Skilled Worker visa salary rules, in plain English

Salary is where most sponsorship dreams quietly die. The company likes you, the licence is real, and then the number on the contract is too low and the visa cannot be granted.

The rules sound complicated, but for most people they come down to three numbers.

The general rule: £41,700

For most Skilled Worker jobs, the salary must be at least £41,700 a year. This is the general threshold. If your job offer is below this, the standard route is closed unless your job belongs to a special group.

Health and Care jobs: £25,000

Care workers, senior carers, and many NHS and care-home roles use the Health and Care visa. Its floor is much lower: £25,000 a year. This is why care work is the realistic route for so many people already in the UK.

The going rate: each job has its own number

Every job type also has its own 'going rate' set by the Home Office. You must meet BOTH numbers: the threshold for your route AND the going rate for your exact job code. A £42,000 offer can still fail if the going rate for that job is £45,000.

Hours matter too. The going rate assumes a standard week. A low hourly rate over long hours does not fix a failing salary.

How to check your own offer

• Find the job's occupation code (the employer's HR usually knows it).
• Look up that code's going rate in the Home Office's Skilled Worker appendix on gov.uk.
• Compare your yearly salary with both the route minimum and the going rate. The higher one wins.
• If it fails, ask the employer if the salary can move. Sometimes it can.

What we do

Every job on SponsorJobUK already passed the pay check for its own role before you see it. Jobs where the stated pay is below the floor are removed. You never waste an application on a salary that cannot carry a visa.