UK immigration temporary shortage list

The Government’s new Temporary Shortage List (TSL) is taking shape following the publication of the Migration Advisory Committee’s (MAC) first-stage review. 

The TSL was first proposed in the Government’s Immigration White Paper in May and introduced into the Immigration Rules in July 2025. Essentially, it is designed to replace the existing Immigration Salary List. As such, it aims to provide a route for skilled workers to fill roles at Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) levels 3 to 5. Specifically this is where genuine labour shortages exist.

In essence, The MAC’s Stage One report sets out recommendations for how the list should be structured.  Moreover, it identifies a group of occupations that will be more closely assessed for inclusion. In fact, these occupations were chosen based on their importance to the Government’s Industrial Strategy and the delivery of critical national infrastructure.

Professor Brian Bell is Chair of the MAC. Bell explained that the Committee used analysis and consultation with sector experts to identify 82 occupations considered at Stage Two of the review. In due course, these will undergo further assessment before the final recommendations emerge next year. Therefore, the MAC will examine whether these roles are in shortage and whether employers have credible “Jobs Plans” in place, including strategies to improve skills. Also to collaborate with the Department for Work and Pensions on domestic recruitment and protect workers from exploitation.

To reach this shortlist, the MAC analysed 151 occupations at RQF levels 3 to 5 and examined their significance to key sectors such as advanced manufacturing, clean energy, digital technology, life sciences, defence, financial services, creative industries and national infrastructure. Occupations are considered critical if at least half of their workforce worked in these priority sectors or if experts provided evidence of their strategic importance. The 82 occupations range from actors to welders.

In terms of the TSL’s overall design, the Committee made several key recommendations aimed at ensuring the system effectively addresses short-term labour shortages while avoiding long-term dependence on migrant labour. The first recommendation is that occupations added to the list should generally remain for three years. Indeed, the timeframe allows sectors to address temporary shortages and adapt their workforce strategies. Where Jobs Plans are incomplete or still in development, occupations may be added for shorter periods. However this is provided there is a realistic plan to improve domestic recruitment. Thus, the MAC believes this approach balances the need to fill immediate vacancies with the Government’s wider objective of building a sustainable UK workforce.

Second, the MAC recommends that visa durations under the TSL should be between 3-5 years, without automatic renewals beyond five years. Consequently, this would reinforce the temporary nature of the route. Actually, the Committee did not make a final recommendation on whether settlement should be allowed, noting that the Government’s broader review of settlement policy is still ongoing. The report explains that if the TSL continues to offer a path to settlement, visa durations would need to align with that pathway. Conversely, if settlement is excluded, the Government will need to decide how to balance stability for employers and workers with the goal of encouraging domestic workforce development. So, The MAC suggests that a three-to-five-year visa may offer the right balance between recruitment stability and the opportunity for employers to invest in training UK workers.

As well, The Committee supports allowing in-country switching from TSL roles to higher-skilled positions under the Skilled Worker route. Certainly, this offers opportunities for career progression and retention of talent within the UK labour market.

In its third major recommendation, the MAC advises setting a minimum English language requirement of B1. The Committee believes this level would help reduce the risk of exploitation by ensuring that workers can understand their rights and communicate effectively in the workplace.

A further recommendation emphasises the need for simplicity and flexibility in the TSL’s design. While the report does not make formal proposals on settlement rights, sponsorship structures, or visa caps, it offers guidance to inform the Home Office’s final policy decisions. Nevertheless, The MAC suggests that while the existing Skilled Worker sponsorship model should remain for now, the Home Office should explore alternative sponsorship frameworks for occupations more vulnerable to exploitation. It concludes that setting a cap on the number of workers under the TSL would be impractical, given the uncertainty of labour demand and fluctuations in economic conditions.

Additionally, the report allows for potential regional variations, suggesting that specific occupations could be added to the TSL for individual nations within the UK, provided they meet strict policy and operational requirements. Nonetheless, Committee members expressed differing views on whether reintroducing the Resident Labour Market Test could support domestic recruitment goals, though no consensus was reached.

On salary thresholds, the MAC recommends that TSL salaries should be set at least at the same level as those required under the Skilled Worker route. The Committee rejects the idea of salary discounts and will publish a separate report later this year to explore salary thresholds in more detail.

Finally, the MAC acknowledges that current Immigration Rules prevent workers in TSL occupations from bringing dependants to the UK. Although the Committee does not make a formal recommendation on this point, it notes that this restriction may discourage skilled workers in higher RQF roles from moving to the TSL if in-country switching is permitted in future.

Stage Two of the MAC’s review will continue until summer 2026. During this period, the Committee will collect further evidence from employers and industry bodies, reviewing how Jobs Plans address training, upskilling, and recruitment of UK workers. The MAC’s final recommendations on which occupations should be included on the Temporary Shortage List are expected to be published in July 2026.

For more information contact Leena Chouhan on [email protected] or 02074275972.