Skilled Worker visa salary threshold 2026: what you need to earn

Quick answer: The Skilled Worker visa salary threshold in 2026 is £41,700 (forty-one thousand seven hundred pounds) a year, or the going rate for your job if that is higher. Some applicants can be paid less: new entrants, relevant PhD holders, postdoctoral researchers and immigration salary list jobs can qualify from £33,400 (thirty-three thousand four hundred pounds), and certain people extending older visas from £31,300.

This guide explains the minimum salary for a Skilled Worker visa in the UK, how going rates work, when a lower rate applies, and how to check that an employer is a licensed sponsor.

Last verified: 28 September 2026 against GOV.UK.

What is the salary threshold for a Skilled Worker visa?

The Skilled Worker visa lets you work in the UK for a Home Office approved employer in an eligible job. Three things must line up: your job must be on the list of eligible occupations, your employer must hold a sponsor licence, and your pay must reach the Skilled Worker visa salary requirements for your type of work.

The usual minimum salary is the higher of:

• £41,700 a year, or
• the going rate for your occupation.

Compare both figures and use the bigger one. If your pay is below that number, you may still qualify through one of the lower rates below. Your employer must also pay at least the UK minimum wage and follow UK working hours rules, or the application will be refused.

How Skilled Worker visa going rates work

Every job belongs to a 4-digit occupation code, and each code has its own annual going rate in the GOV.UK going rates table. If you already have an offer, ask your employer for the code. If not, search your job title in the CASCOT occupation coding tool.

Duties matter more than titles, because similar jobs can sit under different codes. GOV.UK notes, for example, that bricklayers, roofers and carpenters are eligible, while construction labourers are not.

GOV.UK’s own example shows why the going rate matters: if your salary is £42,000 but the going rate for your job is £45,000, you do not meet the standard requirement, even though you earn more than £41,700.

How your job’s skill level affects eligibility

The eligible occupations table labels each code as higher skilled or medium skilled. This decides whether you can use the route at all, before salary comes into it.

• Higher skilled: eligible, as long as you meet the salary and sponsor rules.
• Medium skilled: only eligible if the job is on the immigration salary list or the temporary shortage list, if you are a prison officer (code 3314) extending or switching, or if you are extending and got your first certificate of sponsorship before 22 July 2025.

Medium skilled workers usually cannot bring a partner or children unless they have been continuously employed in a medium skilled job on a Skilled Worker visa since before 22 July 2025, or their child was born in the UK.

When you can be paid less than £41,700

If your pay is below £41,700 or below your job’s standard going rate, GOV.UK allows 70% to 90% of the going rate in set cases, as long as pay stays above a floor.

New entrants: 70% of the going rate

You can be paid 70% of the going rate, with a minimum of £33,400 a year, if one of these applies:

• you are under 26 on the date you apply.
• you are in the UK on a Student visa studying at bachelor’s level or above, or held one in the last 2 years and a Student or visit visa was your most recent visa.
• you are on a Graduate visa, or held one in the last 2 years and a Graduate or visit visa was your most recent visa.
• you will work towards a recognised qualification in a UK regulated profession.
• you will work towards full registration or chartered status in the sponsored job.

Your total stay under this discount cannot exceed 4 years, including any time on a Graduate visa.

PhD holders: 80% or 90%

A relevant STEM PhD lets you earn 80% of the going rate, with a floor of £33,400. A relevant PhD in any other subject allows 90%, with a floor of £37,500 (thirty-seven thousand five hundred pounds). You need a UK PhD or an equivalent overseas doctorate, confirmed through Ecctis if it is from abroad, and your employer must confirm it is relevant to the job.

Postdoctoral roles

Postdoctoral science and higher education roles can pay 70% of the going rate, with a £33,400 floor, if the job falls under codes 2111, 2112, 2113, 2114, 2115, 2119, 2162 or 2311. The 4-year cap applies here too.

Immigration salary list jobs

Jobs on the immigration salary list need at least £33,400 a year, and you must still earn the standard going rate for the job. The list mainly helps where a job’s going rate sits below £41,700. Check where an entry applies, because some cover only one UK nation. These jobs also carry a lower visa fee.

If you got your first visa before 4 April 2024

Workers who got the certificate of sponsorship for their first Tier 2 or Skilled Worker visa before 4 April 2024, and have held Skilled Worker visas continuously since, can extend or update on the higher of £31,300 (thirty-one thousand three hundred pounds) or the lower going rate for their occupation. GOV.UK says these lower rates only apply to applications made before 4 April 2030.

Healthcare, education and prison officers

Some healthcare and education jobs follow national pay scales instead. If you work in health or adult social care, compare the Health and Care Worker visa, which costs less. Care workers (code 6135) and senior care workers (code 6136) in England must work for an employer registered with the Care Quality Commission.

Prison officers extending or switching need the higher of £31,300 or the lower going rate for prison officers. The certificate of sponsorship must be issued by 31 December 2026 for switching or 31 December 2027 for extending. GOV.UK states that new applicants for prison officer roles will not get a certificate before 31 December 2026.

Skilled Worker minimum salary at a glance

In every row, you need whichever is higher: the salary floor or the share of the going rate.

Worked examples

These examples use the £45,000 going rate from GOV.UK’s example.

1. Standard rule: £45,000 is higher than £41,700, so £45,000 is your minimum.
2. Under 26: 70% of £45,000 is £31,500, which is below the £33,400 floor, so you need £33,400.
3. Relevant STEM PhD: 80% of £45,000 is £36,000, above £33,400, so you need £36,000.
4. Relevant non-STEM PhD: 90% of £45,000 is £40,500, above £37,500, so you need £40,500.
5. Immigration salary list: you still need the full going rate, so the minimum stays at £45,000.

What counts as salary?

The GOV.UK pages used here do not list which parts of your pay count towards the threshold, so this guide does not either. Your employer checks eligibility before issuing the certificate of sponsorship, so ask them to confirm the salary they will record.

Skilled Worker visa fees

From outside the UK, the standard application fee is £819 per person for up to 3 years or £1,618 per person for more than 3 years. From inside the UK, it is £943 for up to 3 years or £1,865 for more than 3 years. You also pay the Immigration Health Surcharge. Immigration salary list jobs pay a lower fee.

How to check an employer is a licensed sponsor

You need a job offer from an approved employer before you apply. The Home Office publishes the register of licensed sponsors: workers, a CSV file listing each licensed organisation, the worker routes it can sponsor and its rating. UK Visas and Immigration updates it often; the latest update at the time of checking was 28 September 2026.

Search the file for the company’s registered name and confirm its entry includes Skilled Worker. An employer that is not listed can apply for a licence if eligible. The fee is £611 for small businesses and charities or £1,682 for medium and large organisations, and processing usually takes around 8 weeks.

Never pay anyone for a job offer or a certificate of sponsorship. A genuine sponsor is on the register.

Checklist before you apply

• Get your 4-digit occupation code from your employer or the CASCOT tool.
• Check whether the code is higher skilled or medium skilled.
• Find the going rate for your code.
• Take the higher of £41,700 and the going rate, unless a lower rate applies.
• If a lower rate applies, confirm the percentage and the floor for your case.
• Search the register of licensed sponsors for your employer.
• Apply within 3 months of getting your certificate of sponsorship, and no earlier than 3 months before your start date.

A decision usually takes 3 weeks from outside the UK or 8 weeks from inside. The visa can last up to 5 years before you need to extend it.

Frequently asked questions

What is the minimum salary for a UK Skilled Worker visa in 2026?

£41,700 a year or your job’s going rate, whichever is higher. Lower rates from £33,400 apply to new entrants, relevant PhD holders, postdoctoral roles and immigration salary list jobs.

What was the new salary threshold for the Skilled Worker visa?

The standard threshold now stands at £41,700. People who got their first certificate of sponsorship before 4 April 2024 and have stayed on the route can still extend on £31,300 or the lower going rate until 4 April 2030.

Does the immigration salary list lower the going rate?

No. It lowers the salary floor to £33,400, but you must still be paid the standard going rate for the job.

Can I get a Skilled Worker visa at £33,400 as a graduate?

Yes, if you qualify as a new entrant, for example as a recent Student or Graduate visa holder, and 70% of your job’s going rate is not higher than £33,400. Your total stay on this discount is capped at 4 years.

Related guides

Still studying? Browse scholarships in the UK, USA, Europe and Canada or see more visa sponsorship job guides.

Official sources

• GOV.UK: Skilled Worker visa
• GOV.UK: Skilled Worker visa, your job
• GOV.UK: When you can be paid less
• GOV.UK: How much it costs
• GOV.UK: Register of licensed sponsors, workers

This is general information, not legal or immigration advice. Check GOV.UK before you apply, because thresholds and rules change.