Going rates by job

How the Going Rate Works

The going rate system ensures that migrant workers are paid a salary comparable to what UK workers earn in the same occupation. Each occupation has a going rate based on the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system.

When applying for a Skilled Worker visa, you must be paid at least the going rate for your occupation or the general salary threshold, whichever is higher. The general threshold has moved twice: £26,200 until 3 April 2024, £38,700 from 4 April 2024, and £41,700 since 22 July 2025. See our salary threshold guide.

Finding Your SOC Code and Going Rate

Every occupation eligible for the Skilled Worker visa has a SOC code. The going rate for each code is published in Appendix Skilled Occupations of the Immigration Rules, and as a searchable table on GOV.UK.

Which table applies matters. Table 1 holds the rates for a new applicant, set at the median of Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings data for the occupation. Table 2 holds the same codes at the 25th percentile of that data, and is only open to someone who was granted permission as a Skilled Worker under the rules in place before 4 April 2024 and has held it continuously since. Health and education codes sit in Tables 3 to 5, where the rate comes from a national pay scale rather than earnings data.

Your employer identifies the SOC code when assigning your certificate of sponsorship. The code must match the actual duties of the role, not just the job title. If the wrong SOC code is used, the visa application can be refused.

Examples of how going rates vary:

• Software developers have a different going rate from IT project managers.
• Nurses have a different rate from doctors.
• Civil engineers have a different rate from mechanical engineers.

The going rate is expressed as an annual salary based on a 37.5-hour week. Paragraph SW 14.4 pro-rates it by your weekly working hours divided by 37.5. The general threshold is not pro-rated in the same way: your actual pay must still reach it. And where you are sponsored for more than 48 hours a week, paragraph SW 14.3 counts only the pay for the first 48 hours towards the thresholds.

New Entrant Discount

A new entrant is measured at 70% of the going rate, with a floor of £33,400 a year — whichever of the two is higher. You count as a new entrant if any one of these applies:

• You are under 26 on the date of application.
• Your most recent permission was as a Student on a UK bachelor's, master's or doctoral course, a Postgraduate Certificate in Education, or a Professional Graduate Diploma of Education.
• Your most recent permission was on the Graduate route.
• The job is in a UK Regulated Profession and you are working towards the recognised UK professional qualification for it, or towards full registration or chartered status with the relevant professional body.
• The job is a postdoctoral position in occupation code 2111, 2112, 2113, 2114, 2115, 2119, 2162 or 2311.

A grant on this basis must not take your combined permission as a Skilled Worker, Graduate and/or Tier 2 Migrant beyond 4 years in total. After that, the full figures apply.

A relevant PhD works the same way at different percentages: 90% of the going rate with a floor of £37,500, or 80% with a floor of £33,400 where the PhD is in science, technology, engineering or mathematics. See our guide to PhD points.

The Immigration Salary List

The old Shortage Occupation List let a job be paid 80% of the going rate. That discount was abolished in April 2024, when the Immigration Salary List replaced it. Being on the Immigration Salary List now does two things: it lowers the general threshold from £41,700 to £33,400, and it reopens a medium-skilled occupation code to new applicants. It does not discount the going rate at all — the full published going rate must still be paid. A worker sponsored on this basis cannot bring a partner or children.

What Counts Towards the Going Rate

Only certain types of pay count towards meeting the going rate:

• Guaranteed basic gross pay: before income tax, including employee pension and national insurance contributions.
• Other guaranteed payments treated exactly the same as basic gross pay for tax, pension and national insurance purposes.
• Does not count (paragraph SW 14.2): shift, overtime and bonus pay, whether or not guaranteed; commission; tips; one-off payments; benefits in kind; employer pension and national insurance; business expenses; and allowances, which the rules exclude by name, giving accommodation and cost of living allowances as examples.

For Employers

If you are an employer sponsoring a Skilled Worker, ensuring you meet the going rate is a fundamental compliance obligation:

• Check the going rate before assigning a certificate of sponsorship.
• Use the correct SOC code. Misclassification can lead to visa refusal and compliance issues. See our hiring overseas workers guide.
• Review salaries at each visa extension to ensure they still meet the going rate, which may have been updated.
• Remember that going rates can change between Statement of Changes. Monitor updates on sponsor responsibilities.

If Your Salary Is Below the Going Rate

If your salary does not meet the going rate and you do not qualify for a new entrant discount, you have limited options:

• A higher salary agreed with your employer.
• A check that the SOC code chosen actually matches your duties — it must, and the rules forbid choosing a less appropriate code merely because it has a lower going rate.
• One of the published reductions above, if the conditions for it are met.
• Another immigration route, each of which has its own published requirements.

You may also find our UK Visa Fees: Complete Guide and Immigration Health Surcharge helpful.

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