What is the Tier 2 Minimum Salary Requirement?
This post was published prior to the introduction of the Skilled Worker visa route. For information on the salary requirement for a Skilled Worker visa please see our updated post: Skilled Worker Visa Salary Rates
The Tier 1 Investor visa category is for individuals who are able to make a substantial financial investment in the UK. In order to qualify for a UK Investor visa you will need to have access to at least £2 million and be willing to invest your funds in actively trading UK companies.
The Tier 2 visa is for those who have received an offer of a skilled job from a licensed sponsor in the UK. Among other eligibility requirements, you must meet the minimum salary requirement. The minimum salary requirement is highly dependent on the specific Tier 2 visa the migrant is applying for. The rules regarding the minimum salary requirements are summarised below.
Tier 2 General
What counts as a salary for a Tier 2 (General) application?
An Applicant’s salary can be made up of the guaranteed gross basic pay and guaranteed allowances which will be paid for throughout the duration of the applicant’s employment in the UK. The guaranteed allowances must be allowances which would be paid to a local settled worker in similar circumstances.
Payments which cannot be taken into account when calculating the Applicant’s minimum salary include, but are not limited to:
- Overtime payments, whether guaranteed or not;
- Business expenses payments, including hotels (both in and outside the UK), international travel and hotel within the UK;
- Medical benefits;
- Employer pension contributions;
- Payment of tuition fees;
- Payments for which the applicant will need to reimburse the sponsor;
- Any shares the applicant has obtained in exchange for UK employment rights as an employer-owner;
- One-off payments including relocation costs not included in the applicant’s regularly salary package;
- Other payments which cannot be guaranteed including bonuses or incentive pay.
Salaries can be paid to the applicant either in the UK or abroad. If the salary is being paid in a currency other than pounds sterling it must reflect the exchange rate for the relevant currency on the date the employer assigns the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) using the rates provided by OANDA.
The Minimum Salary Requirement: Tier 2 General
The Tier 2 (General) minimum salary is either £30,000 per year or the appropriate rate for the job as stated in Appendix J, whichever is higher, unless an exception applies.
Tier 2 General Minimum Salary for new entrants
The minimum salary requirement for new entrants is £20,800 per year or the appropriate new entrant rate specified in Appendix J to the Immigration Rules, whichever is higher. A migrant will qualify as a new entrant if one or more of the following applies:
- The applicant was under 26 on the date the application was made
- The Applicant is exempt from the Resident Labour Market Test (RLMT) as they qualify under the post-study work (PSW) provisions
- The RLMT was met under the provisions for new graduates jobs or internships
Tier 2 Minimum Salary for experienced workers
The Tier 2 (General) minimum salary for an experienced worker is at least £30,000 or the appropriate rate specified in Appendix J, whichever is higher. A migrant will be subject to the pay threshold of an experienced worker where their total stay will be beyond three years and one month. A migrant’s salary must be considered under this level if they are needed for more than three years.
Tier 2 Intra-Company Transfer
What counts as a salary for a Tier 2 (ICT) application?
The Applicant’s salary can be made up of their guaranteed gross basic pay and allowances which are guaranteed to be paid for the duration of the applicant’s employment in the UK. If the latter applies, it would need to be paid to a local settled worker in similar circumstances and paid as a mobility premium or to cover the additional cost of living in the UK.
The Minimum Salary Requirement: Tier 2 ICT
Tier 2 Minimum Salary for Graduate Trainee
The minimum salary requirement for a graduate trainee is £23,000 per year or the appropriate rate specified in Appendix J to the Immigration Rules, whichever is higher.
Tier 2 Minimum Salary for Long Term Staff
The minimum salary requirement for a long-term staff is £41,500 or the appropriate pay threshold stated in Appendix J to the Immigration Rules, whichever is higher, unless an exception below applies.
The exception to this rule is where:
- The migrant is applying for leave to remain in the long term staff sub-category
- The migrant previously had leave as a work permit holder or a Tier 2 (ICT) migrant under the rules in place before 06 April 2011 and
- The migrant has not been granted entry clearance in this or any other route since their grant of leave
Applying for ILR
Tier 2 (General) and Tier 2 (Sportsperson) migrants must earn the minimum salary level in order to be succeed with an application for indefinite leave to remain (ILR). Below are the minimum salary thresholds which apply:
- £35,500 if applying for ILR on or after 6 April 2018
- £35,800 if applying for ILR on or after 6 April 2019
- £36,200 if applying for ILR on or after 6 April 2020
- £36,900 if applying for ILR on or after 6 April 2021
- £37,900 if applying for ILR on or after 6 April 2022
- £38,800 if applying for ILR on or after 6 April 2023
- £40,100 if applying for ILR on or after 6 April 2024
Tier 2 (General) and Tier 2 (Sportsperson) migrants must be paid either the minimum salary listed above or the appropriate rate as stated in Appendix J to the Immigration Rules.
Contact Our Business Immigration Barristers
It is vital that sponsors understand the various tier 2 salary requirements in order to ensure their migrants are sponsored under the correct salary level. For advice with satisfying the financial requirements, contact our immigration barristers and lawyers in London on 0203 617 9173 or via our enquiry form below.
