UK Keeps 1,900 Small Shops on Worker Sponsor List Despite £41,700 Visa Threshold
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 6
UK Keeps 1,900 Small Shops on Worker Sponsor List Despite £41,700 Visa Threshold
3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 6
Summary
More than 1,900 small high-street businesses — including 1,500 grocery and convenience stores, 150 taxi operators and 100 barber shops — still hold licences to sponsor foreign workers a year after UK rules were tightened.
The July 2025 changes largely limited skilled worker visas to graduate-level jobs paying at least £41,700, but firms already approved can stay on the register and some newer entries may have applied before the rules took effect.
More than 100 of those small businesses were added after the crackdown, though being listed does not guarantee any individual visa will be approved and the register does not show what roles were sponsored.
The scrutiny has intensified: Shabana Mahmood ordered an urgent review two months ago, and BBC Verify also found 60 registered businesses had been fined a combined £2.5 million for employing illegal workers.
The Home Office says 68,067 skilled worker visas were granted in the year to March — down 30% — while licence revocations jumped to 3,299 in 2025 from 347 in 2023.