The UK remains firmly open for business in 2025, continuing to offer attractive immigration pathways for companies looking to expand, recruit, and innovate. Whether you are an established UK employer or an international firm seeking to establish a presence in Britain, the UK’s business immigration routes remain critical tools for securing global talent.
At the forefront of this strategy are routes such as the Skilled Worker (Business), Global Talent, Expansion Worker, and Innovator Founder visas. These options provide businesses with the flexibility to meet recruitment needs, drive innovation, and compete in an increasingly globalised economy. However, the landscape is evolving—and with it, the compliance responsibilities for sponsors are becoming more demanding than ever.
Sponsor Licence Holders: Stricter Oversight in 2025
In 2025, UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) has increased its scrutiny of sponsor licence holders. This reflects the government’s ongoing efforts to reduce abuse of the immigration system and maintain the integrity of work-related migration routes.
Employers holding a sponsor licence must ensure that their HR and compliance systems are fully aligned with UKVI expectations. This includes:
- Maintaining accurate and up-to-date HR records, including proof of right-to-work checks and absence reporting;
- Notifying UKVI of any changes to a sponsored worker’s job title, salary, work location, or immigration status;
- Ensuring all roles and salary levels meet the current Immigration Rules, including the revised salary thresholds introduced from April 2025;
Failing to meet these requirements could lead to sponsor licence suspension or revocation, putting both your operations and your workforce at risk.
Business routes at a glance
Skilled Worker (Business):
The Skilled Worker route continues to be the most utilised and flexible pathway for UK employers seeking to sponsor non-UK talent across a range of industries. However, substantial changes taking effect from 9 April 2025 mean that businesses must review their planning and recruitment strategies carefully.
From April 2025, the general salary threshold for certain Skilled Worker roles will increase, introducing a more rigorous financial benchmark for new applicants to the route. This change underscores the importance of forward planning, particularly for employers seeking to hire overseas talent under the standard route.
Employers may still benefit from lower salary thresholds under the Immigration Salary List (ISL) or other transitional provisions. However, these exceptions are limited to certain roles and circumstances, and eligibility should be reviewed carefully in each case.
In addition, transitional salary rates for applicants who entered the Skilled Worker route before April 2024 will also be adjusted upward, affecting both annual salary and hourly pay requirements under categories such as STEM PhD holders, new entrants, and health or education professionals.
These developments highlight the need for accurate role classification, strategic salary planning, and ongoing compliance with current immigration rules.
Global Talent Visa
The Global Talent visa continues to be one of the most prestigious immigration routes available for individuals with exceptional ability or promise in specific sectors. These include digital technology, science and academia, and the arts industry (including fashion design, architecture, film and television, theatre, literature, etc.)
What sets this route apart is that it does not require sponsorship by a UK employer. Instead, applicants must obtain an endorsement from one of the approved endorsing bodies, such as Tech Nation (for digital technology), the Royal Society (for science), or the Arts Council England (for the arts and culture sector).
Key Benefits:
- Flexibility to work for any employer or be self-employed
- Accelerated settlement options (ILR in 3 years for some categories)
- No Certificate of Sponsorship or minimum salary threshold
- Relatively low application fees
- Less evidentiary requirements when applying for the first visa and settlement.
What to watch for in 2025:
While the route remains open, Tech Nation—one of the major endorsing bodies—ceased operations in early 2024, prompting the Home Office to explore alternatives for assessing digital technology applicants. It is expected that a new endorsing body for the tech sector will be announced or confirmed in 2025, which may result in changes to the endorsement process.
Additionally, there is ongoing government focus on ensuring this route remains targeted at genuinely exceptional individuals, which means the selection criteria may become even more competitive.
Expansion Worker Visa
The Expansion Worker visa is part of the Global Business Mobility (GBM) routes and is designed for overseas businesses not yet trading in the UK. It allows a senior employee to set up and oversee a UK branch or subsidiary on behalf of the parent company.
This route replaces the previous Sole Representative visa and reflects the UK’s shift toward a sponsorship-based model.
Key Requirements:
- The UK entity must not yet be actively trading;
- The overseas business must have been trading for at least 3 years;
- The employee must be assigned a Certificate of Sponsorship by the UK entity;
- A detailed UK expansion plan is required;
- Salary must meet a minimum threshold (varies by job type);
- Initially granted for up to 1 year, with a maximum stay of 2 years; and
- Does not lead directly to settlement, but applicants may switch to other eligible routes (e.g., Skilled Worker) once the UK entity is established and trading.
What to expect in 2025:
There is a growing emphasis on ensuring only genuinely viable UK business expansions are approved under this route. As such, companies must be ready to provide robust evidence of business activity, funding, and UK market potential.
Additionally, sponsors under this route are subject to the same compliance and reporting obligations as other sponsor licence holders, with increased scrutiny on UKVI audits.
Innovator Founder
The Innovator Founder route remains a very attractive route for entrepreneurs who wish to start their own business operations in the United Kingdom. Stemming from the Tier 1 Entrepreneur route, which is no longer in effect, the Innovator Founder keeps certain qualities and requirements from its predecessor.
The major change is that applicants are required to obtain endorsement from a registered endorsement body, before they can proceed to the visa application stage. The endorsement body will closely assess the applicant’s business and financial plan to address innovation, viability and scalability.
A key recent change is that there is no longer a set capital investment requirement, although the endorsement body will assess whether the capital input logically ties into the viability of the business plan.
Key requirements and advantages:
- The applicant’s business needs to meet the markers of innovation, viability and scalability.
- Ability to run your own entity.
- Ability to work in a second skilled occupation to allow for additional income.
- Opportunity for expedited settlement after 3 years, if certain requirements are met.
What to expect in 2025:
While this route remains relatively unchanged over the past two years, we have found that caseworkers place a lot more scrutiny on businesses and whether they are making progress as initially stated.
The UK still intends to establish itself as one of the main innovation hubs in the world and therefore the route remains a very lucrative option.
How Breytenbachs can help your business succeed
At Breytenbachs, we understand the complexity of managing sponsorship obligations alongside day-to-day business operations. We support UK-based and international companies with:
- Sponsor licence applications and renewals;
- Tailored advice on skilled worker sponsorship and role eligibility;
- Guidance on new salary thresholds and the Immigration Salary List;
- Support for global mobility, expansions, and senior executive relocations.
With offices in the UK and South Africa, our business immigration team is well-placed to assist companies across various sectors and in various jurisdictions even beyond the UK and South Africa.
Disclaimer: This article does not constitute legal advice. For tailored guidance based on your organisation’s circumstances, please consult a regulated immigration advisor.
