UK Skilled Worker Visa Explained: Requirements, Salary Rules and Common Refusal Risks

The Skilled Worker route remains one of the principal routes through which UK employers recruit overseas workers and one of the main work routes capable of leading to settlement.

But the route has changed significantly.

The April 2024 reforms substantially increased salary requirements. Further changes from 22 July 2025 raised the normal skill threshold to RQF level 6, introduced the Temporary Shortage List, restricted sponsorship in medium-skilled occupations and ended new overseas recruitment for care workers and senior care workers.

From 8 January 2026, the English-language requirement was also increased for many new Skilled Worker applicants.

As at October 2026, the current Skilled Worker caseworker guidance is version 20.0, published on 3 August 2026. The Immigration Rules and wider sponsor guidance must also be read alongside that guidance.

What is the Skilled Worker visa?

The Skilled Worker route allows an eligible individual to work in the UK in a specific job for a Home Office-approved sponsor.

The applicant must have a valid Certificate of Sponsorship, the proposed role must be eligible under the current occupational rules, the relevant salary requirement must be met, and the applicant must satisfy the English-language and other applicable immigration requirements.

The route can lead to settlement in the UK.

Dependent partners and children can also apply in many cases, although significant restrictions now apply where the main applicant is sponsored as a care worker, senior care worker or in certain medium-skilled occupations.

How is a Skilled Worker application assessed?

A Skilled Worker application has validity, suitability and eligibility requirements.

The applicant must submit the correct application, pay the relevant fee and Immigration Health Surcharge where applicable, provide biometrics and satisfactory identity evidence, and have a Certificate of Sponsorship assigned no more than three months before the application.

The CoS must also contain a start date no more than three months after the application date and must not have been withdrawn, cancelled or already used in an application that was granted or refused.

If the validity requirements are not met, the application may be rejected as invalid rather than decided substantively.

Suitability and immigration history

The applicant must not fall for refusal under Part Suitability.

Criminality, deception, previous immigration breaches and other suitability matters can affect the application.

The original draft stated that anybody on immigration bail is automatically unsuitable. That is now too broad.

For an in-country Skilled Worker application, the Rules provide that an applicant must not be in breach of immigration laws or on immigration bail, except where the Exceptions for Overstayers provisions in Part Suitability apply. The Skilled Worker guidance was specifically updated in August 2026 to reflect this change.

An immigration bail case therefore needs to be considered against the precise circumstances rather than treated as an automatic refusal in every situation.

The Skilled Worker points requirement

A Skilled Worker applicant must normally score 70 points.

Fifty of those are mandatory.

The applicant receives 20 points for valid sponsorship, 20 points for a job at the appropriate skill level and 10 points for meeting the English-language requirement.

A further 20 tradeable points must then be obtained through one of the permitted salary options.

English language requirement in 2026

This is one of the areas where the original article needs a significant correction.

For most applicants making their first Skilled Worker application on or after 8 January 2026, the required level is B2 in reading, writing, speaking and listening.

However, a person whose most recent Skilled Worker permission was granted under the previous B1 requirement can continue to rely on the B1 standard when extending or updating their Skilled Worker permission, provided the relevant rules are satisfied.

The January 2026 change therefore does not mean every existing Skilled Worker suddenly has to obtain B2 English.

The general Skilled Worker salary threshold is now £41,700

For most applicants relying on the standard salary option, the salary must be at least:

£41,700 per year; and

the full applicable going rate for the relevant SOC 2020 occupation code.

Both requirements must be met. Paying £41,700 does not make a job eligible if the applicable going rate is higher. Equally, meeting the going rate does not help if the general threshold is not met.

This £41,700 threshold replaced the previous £38,700 general threshold from 22 July 2025.

When can an applicant be paid less than £41,700?

The Skilled Worker Rules contain several tradeable salary options.

Under the standard framework, a relevant PhD can permit a salary of at least £37,500 and 90% of the going rate.

A relevant STEM PhD can permit a salary of at least £33,400 and 80% of the going rate.

A qualifying job on the Immigration Salary List can use a threshold of at least £33,400 together with the applicable full going rate.

A qualifying new entrant can also use a salary of at least £33,400, provided the salary is at least 70% of the applicable going rate and the other new-entrant requirements are satisfied.

There are separate lower options for specified transitional applicants and certain Health and Care occupations. Depending on the applicable category, those thresholds can be £31,300, £28,200 or £25,000.

It is therefore misleading to quote one universal Skilled Worker salary figure without first identifying which salary option applies.

New entrant status

New entrant status is not simply another name for being young.

An applicant may potentially qualify as a new entrant because they are under 26, are being sponsored in a qualifying postdoctoral position, are pursuing certain professional qualifications or registrations, or have qualifying recent Student or Graduate immigration history.

Where new entrant provisions are relied upon, the combined period of permission under the relevant Skilled Worker, Graduate and/or Tier 2 categories must not exceed four years.

The individual facts therefore need to be checked before applying the lower salary threshold.

RQF level 6 is now the general skill threshold

From 22 July 2025, the normal Skilled Worker skill threshold increased to RQF level 6, broadly corresponding to graduate-level occupations.

This refers to the skill level of the job, not a requirement that the applicant personally hold a university degree.

A person may therefore qualify for an eligible RQF 6 occupation based on their experience and other qualifications even if they do not possess a bachelor's degree, provided the remaining immigration requirements are met.

There are, however, important exceptions for certain occupations below RQF 6.

Medium-skilled jobs and the Immigration Salary List

Certain occupations below RQF level 6 remain eligible where they appear on the Immigration Salary List.

The Immigration Salary List is important for two separate reasons.

First, it can make an otherwise medium-skilled occupation eligible for Skilled Worker sponsorship.

Second, qualifying applicants may use the specific Immigration Salary List salary option.

The current Appendix Immigration Salary List contains occupation-specific and, in some cases, UK-nation-specific entries and removal dates. Employers should therefore check the live Appendix rather than relying on an old shortage occupation list.

The Temporary Shortage List is different

The Temporary Shortage List, introduced in July 2025, is separate from the Immigration Salary List.

Its purpose is primarily to permit specified medium-skilled occupations to access the Skilled Worker route.

Importantly, being on the TSL does not itself provide a salary discount. An applicant must still satisfy one of the applicable Skilled Worker salary options.

The TSL is also expressly temporary.

Under the Rules in force on 13 October 2026, an occupation is only treated as being on the Temporary Shortage List where the application is made using a Certificate of Sponsorship issued before 31 December 2026.

Employers recruiting into TSL occupations towards the end of 2026 should therefore pay particular attention to the CoS date and any further Immigration Rules changes.

Transitional protection for existing Skilled Workers

The July 2025 RQF 6 changes did not simply remove every existing Skilled Worker in a medium-skilled occupation from the route.

There are transitional arrangements for workers who were granted Skilled Worker permission under the Rules in place before 22 July 2025 and have maintained continuous Skilled Worker permission.

Depending on their circumstances, those workers can continue to access occupation tables that are no longer generally available to new applicants.

This may allow extensions, changes of employment and other applications in occupations below RQF 6 that would not be open to a new Skilled Worker applicant today.

This makes the applicant's immigration history particularly important when assessing occupation eligibility.

The Certificate of Sponsorship must be correct

A CoS is not simply a reference number.

The sponsor must be authorised to sponsor the job in question. Unless an exception applies for an extension with the same sponsor, the sponsor must also be A-rated.

Where the Immigration Skills Charge is payable, it must have been paid in full.

The occupation code, job description, salary, working hours, work location and other sponsorship information should accurately reflect the genuine employment.

The Home Office may refuse the application where it has reasonable grounds to believe that the role does not exist, is a sham, or has been created mainly to facilitate the applicant's immigration application.

Choosing the wrong occupation code

Sponsors should not select an occupation code simply because it produces a lower salary requirement or makes the role eligible for sponsorship.

The Home Office can consider whether the code genuinely matches the job and whether the sponsor has chosen a less appropriate code because the correct occupation is ineligible, has a higher going rate or would prevent the applicant from receiving particular tradeable points.

The Home Office can look at the duties, the sponsor's business, the genuine need for the position, the worker's skills and experience and the sponsor's previous immigration compliance.

An incorrect or artificially selected occupation code can therefore lead not only to refusal but also to sponsor compliance consequences.

Third-party working

A Skilled Worker can sometimes work at a client's premises or perform work connected with a third-party contract.

What is prohibited is using Skilled Worker sponsorship as a labour-supply arrangement.

The sponsor must retain full responsibility for the duties, functions and outcomes or outputs of the worker's job.

Where the worker performs services for a client, the arrangement must be for the sponsor to deliver a genuine time-bound, non-routine service or project. The worker cannot simply be supplied to fill a routine position belonging to the third party.

This distinction is particularly important for consultancy, outsourcing, IT, care and other businesses where employees may routinely work at client sites.

Care workers and senior care workers in 2026

The position for care workers and senior care workers has changed substantially.

From 22 July 2025, new Skilled Worker entry clearance applications from overseas are no longer permitted for SOC 6135 Care workers and home carers or SOC 6136 Senior care workers.

The route remains available in limited circumstances for in-country applicants.

A person who is not already sponsored as a care worker or senior care worker may, under the current transitional provision, apply for permission to stay where they have been legally working for the proposed sponsor in one of those roles for at least three months before the CoS is assigned. That transitional provision currently requires the application to be made before 22 July 2028.

A person already holding continuous Skilled Worker permission in a care worker or senior care worker occupation may also apply for further Skilled Worker permission, including with a different sponsor, where the detailed requirements are satisfied.

CQC requirements in England

Where a sponsor wishes to sponsor a care worker or senior care worker whose job has a working location in England, the sponsor must normally be carrying on at least one regulated activity and hold active registration with the Care Quality Commission.

There is a specific transitional exception for certain workers sponsored under the pre-11 March 2024 arrangements who remain with the same sponsor, although separate regulatory obligations may still apply.

The original article therefore understated the complexity by simply saying that care providers must be CQC registered.

The worker's immigration history, sponsor, location and nature of the regulated activity all matter.

Salary for care workers

Care workers and senior care workers qualifying for the Health and Care visa must currently normally be paid at least £25,000 per year and £12.82 per hour.

Where the worker does not meet the Health and Care visa requirements but can otherwise be sponsored under the standard Skilled Worker route, the sponsor guidance specifies at least £33,400 per year and £17.13 per hour.

Maintenance funds

Where the financial requirement applies, the Skilled Worker applicant must normally have at least £1,270 available.

The funds must normally have been held for at least 28 consecutive days in accordance with Appendix Finance.

The applicant does not normally need to provide this evidence if they have already been in the UK with permission for at least 12 months.

Alternatively, an A-rated sponsor can certify maintenance on the CoS up to the required amount.

Criminal record certificates

Criminal record certificates are not required from every Skilled Worker.

For entry clearance applications, they are required for specified occupations, particularly across health, social care, education and related professions.

Where the requirement applies, the applicant normally needs certificates from relevant countries where they have been present for 12 months or more, whether continuously or cumulatively, during the previous ten years while aged 18 or over.

There is an exception where the applicant provides a satisfactory explanation showing that obtaining the certificate is not reasonably practicable.

It is therefore too absolute to say that failure to provide a certificate always results in mandatory refusal without qualification.

Dependants after the July 2025 reforms

Dependent partners and children can still accompany many Skilled Workers.

However, the position is now significantly more restrictive for workers in medium-skilled occupations.

A person sponsored in a medium-skilled occupation will generally not be able to bring new dependants unless a transitional or specific exception applies.

Workers who had qualifying continuous Skilled Worker permission in a medium-skilled occupation before 22 July 2025 may retain dependant rights under transitional provisions.

Care workers and senior care workers are subject to their own earlier dependant restrictions linked to 11 March 2024, again with transitional provisions and limited exceptions for certain children.

The dependant question should therefore be considered alongside the main applicant's occupation code and immigration history before sponsorship proceeds.

Switching into Skilled Worker from inside the UK

Not every person in the UK can switch into the Skilled Worker route.

A person cannot normally switch from Visitor, Short-term Student, Parent of a Child Student, Seasonal Worker, Domestic Worker in a Private Household permission or permission outside the Immigration Rules.

Students are also subject to specific course-completion and job-start-date requirements before they can switch, with separate provisions for PhD students.

Care workers and senior care workers face the additional restrictions discussed above.

Afghanistan Skilled Worker visa brake

A further 2026 development missing from the original article is the Skilled Worker visa brake.

From 26 March 2026, a national or citizen of Afghanistan cannot make a successful application for Skilled Worker entry clearance under the current Rules.

Appendix Skilled Worker expressly provides that a national or citizen of Afghanistan must not be applying for Skilled Worker entry clearance.

This restriction concerns entry clearance and should not be presented as a general prohibition on every possible in-country Skilled Worker application by an Afghan national.

Settlement under the Skilled Worker route

The Skilled Worker route can lead to Indefinite Leave to Remain after a qualifying continuous five-year period.

The five years do not necessarily have to consist entirely of Skilled Worker permission. Appendix Skilled Worker allows certain other qualifying settlement routes to be combined with Skilled Worker residence.

The applicant must satisfy the continuous residence requirement, normally including the relevant absence limits.

Their most recent sponsor must remain licensed to sponsor Skilled Workers and must confirm that the applicant is still required for the job for the foreseeable future.

The applicant must also meet the applicable settlement salary requirement, which is not necessarily identical to the salary threshold used when the most recent visa was granted.

English and settlement

The original draft also needs correcting on this point.

For a Skilled Worker settlement application made before 26 March 2027, the public Home Office guidance currently states that the applicant does not need to prove the English-language requirement again because English was already demonstrated for the work visa.

The applicant must, however, meet the Knowledge of Life in the UK requirement.

A new settlement English requirement takes effect for Skilled Worker settlement applications made on or after 26 March 2027, when Appendix Skilled Worker introduces a B2 requirement.

This future change should be highlighted to Skilled Workers whose five-year qualifying period ends from March 2027 onwards.

Common refusal risks in 2026

The most common risks are no longer limited to having a salary below a single published threshold.

Problems can arise because the wrong SOC code has been used, the job is no longer eligible at its skill level, the wrong salary option has been applied, the worker does not qualify for transitional protection, the role is not considered genuine, the CoS contains incorrect information, the sponsor has not paid the required Immigration Skills Charge, or the proposed arrangement amounts to prohibited third-party labour supply.

Care-worker cases can additionally fail because the applicant is applying from overseas, the three-month in-country employment requirement has not been satisfied, or the sponsor does not meet the applicable CQC requirements.

Medium-skilled applicants may also discover that while the main worker can qualify through the ISL, TSL or transitional arrangements, their family members cannot necessarily accompany them.

The Skilled Worker route is therefore increasingly dependent on correctly identifying which version of the rules applies to that particular worker, rather than simply checking whether the employer has a sponsor licence.

How GigaLegal Solicitors can help

At GigaLegal Solicitors, we advise both employers and individuals on Skilled Worker sponsorship and visa applications.

This includes assessing whether a proposed role is eligible, reviewing occupation codes and job descriptions, calculating the applicable salary and going rate, determining whether transitional arrangements apply, reviewing Certificates of Sponsorship and advising on change-of-employment applications.

We also advise sponsors on care-worker sponsorship, Immigration Salary List and Temporary Shortage List cases, third-party working arrangements, sponsor compliance and the consequences of sponsor licence suspension or revocation.

For applicants, we advise on Skilled Worker applications, switching, dependant eligibility, settlement, refusals and Administrative Review.

Disclaimer

This article is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Skilled Worker eligibility depends on the applicant's circumstances, immigration history, occupation, salary and sponsorship arrangements. The Immigration Rules, occupation lists, salary figures and Home Office guidance can change, and the current requirements should always be checked before a Certificate of Sponsorship is assigned or an application is submitted.

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