The points-based immigration system (PBS) came into effect on 1 January 2021, replacing the previous regime for EU nationals and harmonising the rules for EU and non-EU migration. The stated rationale was objectivity: applications would be assessed against clear criteria, without discrimination by nationality of origin. Four years of data allow an initial assessment of how the system is working in practice.
How the System Works
The PBS assigns points for meeting specific criteria. For the Skilled Worker route — the main work-based route — points are awarded for: a job offer from an approved sponsor (20 points); the job being at the required skill level (20 points); English language proficiency (10 points); and salary meeting the relevant threshold (20 points). To be granted a visa, an applicant must score 70 points. There is no element of discretion in the point-scoring elements, though caseworkers retain discretion on “genuineness” grounds in some routes.
The system covers work, study, family reunion, and several specialist routes including Global Talent (for highly skilled researchers and artists), the Innovator Founder route, and the Youth Mobility Scheme. It does not cover asylum seekers, who are assessed under the Refugee Convention and the Nationality and Borders Act 2022.
The Outcomes Data
Home Office quarterly immigration statistics publish visa application volumes and grant rates by nationality and route. The grant rate for Skilled Worker applications — the proportion of applications that result in a visa being issued — varies significantly by nationality. Applications from Indian, Nigerian, Filipino, and Zimbabwean nationals have higher refusal rates than applications from, for example, Australian, American, or Canadian nationals — even controlling for route (the comparison excludes routes with specific nationality conditions).
The Home Office attributes nationality-based differences to differences in the characteristics of applications from different countries — salary levels offered, employer type, English language certification — rather than to nationality itself. The available data does not allow full disaggregation; salary and employer data for refused applications is not published at nationality level, making it impossible to verify whether the differences in outcome persist after controlling for application characteristics.
The Employer Dimension
The PBS requires all employers to be licensed sponsors. The Home Office publishes a register of licensed sponsors, but does not publish comprehensive data on the workforce composition of individual sponsors. Large sponsors — NHS trusts, universities, major corporations — account for a substantial proportion of Skilled Worker visas; smaller employers have more limited ability to navigate the administrative requirements of sponsorship.
This creates a structural advantage for large established organisations over small businesses and startups in accessing overseas talent. The cost of sponsorship — the Immigration Skills Charge, sponsor licence fees, and administrative overhead — is proportionally higher for small businesses. Several employer groups, including the Federation of Small Businesses, have argued that the PBS as implemented disadvantages smaller employers relative to larger ones, despite formal equal access to the system.
The Data Gaps
Evaluating the PBS requires data that the Home Office does not currently publish. It does not publish comprehensive data on outcomes for applicants who meet the formal points requirements but are refused on discretionary grounds. It does not publish salary data for refused applications disaggregated by nationality. It does not publish data on the characteristics of the UK labour market demand met by the PBS — which sectors, which regions, which occupations — in a way that would allow assessment of whether the system is meeting the labour market need it is designed to address.
The Migration Advisory Committee, which advises government on immigration policy, has noted these data gaps and recommended improvements to data collection and publication. Several of its recommendations have been accepted in principle; implementation has been partial.