What is a new entrant?

A new entrant is a Skilled Worker at the start of their career who can be paid less than the standard salary. The worker must be under 26 or meet another listed test, such as being a recent graduate. The salary must still be at least £33,400 a year and 70% of the going rate for the job.

How the new entrant rate works

The usual minimum salary for a Skilled Worker visa is whichever is higher of £41,700 a year and the going rate for the job. GOV.UK says a worker can be paid between 70% and 90% of the going rate if their salary is at least £33,400 a year and they meet one of the listed criteria. One of those criteria is being under 26, studying or a recent graduate, or in professional training.^{[1]Home Office, Skilled Worker visa: When you can be paid less}

The Immigration Rules call this points option E. The worker’s salary must equal or exceed both £33,400 a year and 70% of the going rate for the occupation code.^{[2]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Worker} Appendix Skilled Occupations shows the 70% figure for each eligible code in its own column. The going rates are per year and based on a 37.5-hour week.^{[3]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Occupations}

The new entrant rate is a discount on salary only. The job must still be at the right skill level, and the employer must still be an approved sponsor.^{[2]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Worker}

Who counts as a new entrant

The worker must meet at least one of these tests.^{[2]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Worker}

For the Student test, the conditions are as follows. If the Student permission has expired, it must have expired less than 2 years before the date of application. The worker must have been sponsored to study a UK bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, PhD or other doctoral qualification, Postgraduate Certificate in Education or Professional Graduate Diploma of Education. They must also have completed the course, or be applying no more than 3 months before they are expected to complete it. A PhD student can instead qualify after at least 12 months of the PhD in the UK.^{[2]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Worker}

GOV.UK describes the same group as people who are in the UK on a Student visa at bachelor’s degree level or above, or on a Graduate visa, or who held one of them within the last 2 years.^{[1]Home Office, Skilled Worker visa: When you can be paid less}

The 4-year limit

A new entrant cannot be granted permission that takes their combined permission as a Skilled Worker, Graduate and Tier 2 Migrant over 4 years in total. This applies whether or not the permission is continuous.^{[2]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Worker} GOV.UK adds that this includes time already spent in the UK on a Graduate visa.^{[1]Home Office, Skilled Worker visa: When you can be paid less}

The sponsor guidance applies the same limit to the certificate. The most a sponsor can assign for a new entrant is 4 years, counting time the worker has already spent as a new entrant on the Skilled Worker, Tier 2 (General) or Graduate routes. The sponsor must also state on the certificate that the worker is claiming points as a new entrant and briefly explain how they meet the criteria.^{[4]UK Visas and Immigration, Workers and Temporary Workers: sponsor a skilled worker (accessible)}

Example

Lina is 24 and has an offer as a software developer. That job is code 2134 in Table 1 of Appendix Skilled Occupations, where the going rate is £54,700 a year and 70% of it is £38,300 a year.^{[3]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Occupations} Lina is under 26 on the date she applies, so she meets the age test. Her salary must be at least £33,400 and at least 70% of the going rate. The higher of the two figures is £38,300, so that is the minimum for her.^{[2]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Worker}

The 4-year limit works as plain arithmetic. Suppose another worker, Karim, has already held 3 years of permission across the Graduate and Skilled Worker routes. A new entrant grant that took his total above 4 years would not be allowed, which leaves room for 1 more year.^{[2]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Worker}

What people get wrong

Many applicants think the age test is checked at the job start date. The Immigration Rules say the worker must be under 26 on the date of application.

A second mistake is to ignore time on earlier visas. The 4-year limit counts all permission as a Skilled Worker, Tier 2 Migrant and Graduate, including time that was not continuous.^{[2]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Worker}

The bottom line

The new entrant rate lets a Skilled Worker at the start of their career be paid 70% of the going rate, with a floor of £33,400. It applies to people who meet one of the listed tests and it lasts for no more than 4 years in total. The sponsor has to record the claim on the certificate of sponsorship.