{"id":19611,"date":"2026-08-06T14:07:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T14:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=19611"},"modified":"2026-08-06T14:07:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T14:07:10","slug":"car-washes-and-vape-shops-can-still-sponsor-skilled-foreign-workers-despite-visa-changes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=19611","title":{"rendered":"Car washes and vape shops can still sponsor skilled foreign workers despite visa changes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <div style=\"display: grid; grid-template-columns: 300px 160px; gap: 2px; width: 460px; background: #eee; padding: 2px;\">\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u6574\u884c\u5bbd\u5e7f\u544a -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876674\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 90px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876676\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u5de6\u4fa7\u7ad6\u6392 -->\r\n  <div style=\"height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876672\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div style=\"height: 500px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876680\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u53f3\u4fa7\u6469\u5929\u697c\uff08\u548c\u5de6\u4fa7\u5b8c\u5168\u5bf9\u9f50\uff09 -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-row: 3\/5; height: 750px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876678\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  \r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e6\" data-zoneid=\"5876682\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n<\/div><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\"><b class=\"ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3\">More than 1,900 small high street businesses including mini-marts, vape shops and car washes are licensed to sponsor foreign workers under a specialist scheme intended for high-earning individuals despite visa rules being tightened, BBC Verify has found.<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The Home Office scheme allows registered employers to recruit workers from overseas who meet a certain skill level. The rules were tightened in July 2025 to restrict the scheme mostly to graduate-level employees who would be earning at least \u00a341,700.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">But a year on from the rule change, BBC Verify has found more than 1,500 grocery and convenience stores, 150 taxi operators, 100 barber shops, and dozens of car washes and vape shops are still on the register and able to sponsor people to apply for visas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">More than 100 of those businesses were added to the skilled worker sponsorship list after the rules were tightened. Being on the register does not mean applications for individual visas would be approved.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Health Secretary Yvette Cooper said on Thursday the government will &#8220;make sure that the rules are being properly enforced because we cannot have employers getting round the rules or finding different ways to deviate&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood ordered an urgent review into the presence of vape shops, barbers and car washes on the skilled worker sponsor register two months ago, following concerns over the &#8220;potential misuse of the system&#8221;. The Home Office said at the time that any businesses seeking to abuse the system would have their licences revoked.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">A Home Office spokesperson said: &#8220;We have raised the skilled worker threshold and over 100 occupations are now ineligible for new skilled worker visas.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">It is understood some of the companies that joined the register after the rules changed may have applied before they took effect. Some companies may have also remained on the register because they were approved before July 2025 or are sponsoring workers who were already in the UK.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">There are more than 120,000 businesses with licences to sponsor skilled workers. The skilled worker scheme was introduced after Brexit for employers to recruit workers after EU free movement ended. Smaller firms must pay a \u00a3611 fee to apply to join the register while larger businesses, such as those with more than 50 staff, pay a fee of \u00a31,682. Anyone can be visited by the UK Visas and Immigration service during the application process.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Until July last year, someone being hired from abroad could qualify for sponsorship if their qualifications met an A-Level or equivalent standard, as long as they were paid at least \u00a338,700 in most cases. Since the rule change, non-graduate professions, such as shop managers, are no longer eligible to apply. There are also higher English-language skill requirements that were introduced in January this year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The Home Office said there were 68,067 skilled worker visas granted in the 12 months to March this year &#8211; 29,745 to main applicants and 38,322 to their dependants &#8211; which is 30% lower than the year before. IT professionals were the most common type of people to be granted the visas, followed by those people working in finance, while the fall in approvals was mostly attributed to those in food preparation and hospitality trades no longer qualifying for the scheme.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- \u603b\u5bb9\u5668\uff1a\u6700\u5927\u5bbd908px Grid\u7d27\u51d1\u5e03\u5c40 -->\r\n<div style=\"display: grid; grid-template-columns: 728px 160px; gap:2px; width:908px; background:#eee; padding:2px;\">\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u901a\u680f\u9876\u90e8\uff1a\u6700\u5927\u6a2a\u5e45 908x258 \u8de8\u6574\u884c -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column:1\/-1; height:258px; background:#ff6b6b; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n    <!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114307\" data-width=\"908\" data-height=\"258\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114307});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u7b2c\u4e8c\u901a\u680f\uff1a728\u00d790 \u901a\u680f -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column:1\/-1; 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