Skilled Worker Visa

The Skilled Worker visa lets you live and work in the UK in a specific job for an employer that holds a Home Office sponsor licence. Your employer assigns you a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS), and your application is assessed against the job's skill level, the salary offered and your English.

The rules that apply to you can depend on when you were first sponsored, so check your own position rather than relying on one headline figure.

Who this is for

• People outside the UK with a job offer from a licensed UK sponsor.
• People already in the UK who are eligible to switch from another immigration route.
• Existing Skilled Workers who are extending, changing employer or job, or taking on a second job.

Skill level

Since 22 July 2025, new applicants generally need a job at RQF level 6 (graduate level). GOV.UK now calls these "higher skilled" occupations. Jobs at RQF levels 3 to 5 ("medium skilled") are only open to new applicants in limited cases:

• The occupation is on the Temporary Shortage List or the Immigration Salary List, and the CoS is issued before 31 December 2026. The care worker and senior care worker entries on the Immigration Salary List run until 22 July 2028, for in-country applications only.
• Prison officer roles, for in-country applications, within the time limits set by the rules.

Transitional protection: if you were granted Skilled Worker permission under the rules in place before 22 July 2025, and have held that permission continuously since, you can generally continue to be sponsored in a medium-skilled occupation when you extend, change employer or job, or add a second job.

Salary requirements

The general rule is that you must be paid £41,700 a year or the going rate for your occupation, whichever is higher. Going rates are set for each occupation code and are pro-rated to your working hours. Lower thresholds apply in some situations, subject to the Immigration Rules:

Situation	Minimum salary
New entrant (for example under 26, a recent Student or Graduate visa holder, or working towards a professional qualification)	£33,400 and 70% of the going rate
Relevant PhD (non-STEM)	£37,500 and 90% of the going rate
Relevant STEM PhD	£33,400 and 80% of the going rate
Job on the Immigration Salary List	£33,400 and 100% of the going rate
Listed health and education jobs on national pay scales	£25,000 and the national pay scale rate

Time spent under the new entrant rate is capped at 4 years in total, including time on the Graduate visa. Transitional salary rates also apply to people whose first CoS was issued before 4 April 2024 and who have been on the route continuously since. These are available for applications made before 4 April 2030. You must also be paid at least the National Minimum Wage.

Key requirements

• A valid CoS from a licensed sponsor for a genuine vacancy in an eligible occupation.
• English: from 8 January 2026, new applicants need CEFR level B2 in reading, writing, speaking and listening. If you were granted the visa before that date with a B1 requirement, you can generally extend or update your visa at B1 without proving your English again.
• Maintenance: £1,270 held for 28 consecutive days, unless you have been in the UK with permission for 12 months or more, or your A-rated sponsor certifies maintenance on the CoS.
• The visa fee and, in most cases, the Immigration Health Surcharge.

How long you can stay and settlement

The visa can be granted for up to 5 years at a time and can be extended while you remain eligible. Under the current rules you can usually apply for indefinite leave to remain after 5 years' continuous residence, provided your sponsor still needs you, you meet the settlement salary requirement and you pass the Life in the UK test.

From 26 March 2027, settlement applications on this route will need English at B2 in speaking and listening. This will apply to people already on the route.

The government has consulted on "earned settlement", including a proposal to raise the standard qualifying period from 5 to 10 years. This is only a proposal. At the time of writing no rules have been laid to change the 5-year period, and no consultation outcome has been published. See our indefinite leave to remain page for more detail.

Partners and children

Your partner and children can usually apply as your dependants if you are in a higher-skilled (RQF 6) job. If you are a new worker in a medium-skilled job on the Temporary Shortage List or Immigration Salary List, you generally cannot bring dependants. There are exceptions, for example if you have been continuously in a medium-skilled job on the route since before 22 July 2025, or for a child born in the UK. Separate restrictions apply to care workers. Dependants generally need £285 for a partner, £315 for the first child and £200 for each additional child, unless an exemption applies. See our dependant visa page.

Common problems we help with

• Checking whether an occupation code is eligible and which salary option applies (see our eligible occupations tool).
• Working out whether transitional protection applies after a change of job or employer.
• CoS errors, such as the wrong occupation code, hours or salary.
• Switching from the Student or Graduate visa, and dependant applications affected by the 2025 changes.

How Stonebridge can help

We assess your eligibility against the current rules and any transitional provisions, review the CoS details before you apply, prepare and check your documents, and submit the application. We deal with the Home Office if further information is requested. For employers, we can advise on the sponsor licence and on assigning CoS correctly.

If you are planning a Skilled Worker application or an extension, book a consultation and we will review your circumstances in detail.