UK small retailers keep sponsoring skilled visas despite tightened rules

BBC Verify found that nearly 1,900 small high‑street businesses – including grocery stores, vape shops, car washes, taxi operators and barber shops – remain on the Home Office’s skilled‑worker sponsor register a year after the July 2025 rule change that raised the minimum salary to £41,700 and limited sponsorship to graduate‑level roles. More than 100 of these firms were added to the register after the new rules took effect, likely because they applied before the change or are sponsoring workers already in the UK. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood ordered an urgent review of the presence of vape shops, barbers and car washes on the register, and the Home Office warned that licences could be revoked for any abuse. There are about 120,000 businesses with sponsor licences overall; small firms pay a £611 fee, larger firms over £1,600. In the 12 months to March, 68,067 skilled‑worker visas were granted – 30 % fewer than the previous year – with IT and finance professionals most common, while food‑preparation and hospitality roles fell out of eligibility. Health Secretary Yvette Cooper said Labour will "make sure that the rules are being properly enforced because we cannot have employers getting round the rules or finding different ways to deviate".