Car washes and vape shops can still sponsor skilled foreign workers despite visa changes

More than 1,900 small enterprises – including mini‑marts, vape shops and car washes – remain authorised to sponsor overseas workers under a programme intended for high‑earning staff, even after the government tightened the visa regime in July 2025, according to BBC Verify. The Home Office scheme permits registered employers to recruit foreign nationals who meet a defined skill threshold. The July 2025 amendment confined the route largely to graduate‑level positions paying at least £41,700. Nevertheless, a year after the change, BBC Verify identified over 1,500 market and convenience stores, 150 taxi firms, 100 barber shops and numerous car washes and vape shops still listed on the sponsor register and able to support visa applications. More than 100 of those entities were added to the skilled‑worker sponsorship database after the rules took effect. Inclusion on the register does not guarantee visa approval. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood commissioned an urgent review two months ago into the presence of vape shops, barbers and car washes on the skilled‑worker sponsor list, citing worries about possible “misuse of the system”. The Home Office warned at that time that any businesses attempting to maltreatment the scheme would lose their licences. A Home Office spokesperson stated: “We have raised the skilled individual threshold and over 100 occupations are now ineligible for new skilled individual visas.” It is understood that some firms joined the register after the amendment but may have submitted applications beforehand; others stayed listed because they were approved prior to July 2025 or continue to sponsor workers already residing in the UK. Across the UK, more than 120,000 businesses hold licences to sponsor skilled workers. The scheme was launched after Brexit to replace EU free movement for hiring overseas staff. Small firms must pay a £611 fee to apply, whereas larger employers – those with over 50 employees – pay £1,682. UK Visas and Immigration may inspect any applicant during the process. Prior to July 2024, overseas hires qualified for sponsorship if they held A‑level or equivalent qualifications and earned at least £38,700 in most cases. The post‑July 2025 revision bars non‑graduate roles such as store managers and introduces stricter English‑language requirements, which took effect in January 2025. The Home Office reported that 68,067 skilled‑worker visas were issued in the twelve months to March 2025 – 29,745 for principal applicants and 38,322 for dependants – a decline of 30 % compared with the previous year. IT specialists received the highest share of approvals, followed by finance professionals, while the drop was principally driven by fewer awards to workers in food management and hospitality, sectors no longer eligible under the revised rules.