Writing for The HR Director on 16 January, immigration lawyer Malini Skandachanmugarasan labels 2026 a watershed for corporate mobility, detailing a cascade of confirmed and proposed Home Office reforms. Key milestones include the 8 January hike in English-language requirements to CEFR B2 for Skilled Worker and Scale-up entrants, the 25 February full enforcement of Electronic Travel Authorisations (ETAs) for visa-exempt nationals, and a July Migration Advisory Committee report that will decide which RQF 3-5 occupations stay on the Temporary Shortage List.
Of particular concern to multinationals is the government’s ‘Earned Settlement’ consultation, which envisages extending most work-route settlement periods from five to ten years and linking indefinite leave to remain to earnings and integration benchmarks. If implemented from April 2026, sponsors would face longer financial commitments and tighter compliance scrutiny—especially around salary reporting through HMRC feeds.
![‘Pivotal Year’ for UK Immigration: Employers Urged to Prepare for 2026 Rule Tightening]()
For organisations scrambling to navigate this fast-moving compliance landscape, VisaHQ’s UK portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/) can relieve much of the administrative burden. The platform lets HR teams run instant eligibility checks, monitor rule changes, and outsource end-to-end visa processing for staff and dependants, while dedicated account managers help audit sponsor-licence data against new salary and English-language thresholds.
The article warns HR teams to front-load graduate recruitment decisions because the Graduate Route’s two-year post-study permission will shrink to 18 months in January 2027, effectively bringing sponsorship deadlines forward into 2026. Sponsors must also stress-test workforce plans against higher salary thresholds introduced last July (£41,700 for standard roles) and the removal of 180 sub-degree occupations from general eligibility.
Practical steps recommended include refreshing right-to-work policies to capture extended digital checks on subcontractors, budgeting for priority-visa fees amid backlogs, and contributing sector evidence to the Temporary Shortage List consultation before 2 February. Early adoption, the author argues, will spare employers last-minute hiring crises and protect time-critical project mobilisations.
Of particular concern to multinationals is the government’s ‘Earned Settlement’ consultation, which envisages extending most work-route settlement periods from five to ten years and linking indefinite leave to remain to earnings and integration benchmarks. If implemented from April 2026, sponsors would face longer financial commitments and tighter compliance scrutiny—especially around salary reporting through HMRC feeds.
For organisations scrambling to navigate this fast-moving compliance landscape, VisaHQ’s UK portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/) can relieve much of the administrative burden. The platform lets HR teams run instant eligibility checks, monitor rule changes, and outsource end-to-end visa processing for staff and dependants, while dedicated account managers help audit sponsor-licence data against new salary and English-language thresholds.
The article warns HR teams to front-load graduate recruitment decisions because the Graduate Route’s two-year post-study permission will shrink to 18 months in January 2027, effectively bringing sponsorship deadlines forward into 2026. Sponsors must also stress-test workforce plans against higher salary thresholds introduced last July (£41,700 for standard roles) and the removal of 180 sub-degree occupations from general eligibility.
Practical steps recommended include refreshing right-to-work policies to capture extended digital checks on subcontractors, budgeting for priority-visa fees amid backlogs, and contributing sector evidence to the Temporary Shortage List consultation before 2 February. Early adoption, the author argues, will spare employers last-minute hiring crises and protect time-critical project mobilisations.
