UK MAC Proposes 25th Percentile Salary Thresholds For Skilled Worker Visa Route
The Migration Advisory Committee, MAC, has published its government-commissioned review of salary thresholds across UK sponsored work routes, including the Skilled Worker and Global Business Mobility routes.
The MAC’s recommendations are only effective if the government formally accepts them. Until then, employers are bound by current immigration rules. However, the MAC’s recommendations are highly influential and most of its recommendations are usually accepted by govt.
For the Skilled Worker route, the MAC made these key recommendations:
Occupation-specific salary thresholds should be reduced so that they are based on 25th percentile salary data rather than median data. This would effectively lower the minimum salary employers must offer for many positions.
The general salary threshold should be maintained at £41,700, with £48,400 noted as a possible alternative level for government consideration.
Under the discount framework, the MAC recommends: A single new entrant salary threshold of £33,400 should be introduced. The MAC also recommends extending the current four-year duration over which new entrant provisions can be relied upon.
The PhD salary discount should be abolished entirely. Where postdoctoral concessions remain necessary, the committee proposed replacing them with a single threshold of £41,700 applicable for up to four years.
The proposed reforms also affect Global Business Mobility routes. For Senior or Specialist Workers and UK Expansion Workers, the MAC recommended aligning salary requirements with median earnings for each occupation. For the Graduate Trainee route, a single salary threshold of £33,400 should apply, with occupation-specific requirements removed.
The committee also proposed a minimum salary threshold of £30,900 for roles on the Temporary Shortage List, while maintaining the requirement for employers to meet prevailing market pay rates.
This is just a MAC recommendation for now. The UK government hasn’t confirmed adoption yet. Recent UK moves went the opposite way – graduate visa cut to 18 months and visa fee hikes.
If govt accepts MAC’s advice, Nigerian IT, engineering, healthcare and construction talent could face lower salary barriers. But the £41,700 general floor + “highly influential but not law yet” status means applicants should wait for official Home Office confirmation before applying.
