Skilled worker visas

Sponsorship

To sponsor you for a Skilled Worker visa, an employer must hold a Skilled Worker sponsor licence.

A sponsor licence is expensive and requires a number of ongoing responsibilities from the employer. It is best to look at employers who already hold sponsor licences rather than hoping that the employer will apply for a licence in order to sponsor you. There are thousands of sponsors on the list. We strongly recommend that you look for job vacancies that you are interested in and then check if the employer is on the list, rather than starting at the top of the list and working your way down.

In order to sponsor you for a visa, the employer will issue you with a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) which is an electronic record similar to the CAS you used if you applied for a Student visa. Before they can issue you with a CoS, however, they must assess that the job is suitable for sponsorship.

Health & Care Worker:to be eligible for this sub-category, you must be sponsored, employed or engaged by the NHS, an NHS supplier or an approved adult social care provider.

Suitability of the job

Not all jobs are eligible for Skilled Worker sponsorship. The list of job titles and types considered by the Home Office can be found in Skilled Worker visa: eligible occupations and codes of the Home Office guidance.

Look at the job title of the vacancy you are interested in and use your browser’s search function to find the code and classification.

In Column 1, you will see a 4‑digit code (the SOC 2020 code) and a general job category in Column 2. In the example above, the SOC 2020 code is 2432 and the job category is ‘Marketing and commercial managers’. Column 3 lists job titles that fall within that category and code. These are not the only possible job titles — just common examples.

Column 4 shows the classification:

• Highly skilled: the role may be eligible depending on the salary (see 'Salary' section below).
• Medium skilled: the role is eligible if it is also included on the Immigration Salary List or the Temporary Shortage List .
• Ineligible: the role is not eligible for Skilled Worker sponsorship. Consider other visa routes such as Global Talent or the Graduate visa.

If you can’t immediately find it on the list, there is an additional check you can make. Go to the CASCOT tool and type in the job title you are looking at. It will show relevant SOC 2020 codes and job descriptions that you can compare against the Home Office list.

Health & Care Worker visa: If the job you are looking at is in health, social care, or education, check the SOC 2020 codes on the following lists. Only jobs listed here qualify under this sub‑category:

1. SW A1.1 of Appendix Skilled Worker
2. Table 3 of Appendix Skilled Occupations

Salary

Once you have established that a particular job is 'highly skilled' or 'medium skilled' and know the relevant SOC code, you must look at the salary level. This is the most complicated area of the Skilled Worker visa.

The salary for the job must meet the Home Office minimum threshold OR the going rate for the job, whichever is higher.

Minimum threshold

The Home Office minimum salary threshold is £41,700. However, there are a number of situations where you can be paid less than this and many of these are relevant to students. These are referred to as Options A–E.

Option A: Minimum threshold of £41,700 applies to anyone applying for a Skilled Worker visa who does not qualify for one of the other options.

Option B: PhD graduates with a job offer related to their PhD. 90% of the threshold: £37,500. Use the occupation code to check if the role qualifies for the PhD salary discount .

Option C: STEM PhD graduates with a job offer related to their PhD. 80% of the threshold: £33,400. Use the occupation code to check if the role qualifies for the PhD salary discount .

Option D: Appendix Immigration Salary List (shortage occupation jobs). 80% of the threshold: £33,400.

Option E: New entrants. 70% of the threshold: £29,190. However, as this is below the absolute minimum, the new entrant rate becomes £33,400.

Health & Care Worker visa: If the job you are looking at is in health, social care or education, the salary range is different. Refer to the next accordion.

What is a new entrant?

You are considered a ‘new entrant’ if you:

• Have a valid Student visa (or your Student visa expired less than 2 years ago) AND
• Have completed (or are applying no more than 3 months before you are expected to complete) a UK degree or above on that visa OR
• Are currently studying a PhD for which you have completed at least 24 months of study in the UK.

You are also considered a new entrant if your:

• Most recent visa was a Graduate visa and it is still valid or expired within the last 2 years.

If any of the above does not apply to you, you can still qualify for the new entrant rate if you:

• Are under 26 OR
• Will be working towards a recognised qualification in a UK regulated profession OR
• Will be working towards full registration or chartered status in the job you are being sponsored for.

You are only eligible to be on a Skilled Worker visa at the new entrant lower salary level for 4 years. You must move up to the minimum threshold (or the Option B/C PhD threshold) by the end of 4 years if you want to continue in the UK on the Skilled Worker route.

Going rate

Remember that the minimum threshold is not everything. The salary must meet the minimum threshold OR the going rate for the job — whichever is higher.

The going rate is the salary level that the Home Office considers to be the market rate for the job title.

The going rate may be much higher than the minimum threshold. If it is lower or the same, the minimum threshold applies. If it is higher, the going rate becomes the required salary. If the salary does not meet the going rate, the role is not eligible for Skilled Worker sponsorship.

Medium skilled

For ‘medium skilled’ roles: Look at the standard rate column on the Immigration Salary List or the Temporary Shortage List for the going rate.

Highly skilled

For ‘highly skilled’ roles: Look at Table 1 of Appendix Skilled Occupations for the going rate. The other tables refer to different Skilled Worker rules and will not be relevant to most people.

On Appendix Skilled Occupations , open Table 1. Scroll horizontally using the scrollbar at the bottom of the table to view the different going rate levels depending on which ‘Option’ applies. Search using the SOC code. If you qualify for the new entrant rate (Option E), scroll until you see the Option E going rate for your SOC code.

SOC code rates are based on a 37.5‑hour work week. It is possible to pro‑rata SOC code rates but not the general salary threshold. For example, SOC code 2311 (Lecturer) has a rate of £52,600, which equates to £51,198 for a University of Exeter 36.5‑hour week.

Salary - Health & Care Worker

Health, social care and education only.

Once you have found the related SOC 2020 code (either in SW A1.1 or Table 3), you must look at the salary level. This is the most complicated area of the Skilled Worker visa.

The salary for the job must meet the Home Office minimum threshold OR the going rate for the job, whichever is higher.

Minimum threshold

The Home Office minimum salary threshold in this sub-category is £31,300. However, there are several situations where you can be paid less than this and many apply to students. These are referred to as Options F–J and Option K.

Option F: Minimum threshold of £31,300 applies to anyone who does not qualify for one of the other options.

Option G: PhD graduates with a job offer related to their PhD. 90% of the threshold: £28,200.

Option H: STEM PhD graduates with a job offer related to their PhD. 80% of the threshold: £25,000.

Option I: Appendix Immigration Salary List (shortage occupation jobs): £25,000.

Option J: New entrants. 80% of the threshold: £25,000.

Option K: Job listed in Table 3 Appendix Skilled Occupation: £25,000.

What is a new entrant?

You are considered a ‘new entrant’ if you:

• Have a valid Student visa (or your Student visa expired less than 2 years ago) AND
• Have completed (or are applying no more than 3 months before completion) a UK degree or above on that visa OR
• Are currently studying a PhD for which you have completed at least 24 months in the UK.

You are also considered a new entrant if:

• Your most recent visa was a Graduate visa and it is still valid or expired within the last 2 years.

You may still qualify for the new entrant rate if you:

• Are under 26 OR
• Will work toward a recognised qualification in a UK regulated profession OR
• Will work toward full registration or chartered status in your sponsored job.

You are only eligible to use the new entrant reduced salary rate for 4 years. You must meet the minimum threshold (or Option F/G threshold if you hold a PhD) after 4 years to continue on the Skilled Worker route.

Going rate

The salary must meet the minimum threshold OR the going rate for the job — whichever is higher.

The going rate is what the Home Office considers the market rate for that job title.

• SOC 2020 codes listed in SW A1.1 (Appendix Skilled Worker): Go to Table 2 on Appendix Skilled Occupations.
• SOC 2020 codes listed in Table 3 (Appendix Skilled Occupation): Go to Table 3.

Scroll to the bottom of the table to find the horizontal scroll bar. You will need to scroll across to see the different going rate levels depending on your ‘Option’. Use the SOC code to find the job you are looking at. If you qualify for the new entrant rate (Option J), scroll until you find the Option J going rate for your SOC code.

The going rate may be higher than the minimum threshold. If so, the higher rate applies. If the salary does not meet that higher going rate, the role is not eligible for Skilled Worker sponsorship.

English language

You must have a minimum level of English of CEFR B2 or above to get a Skilled Worker visa. If you have been awarded a UK degree, you will meet this requirement. You can also meet it through a Secure English Language Test (SELT) or because you are a national of a majority English speaking country .

If you are due to start your Skilled Worker job straight after you finish your degree, you might not have been awarded a degree yet.

Previous government sponsorship

If you have received official financial sponsorship from a government for your studies within the last 12 months, you will need written permission from your government sponsor to remain in the UK and apply for a Skilled Worker visa.

4 year limit on Option E

If you rely on Option E for salary, you should be aware that an application under this option has a time limit.

You can only rely on the lower Option E New Entrant salary level for 4 years and those 4 years include any time you spent on a Graduate visa. After 4 years, you need to being paid in line with one of the other Options in order to continue to be sponsored for a Skilled Worker visa. 

Switching from Student visa - when to apply

You can apply for a Skilled Worker visa up to 3 months before the employment start date that’s listed on your CoS.

However, if you are on a Student visa, you can only submit a Skilled Worker application before your course finishes if the CoS start date is after the end date of your course. For example, if your course finishes on 24 September, and your CoS start date is 1 October, you could apply for your Skilled Worker visa in the 3 months before 1 October.

If your course end date is 24 September and your CoS start date is 1 September, you would not be able to apply for a Skilled Worker visa until you finish your course. Therefore these dates would not work out and you may want to negotiate a later start date with your employer.​

Note: If you are needing your degree to meet the English language requirement, you won’t actually be able to meet that until you are awarded 1-3 months after you complete your degree.​

The only exception to above rules is if you are studying a PhD. PhD students can switch to Skilled Worker partway through a PhD as long as they have completed up to 24 months. We would recommend discussing this with us, however, particularly if you will carry on with your PhD at the same time.