Skilled Worker Visa - New Salary Pay Period Compliance Rule from 8 April
09 Apr 2026
If you are on a Skilled Worker visa and working towards ILR, a new salary compliance rule came into force on 8 April 2026 that both you and your employer need to understand.
Under the previous rules, the Home Office assessed whether your salary met the minimum threshold primarily on an annualised basis. From 8 April, paragraph SW 14.3B has been added to the Immigration Rules, introducing a pay-period compliance framework. UKVI will now examine whether your actual salary payments — based on payslips and working hours data — meet the required threshold within defined pay periods, not just on paper across the full year.
The averaging rules work as follows. If you are paid monthly or less frequently, your salary over any three-month period must equal at least one quarter of your required annual minimum. If you are paid more frequently than monthly, any twelve-week period must meet at least twelve fifty-seconds of the annual threshold. For roles with irregular or variable weekly hours, a seventeen-week averaging period applies. If your pay dips below the threshold in a given period — for example due to reduced hours, a pay gap, or a restructured compensation arrangement — your employer may need to demonstrate that allowable deductions explain the shortfall and that the annual threshold will still be met overall.
Applications based on a Certificate of Sponsorship issued before 8 April 2026 will be assessed under the previous rules. For applications made on or after that date, the new framework applies. If you have a straightforward monthly salary that consistently meets your going rate, this change may not affect you directly — but it is worth checking your payslips regularly and confirming with your employer that their payroll records accurately reflect your contracted hours. Variations in pay that look minor can attract scrutiny at visa renewal or at your ILR application stage.
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