Reducing net migration has become one of the topmost agenda items for successive UK governments in recent years. The 2025 UK visa policy changes are going to have a major impact on the work-based UK immigration scene as well as the country’s domestic labour market.
This article focuses on what impact the 2025 visa reforms are going to have on the temporary work visa UK, and what the subsequent changes in the UK labour market will mean for the temporary migrant workers UK.
UK Visa Reforms 2025: Is the UK Introducing New Short-term Work Visas in 2025?
Be it during under the preceding Conservative governments or the present Labour government, the Home Office is steadily tightening its belt when it comes to areas like immigration and settlement in the UK.
On 1 July 2025, the UK announced certain immigration rule changes, to be effective from 22 July onwards. The new rules specifically impact the Skilled Worker and the social care worker visa routes, signifying the beginning of an era that is going to witness major changes in the UK labour market.
From 22 July onwards, UK employers can only hire foreign workers via the Skilled Worker visa route for university-level jobs that require RQF 6 level qualification and skills. This means that around 180 occupations will no longer be eligible for a Skilled Worker visa, unless foreign workers engaged in such occupation are already living and working in the UK (or have applied before 22 July 2025), or if any of those occupations feature on the Immigration Salary List (ISL) or the Temporary Shortage List (TSL).
So, although technically no new temporary work visa UK has yet been announced in 2025, the UK government has set a time limit regarding how long migrant workers can continue working on many of the RQF 3-5 level jobs, practically creating a new short-term UK work segment across sectors.
The ISL and TSL: How Will UK Labour Market Reforms Impact Temporary Work Visas?
The Migration Advisory Committee has identified certain industry sectors where the UK is currently facing a skilled labour shortage in occupations below the RQF 6 level. The ISL is an interim list of those occupations which are still eligible for a Skilled Worker visa at a discounted salary due to labour shortage.
The TSL is another interim list of RQF 3-5 level jobs that have been identified as crucial to the UK’s industrial strategy, keeping them open for international recruitment for the moment. Both the ISL and the TSL will eventually be phased out latest by end-2026, subject to future reviews.
Moreover, new visa applications for care worker and senior care worker jobs have already been closed. Switching to either of those work visas from inside the UK will, however, remain open until 22 July 2028.
While these changes are making it harder for migrant workers to come to the UK via the Skilled Worker route, or disrupting their life if already working in the UK, they may open certain possibilities for skilled foreign workers in future.
To effectively reduce the number of immigrant workers across sectors, the government and employers will be required to put in place a well-planned domestic workforce strategy, which is definitely going to take a considerable time. Such a strategy is also likely to take some more time to show favourable results, given the rapidly changing technologies these days.
So, the UK may still be in need of skilled temporary workers from abroad for some time to come. Skilled migrants who want to come to the UK for a limited period to gain overseas work experience will majorly reap the benefits in such a scenario.
Requirements for UK Temporary Work Visas After 2025 Updates
The UK currently have the following six temporary work visa categories:
- Seasonal Worker visa
- Government Authorised Exchange visa
- Creative Worker visa
- Religious Worker visa
- Charity Worker visa
- International Agreement visa
Of these, there has been an update in requirement only for the Government Authorised Exchange visa in 2025. Eligible job roles under this visa category have been expanded to match new table structures in the ‘Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Occupations’. For the other temporary work visas, the eligibility requirements stay as is.
UK Labour Market 2025: Effects of Visa Changes on Staffing Needs
The immigration and labour market reforms in 2025 are sure to bring about significant changes in the hiring strategy and staffing needs of the UK-based employers. In short, they must:
- Identify their current and potential foreign hires who are going to be impacted by the policy changes, and accordingly devise strategies for them and have clear communications with them on what is to be expected going forward
- Issue certificates of sponsorship to new applicants before the 2025 policy changes come into effect (i.e., before 22 July 2025)
- Conduct a thorough review of staffing requirements, training requirements, and recruitment strategies to be future-ready
Forecasting UK Workforce Trends After Temporary Visa Changes in 2025
The days of coming to the UK via the Skilled Worker route and eventually settling down in the country permanently seem to be almost over in this new age of immigration controls, unless you are working in jobs that require RFQ 6 level qualifications or above.
However, if your goal is to come to the UK for a limited period to gain international work or research experience, then there is nothing to be worried about at least for now since the 2025 visa reforms do not impact the temporary work visa UK.
Furthermore, different segments of UK employers and citizens are already voicing their concerns about how challenging it would be to fill up all RQF 3-5 level vacancies with a domestic workforce by the end of 2026. Given that, there is always a possibility of the Home Office introducing new seasonal and temporary visa UK in future.
Stay alert and well-informed of any such upcoming visa changes. Meanwhile, keep working on your skills and qualifications since the higher they are, the better are your opportunities.
