UK Skilled Worker Visa Salary Threshold 2026: Going Rate Explained

The UK Skilled Worker visa salary threshold has dominated employer compliance conversations since the Home Office raised the general minimum to £38,700 on 4 April 2024, the largest single increase in work-route pay rules since the points-based system launched in December 2020. The figure sits alongside an occupation-specific going rate published in Appendix Skilled Occupations, and sponsors must always pay whichever of the two is higher. The new entrant discount, PhD relevant-field reduction, and the Immigration Salary List created after the Shortage Occupation List closed on 4 April 2024 each alter the headline wage bar in material ways. Understanding how these pay floors, occupation codes, and concession rates interact is now the single largest compliance cost item on a sponsor licence, because getting the going rate wrong at Certificate of Sponsorship assignment triggers refusal and potential licence action from UK Visas and Immigration.

What is the general salary threshold in 2026?

The general minimum salary for a Skilled Worker visa is £38,700 gross per year, set by the Home Office on 4 April 2024 and unchanged at the start of 2026, per paragraph SW 4.2 of Appendix Skilled Worker in the Immigration Rules on gov.uk. That threshold replaced the previous £26,200 floor, a 48 per cent uplift designed to lift sponsored wages to the 25th percentile of resident full-time workers.

The general threshold is a floor, not a ceiling. Sponsors must still pay the occupation-specific going rate from Appendix Skilled Occupations where that rate is higher, a test applied per role at Certificate of Sponsorship assignment. Workers who held Skilled Worker leave before 4 April 2024 retain the earlier £26,200 rate on extension, a transitional protection set out in paragraph SW 4.2(c) of Appendix Skilled Worker and still operative in 2026.

How does the going rate work alongside the threshold?

Every eligible role carries a four-digit Standard Occupational Classification code from ONS SOC 2020, and each SOC code has a published going rate in Appendix Skilled Occupations. The rate is calculated at the 25th percentile of annual pay for full-time workers in that occupation, using the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, per the Home Office methodology note refreshed April 2024. For a programmer on SOC 2136 the going rate is £49,400, materially higher than the £38,700 general floor, so the sponsor must pay at least £49,400.

Going rates are expressed as annual salary based on a 37.5-hour working week. Where contracted hours differ, sponsors must pro-rata upward so that hourly pay matches the going rate equivalent, a calculation audited by UK Visas and Immigration during compliance visits. Allowances, bonuses, and non-guaranteed overtime do not count towards the salary for threshold purposes, per paragraph SW 14.3 of Appendix Skilled Worker.

When does the Immigration Salary List reduce the floor?

The Immigration Salary List replaced the Shortage Occupation List on 4 April 2024, following the Migration Advisory Committee report published in February 2024. Roles on the list qualify for a reduced floor of £30,960 per year, or 80 per cent of the going rate, whichever is higher, per paragraph SW 4.4 of Appendix Skilled Worker.

The MAC recommended a narrower list than the old Shortage Occupation List, with pharmacists, laboratory technicians, and several engineering craft occupations retained while chefs and graphic designers were removed. The Home Office accepted the MAC's interim list in March 2024, covering 21 occupations. Unlike the old SOL, the Immigration Salary List does not carry a discounted visa application fee, a break from the pre-April 2024 regime.

Who qualifies as a new entrant?

New entrants pay 70 per cent of the going rate and benefit from a reduced floor of £30,960 per year, per paragraph SW 4.3 of Appendix Skilled Worker. Five routes qualify: applicants under 26 at the date of application, applicants switching from a Student or Graduate visa, applicants working towards a recognised professional qualification, applicants working towards chartered status, and applicants in postdoctoral positions listed in the Rules.

The concession operates for up to four years across all Skilled Worker permissions, after which the applicant must meet the full going rate to extend. The Home Office does not publish a standalone breakdown of new entrant grants, so sponsors should treat the concession as a finite runway and plan for a pay step at year five, particularly for roles with high going rates such as finance analysts or legal professionals.

How does the PhD discount work?

Applicants with a PhD relevant to the job pay 90 per cent of the going rate, falling to 80 per cent where the PhD is in a STEM subject, per paragraph SW 4.5 of Appendix Skilled Worker on gov.uk. The absolute floor remains £38,700 for the 90 per cent concession and £30,960 for the STEM 80 per cent concession, so the discount only bites where the going rate is above those floors.

UK Visas and Immigration treats a STEM PhD as one awarded in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics, using UCAS subject groupings. Sponsors must verify the PhD through an academic reference and record evidence on the Sponsor Management System, per Home Office sponsor guidance version 12/23 published December 2023 and refreshed in subsequent updates on gov.uk.

How does pay vary across SOC codes?

Going rates are updated at each Immigration Rules change, typically once per year. Sponsors should check the figure in the version of Appendix Skilled Occupations in force on the date of CoS assignment, because the rate that applies is the one current at assignment, not the one in force when the vacancy was advertised. Using a superseded rate is a common compliance error flagged in UKVI audit reports.

Frequently asked questions

Is £38,700 the minimum for every Skilled Worker visa?

No. £38,700 is the general threshold from 4 April 2024, but the going rate for the specific SOC code applies where it is higher. The Health and Care Worker visa uses a lower £23,200 floor, and transitional protections apply to workers with leave granted before 4 April 2024.

Do bonuses count towards the salary threshold?

No. Only guaranteed basic gross pay counts. Allowances, bonuses, non-guaranteed overtime, and benefits in kind are excluded, per paragraph SW 14.3 of Appendix Skilled Worker on gov.uk.

Can a part-time role meet the threshold?

A part-time role must meet the hourly equivalent of the full-time threshold and the going rate. The calculation uses a 37.5-hour week as the baseline, so a 20-hour post must pay pro-rata at the same hourly rate as a full-time role at £38,700.

Does the PhD discount apply on extension?

Yes, provided the PhD remains relevant to the job and the sponsor holds the evidence. The 80 per cent STEM discount and the 90 per cent non-STEM discount operate on any in-time extension, per paragraph SW 4.5 of Appendix Skilled Worker.

What happens if the going rate is updated mid-contract?

Existing sponsorship remains valid, but any new Certificate of Sponsorship assigned after the update must use the current going rate. Sponsors extending a worker should reassess salary against the rate in force on the CoS assignment date.

Do Scottish, Welsh, or Northern Ireland pay rules differ?

No. Immigration is reserved to Westminster, so the £38,700 threshold and going rates apply uniformly across the UK, regardless of devolved NHS or public sector pay structures.

Is the threshold indexed to inflation?

Not automatically. The Home Office reviews thresholds alongside periodic Immigration Rules changes, typically annually, with input from the Migration Advisory Committee. Sponsors should expect further uplifts but cannot predict them.

Sources

• Home Office, Appendix Skilled Worker, Immigration Rules, gov.uk — version effective 4 April 2024, accessed April 2026.
• Home Office, Appendix Skilled Occupations, gov.uk — going rates schedule effective 4 April 2024.
• UKVI, Visa regulations revised table, gov.uk/government/publications/visa-regulations-revised-table — fee schedule effective 9 April 2025.
• Migration Advisory Committee, Review of the Shortage Occupation List, gov.uk — published February 2024.
• Home Office, Worker and Temporary Worker sponsor guidance, version 12/23, gov.uk — published December 2023.
• Office for National Statistics, SOC 2020, Volume 3, ons.gov.uk — ASHE methodology.
• Home Office, Immigration Health Surcharge rates, gov.uk — effective 6 February 2024.

Related reading on kaeltripton.com: UK immigration visa application 2026, UK visa sponsor licence, UK visa fees 2026.