, including skilled worker roles, from CoS status.
London’s Mr Feelers said the new reforms, which will come into effect from July 22, 2025, are part of Britain’s efforts to control immigration and tighten standards for skilled worker visas. These changes include increasing skill requirements to RQF Level 6. This means that only degree-level jobs are eligible for sponsorship of new skilled workers from abroad.
As part of this reform, 121 jobs, many of which were previously classified as medium skill level (RQF 3-5), were officially removed from eligibility. These roles are not on either the new immigration pay list or the temporary shortage list, so they are effectively ineligible for new sponsorship.
The discarded jobs span a wide range of industries, including hospitality, child care, trade, creative arts, agriculture, healthcare workers, and management.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the implementation of fundamental immigration reform was to reduce net immigration and develop a domestic skills-based workforce.
“These new rules mean stronger controls to reduce immigration… to ensure we can focus on investment in skills and training here in the UK,” he said.
New visa applicant skilled workers seeking to come to the UK to work in these 121 occupations will no longer be able to do so, and employers who regularly sponsor workers in these occupations will have to look for alternative occupations or invest in domestic recruitment. Additionally, current skilled worker visa holders in the UK who wish to switch to excluded occupations may face difficulties unless they meet the transition rules.
Occupations excluded from the list include agricultural, forestry, hospitality, and logistics managers and operators (SOC 1211-1258), health, community and human services roles (SOC 3211-3224) such as dispensing opticians, pharmaceutical technicians, youth and community workers, and counselors, and protective services roles (SOC) such as police officers, sergeants and below, fire personnel, and correctional officers. 3312-3314, and creative and performing arts professionals such as artists, writers, translators, actors, dancers, photographers, interior designers and fashion designers, especially SOC 3411-3429.
The new regulations also increased the pay scale for general skilled workers to more than £41,700 depending on the role, while health and care roles remained at £25,600. However, employers in health and care roles will need to provide their salary after all deductions, including accommodation and travel expenses. This means that £25,600 is the minimum amount an employee will receive after all deductions.
This new regulation means that many roles that were previously covered by CoS (such as entry-level IT and customer service) will no longer be covered, unless employers significantly increase pay in line with the new regulations. The UK Government has also increased the minimum skill level to Level 6, which is equivalent to Bachelor level, but previously eligible Level 3-5 roles may be excluded, including some management, technical support and care supervisor roles.
