The UK government set its hopes high on becoming a tech superpower. In an effort to attract skilled workers to the UK, jobs such as IT programmers were placed on the shortage occupation list which meant lower salary thresholds for skilled worker visa applications.
That being said, according to a report in the Financial Times, some 6,203 chefs were granted skilled worker visas in the year to March 2024, a rise of 54 per cent on the previous year. In the same period the number of work permits granted to programmers and software developers more than halved from 8,752 to 4,280.
Although the data would suggest the UK is having some sort of culinary revolution, there may be a simple explanation for the uplift in applications for skilled worker visas for chefs.
In April 2024 the government increased the minimum salary threshold for skilled worker visas from £26,900 to £38,700. When considering the national average salary for a chef in the UK (approximately £22,877), the increase in applications may be down to a flurry of applications to beat the minimum salary threshold increase. A more accurate lay of the land will be seen when the next set of immigration data is released.
There are still a vast number of eligible jobs for individuals to be sponsored to do in the UK as a Skilled Worked. Despite the recent changes to other visa categories, skilled worker visa holders are still able bring dependents with them to live and work in the UK and will all be on route to settlement when they become eligible.
Contact our experts at Starck Uberoi today to find out about how we can assist you with your sponsorship in the UK as a skilled worker.
You may also be interested in: UK Visas and Immigration Processing Times
