UK About to End Visa Salary Rules for PhD Holders

UK government advisors are considering putting a stop to visa salary discounts for PhD holders. In defense of this decision, the advisers have argued that there is no evidence that people with doctorates tend to be paid less than other skilled workers. Times Higher Education has reported that the advice has come from a review of the skilled worker visa route by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC). This review was conducted after the general salary threshold was raised to £41,700 in July 2025.

In view of the latter development, the MAC remarked: the discounts that allowed the PhD holders to qualify for visas below the usual salary threshold should instead be abolished. They cited a lack of justification for lower pay levels for this group.

As a leading EB-1A green card consultancy, we believe this development in the international immigration scenario is noteworthy. It also highlights some general features and trends of the global immigration scenario. We have discussed this new proposal of reform in the context of an elaborate visa system.

A plan towards a simpler UK visa system?

The MAC reportedly wants to simplify the system. To this end, MAC proposed a single new entrant salary threshold of £33,400 for all graduates. To quote the concerned body: “Setting a single new entrant threshold at this level would ensure that a typical new graduate can be employed through the immigration system while being paid sufficiently to remain fiscally beneficial to the UK over their lifetime.”

The review also put under its scope myriad postdoctoral roles, which also fall under the province of the discounts rule. The MAC wants to dispense with the need for separate discounts completely. They have argued that the salary threshold for the postdoctoral positions should be set at £41,700, i.e., the same as the general Skilled Worker Level.

No significant wage penalty for the phD graduates

The committee has argued in the report that there is “no statistical difference between the wages of a recent PhD graduate and the average worker on a (skilled worker) visa.” Hence, their report has posed a challenge to the otherwise prevalent assumptions that PhD holders are often “not paid salaries commensurate with their level of qualifications.”

To quote the report: “This indicates that recent PhD graduates do not experience a significant wage penalty. It is also important to remember that those who have recently graduated with a PhD from a UK university are eligible for the new entrant discount under current rules.”

In the current rule, recent graduates are usually paid 70% of the standard rate if their salary is at the threshold of £33,400. If the skilled worker applicants have a STEM PhD, they can earn 80% of the current rate. On the other hand, the non-STEM PhD holders need to be paid 90% of the standard rate when they are earning at least £37,500.

For more news and developments in the international immigration scenario, stay tuned to our blog section. Our EB-1 experts systematically mentor high-achieving individuals to become green card-ready. Reach out to us if you want to strengthen your merit-based permanent residency pathway.

Sources & Further Readings

• The Economic Times.“UK May End Visa Salary Rules for PhD Holders.” The Economic Times (India)December 18, 2025.
• Visas & Immigration Team.“Government Advisers Say Scrap PhD Salary Discounts on UK Work Visas.” VisaHQ, December 17, 2025.
• Jack, Patrick.“Scrap Visa Salary Discounts for PhD Holders, UK Told.” Times Higher Education, December 17, 2025.