What do architects need to know about the changes to UK immigration law? - RIBA

Practices may need to consider opting for SOC 2452 (chartered architectural technologists, planning officers and consultants) with a going rate of £36,600 or SOC 3120 (CAD, drawing and architectural technicians) with a going rate of £31,200, if the applicant is not a UK qualified architect and is training to become an architect and be added to the ARB register.

Architects were added to the SOL in October 2020, post-Brexit and following RIBA lobbying. But as part of the recent immigration changes the SOL has been replaced by an Interim Immigration Salary List (which will be reviewed later this year) with a greatly reduced number of just 23 eligible occupations.

While architects and architectural technicians are skilled roles, allowing them still to be employed by practices that have a sponsorship license, both are no longer on the Shortage Occupation List (SOL), which allows employers to pay 80% of the going rate.

This is the minimum annual salary based on a 37.5 hour week, which can be prorated for other working patterns, such as 40 hours a week.

Foreign workers seeking Skilled Worker visas will need to be paid a minimum of £38,700 – nearly 50% up on the previous threshold of £26,200 - or the government-determined ‘going rate’ for occupations, whichever is higher. For architects (who have a Standard Occupational Code (SOC) 2451), the minimum ‘going rate’ salary has been raised to £45,900 from 4 April 2024.

This minimum salary threshold is one of the headlines from a large list of legislative updates and changes, which came into effect on 4 April 2024.

The UK government has dramatically raised minimum salary thresholds for foreign workers seeking to work in the UK on a Skilled Worker visa , potentially making it more difficult for practices to hire architects from abroad.

The new Interim Immigration Salary List (which will be reviewed later this year) includes a greatly reduced number of just 23 eligible occupations, with architects not one of them. | Credit: iStock

What does the ‘new entrant’ route entail?

There is also a ‘new entrant’ route that could benefit some younger, student and not yet fully qualified architects. This route allows you to be paid 70% of your occupation’s going rate, with a minimum of £30,960 and one of the following applies:

you are under 26 on the date you apply

you are currently in the UK on a Student visa studying at bachelor’s degree level or above (or you have been in the last two years) and a Student or Visit visa was your most recent visa

studying at bachelor’s degree level or above (or you have been in the last two years) and a Student or was your most recent visa you are currently in the UK on a Graduate visa (or you have been in the last two years) and you will be working towards a recognised qualification in a UK-regulated profession (which includes architecture)

(which includes architecture) you will be working towards full registration or chartered status in the job you are sponsored for (includes chartered architect)

This would mean a ‘new entrant’ who satisfies the criteria would be paid £32,130. For architectural technologists, the reduced threshold would be £30,960.

The proviso is that your total stay in the UK cannot be more than four years if you follow the new entrant route (this includes time you have already spent in the UK on a Graduate visa).

Practices may want to consider the new entrant route if an applicant from overseas is not yet fully qualified in the UK and will be working towards full registration or chartered status in the job they are sponsored for. This may open the door for architects who are fully qualified and experienced in their own country to be sponsored at the reduced threshold while they work towards ARB registration.

Vandana Dass, Managing Director of Davenport Solicitors, which specialises in employment law and business immigration, including Skilled Worker visas sponsorship licences, suggests that a licensed employer may be able to employ a student who has a Graduate visa who may then successfully switch to a Skilled Worker visa. A Graduate visa gives an individual permission to stay in the UK for at least two years after successfully completing a course in the UK, she continues.

They must be in the UK when they apply and may apply for a Graduate visa if:

their current visa is a Student visa Tier 4 (General) student visa

they studied a UK bachelor’s degree, postgraduate degree or other eligible course for a minimum period of time with the Student visa Tier 4 (General)

their education provider (such as their university or college) has notified the Home Office that they have successfully completed their course

This allows employers to assess whether they have the right candidate for the role and make an informed decision at a later date as to whether they wish to sponsor the individual.

What are the biggest questions for employers?

We wrote to the former Home Secretary last year in conjunction with the Royal Town Planning Institute and the Chartered Institute of Building expressing concern over the SOL review, but the government’s Migration Advisory Committee subsequently recommended that architects be excluded from the interim list. Construction and building trades were retained on the list.

“The biggest question for employers is, can they afford to take on overseas staff and pay them the new going rate, when before 4 April (2024) this might have been possible,” Vandana adds.

She points out that incoming workers in the Skilled Worker immigration route, who have already made a visa application and secured sponsorship from an employer before 4 April 2024, will not be subject to the new going rate salary, but will be eligible for a lower rate threshold.

However, if the certificate of sponsorship has been assigned before 4 April 2024, but the Skilled Worker visa application is made after this date, the worker would be eligible for a lower rate threshold. For architects and architectural consultants, this would be at £29,000.

Vandana cautions that apart from its effect on employee morale an employer could also potentially open themselves up to a discrimination claim if an overseas worker is paid a higher salary than a local worker doing the same role.

It should be noted that our own Business Benchmarking data shows that the median salary of a qualified architect with five years’ experience is £39,000. This is significantly below the government’s going rate.

UK schools of architecture will also be concerned about the impact of rising salary thresholds for Skilled Worker visas on overseas admissions, as they may be seen as diminishing subsequent employment prospects in the UK.

We have written to the Home Secretary outlining concerns around these changes and their potential implications on the sector.