New Entrant Salary Rate: Skilled Worker Visa
Understanding the reduced salary threshold for new entrants to the UK labour market on the Skilled Worker visa.
- Section
- Skilled Worker Visa
- Reading time
- 9 min
- Last checked
- 28 March 2026
- Source
- The published Immigration Rules and GOV.UK guidance, linked throughout this guide.
- Rowan does not
- Look at your own case, tell you which route to choose, or say what the Home Office will decide. This guide shows the published rules and where to read them.
In short
- New entrants pay 70% of the going rate (minimum £33,400) instead of the full threshold.
- You must be under 26, coming from a Student or Graduate visa, in a listed postdoctoral post, or working towards professional registration.
- A new entrant grant must keep combined Skilled Worker, Graduate and Tier 2 permission within 4 years in total.
- After 4 years, you must meet the standard salary threshold.
- Plan ahead: your salary needs to increase before the new entrant period expires.
The new entrant salary rate allows qualifying Skilled Worker visa applicants to meet a lower salary threshold than the standard rate. This is designed to help younger workers and recent graduates enter the UK labour market. This guide explains who qualifies, how the rate is calculated, and what happens when the new entrant period expires.
Who Qualifies as a New Entrant?
You qualify for the new entrant rate if you meet any of the following criteria at the time of your Skilled Worker visa application:
- Age. You are under 26 on the date of application.
- A listed postdoctoral position. The job is a postdoctoral position in occupation code 2111 (chemical scientists), 2112 (biological scientists), 2113 (biochemists and biomedical scientists), 2114 (physical scientists), 2115 (social and humanities scientists), 2119 (natural and social science professionals not elsewhere classified), 2162 (other researchers, unspecified discipline), or 2311 (higher education teaching professionals).
- Working towards a professional qualification. The job is in a UK Regulated Profession and you are working towards the recognised UK professional qualification for it.
- Working towards registration. You are working towards full registration or chartered status with the relevant professional body for the job.
- Coming from a Student visa. Your most recent permission was as a Student, sponsored to study a UK bachelor's degree, master's degree, PhD or other doctoral qualification, Postgraduate Certificate in Education, or Professional Graduate Diploma of Education — and you have completed the course, are within 3 months of completing it, or are studying for a PhD on which you have done at least 12 months in the UK. If that Student permission has expired, it must have expired less than 2 years ago.
- Coming from the Graduate route. Your most recent permission was as a Graduate, and if it has expired, it expired less than 2 years ago.
Only one of these needs to apply. Visitor permission is disregarded when working out what your most recent permission was.
How the Reduced Rate Is Calculated
See our visa fees guide for total application costs.
New entrants must meet the higher of:
- 70% of the going rate for the specific occupation (SOC code)
- The minimum salary floor of £33,400
For example, if the going rate for your occupation is £40,000, the new entrant rate would be £28,000 — but because the minimum floor is £33,400, you would need to be paid at least £33,400.
The going rate varies by occupation. Check the GOV.UK going rates table for your specific occupation.
The 4-Year Limit
The new entrant rate is not permanent, and the limit is not measured the way people often assume. Paragraph SW 12.3 says 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, whether or not that permission was continuous. Two years on the Graduate route therefore leaves only two years of new entrant Skilled Worker permission.
Once the 4 years are used:
- You must meet the standard salary threshold of £41,700, or the full going rate for your occupation code if that is higher.
- An application that does not meet the salary rules in force on the day it is made can be refused, however long you have held permission before.
- Raise salary progression with your employer well before your extension is due.
The English language requirement is not reduced for new entrants and does not change when the 4 years end. For a new Skilled Worker application made on or after 8 January 2026 it is CEFR level B2; B1 is still accepted when you extend an existing permission on the same route.
Impact on Settlement
The published qualifying period for settlement (indefinite leave to remain) on the Skilled Worker route is 5 years, and your salary must meet the rules on the day you apply. Because 5 years is longer than the 4-year new entrant window, the standard figures — £41,700 or the full going rate, whichever is higher — will apply by the time you reach settlement.
Practical Points for Employers
See our visa switching guide for how workers transition between routes.
If you are a sponsor hiring a new entrant:
- The Certificate of Sponsorship should indicate the new entrant rate.
- Plan for salary progression. The employee will need to meet the standard rate within 4 years.
- Ensure salary increases are budgeted and agreed in advance.
Next Steps
Check whether you qualify for the new entrant rate and calculate the minimum salary for your occupation. For the latest going rates, see the GOV.UK going rates table. For help with your application, see our immigration solicitor guide.
Questions and answers
What is the new entrant salary rate?
The new entrant rate is a reduced salary threshold for Skilled Worker visa applicants who are new to the UK labour market. Instead of the standard £41,700 general threshold, new entrants must meet a lower threshold (currently 70% of the going rate for the occupation, with a minimum of £33,400).
Who qualifies as a new entrant?
Paragraph SW 12.2 of the Immigration Rules lists the ways in. You are under 26 on the date of application; or the job is a postdoctoral position in occupation code 2111, 2112, 2113, 2114, 2115, 2119, 2162 or 2311; or the job is in a UK Regulated Profession and you are working towards the recognised UK professional qualification for it; or you are working towards full registration or chartered status with the relevant professional body; or 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, which you have completed or are within 3 months of completing; or your most recent permission was as a Graduate. For the Student and Graduate routes, permission that has expired must have expired less than 2 years before the date of application.
How long does the new entrant rate last?
Paragraph SW 12.3 sets the limit differently from how it is often described. A grant on the new entrant basis must not take your combined permission as a Skilled Worker, Graduate and/or Tier 2 Migrant beyond 4 years in total, whether or not that permission was continuous. Time on the Graduate route therefore counts against the same 4 years. Once you reach that point, the standard salary rules apply.
Can I use the new entrant rate to extend my visa?
Only if the new grant would keep your combined permission as a Skilled Worker, Graduate and/or Tier 2 Migrant within 4 years in total. Once the 4 years are used up, the standard figures apply: £41,700, or the going rate for your occupation code if that is higher.
This guide is general information about published immigration rules. It is not advice about an individual application under s.82 Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, and Rowan is not regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority. Immigration rules change several times a year. For advice on a particular situation, contact an adviser authorised by the Immigration Advice Authority or an immigration solicitor. Always check GOV.UK for the authoritative current rules.