UK Skilled Worker Visa 2025: Salary Thresholds, Sponsorship, and Settlement

The UK Skilled Worker Visa, which replaced the Tier 2 (General) visa on 1 December 2020, is the primary route for non-UK and non-Irish nationals to work in the United Kingdom. The visa is points-based and requires a sponsored job offer from a UK employer that holds a Sponsor Licence issued by the Home Office, with the job classified under a specific Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code at or above the minimum salary threshold. The April 2024 reforms raised the general salary threshold from £26,200 to £38,700 — a 48% increase that disqualified tens of thousands of roles previously eligible — and introduced the Immigration Salary List (ISL) as a successor to the Shortage Occupation List. A successful Skilled Worker Visa holder can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) after five years of continuous residence in the route, opening the path to British citizenship one year later. The cumulative cost — Home Office fees, the Immigration Health Surcharge, English testing, and biometrics — typically exceeds £4,000 per main applicant, plus an equivalent amount per dependant, making the route a significant financial commitment for families.

The Sponsorship Requirement and CoS

The Skilled Worker Visa requires a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) from a UK employer that holds a valid Sponsor Licence. The CoS is an electronic record (not a physical document) that the sponsor assigns through the Sponsorship Management System, and it contains the job title, SOC code, salary, and the applicant's personal details. The sponsor must have conducted a Resident Labour Market Test in earlier versions of the rules, but this requirement was abolished in December 2020; the sponsor must simply demonstrate that the role is genuine and that the applicant meets the skill and salary thresholds. Sponsor Licences are issued by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) for an initial four-year period, with renewal fees of £1,476 for small or charitable sponsors and £21,931 for medium or large sponsors in 2025, plus £476 per additional Certificate of Sponsorship for skilled worker roles.

The sponsor must comply with extensive record-keeping and reporting duties under the Sponsor Licence Guidance, including reporting changes in the sponsored worker's employment status within 10 working days. Sponsors that fail to comply face downgrade to a B-rating (which prevents issuing new CoS), suspension, or revocation of the licence. The sponsor's HR and immigration compliance team must keep copies of the worker's right-to-work documents, contact details, and attendance records, and must report any significant changes in the worker's role. For the applicant, the CoS reference number is required to complete the online visa application, and the CoS is valid for three months from the date of assignment. The applicant cannot apply more than three months before the start date of employment, and the visa is typically issued for the shorter of the CoS duration or five years (after which extension or ILR application is required).

Salary Thresholds: General, New Entrants, and Going Rate

The Skilled Worker Visa is points-based, and 50 of the required 70 points come from meeting the salary threshold. The general salary threshold was raised to £38,700 per year on 4 April 2024, replacing the previous £26,200 threshold. The actual minimum salary for a specific role is the higher of the general threshold (£38,700) or the "going rate" for the role's SOC 2020 code, which is published by the Home Office based on ASHE (Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings) data from the Office for National Statistics. The going rate is calculated as the 25th percentile of median earnings for the SOC code, with hourly rates multiplied by 37.5 hours per week to produce an annual figure. A software developer (SOC 2020 code 3534) has a going rate of approximately £49,400 per year in 2025, while a care worker (SOC 2020 code 6135) has a going rate of approximately £23,200 per year — which falls below the general threshold, requiring the employer to pay £38,700 to sponsor a care worker (with transitional arrangements for care workers already in the route before April 2024).

The "new entrant" discount allows certain applicants to be paid 70% of the going rate (or the general threshold of £30,960, whichever is higher) for up to four years in the route. New entrants are defined as applicants under age 26 at the date of application, recent UK graduates (within 12 months of graduation with a UK bachelor's degree or above), postgraduate doctors and dentists in training, and those in a UK-approved professional body training programme. The new entrant rate cannot be used for more than four years cumulatively, after which the full going rate must be paid. The new entrant route is particularly important for tech sector hiring, where junior developer salaries often fall below the £38,700 general threshold but exceed 70% of the going rate. Employers must justify the new entrant status in the CoS and the applicant must provide evidence (passport, degree certificate, training contract) of eligibility.

The Immigration Salary List

The Immigration Salary List (ISL), which replaced the Shortage Occupation List on 4 April 2024, is a list of occupations for which the UK government acknowledges a shortage of suitable resident workers. The ISL allows sponsors to pay a reduced salary — typically 80% of the going rate, with a floor of £30,960 — for roles on the list. The ISL is shorter than the Shortage Occupation List it replaced, reflecting the Migration Advisory Committee's recommendation that the discount be reserved for genuine shortages. As of 2025, the ISL includes occupations such as chemical scientists, biological scientists, biochemists, architects, construction project managers, and certain healthcare roles (though social care workers were removed from the ISL in April 2024 in a separate reform). Each ISL occupation has a specific reduced going rate published on the government website.

The ISL discount is most valuable for roles where the standard going rate is significantly above £30,960, allowing the sponsor to pay the lower ISL rate. A chemical scientist (SOC 2020 code 2111) with a standard going rate of approximately £44,800 can be sponsored at the ISL rate of approximately £35,840 (80% of going rate) — well below the £38,700 general threshold but qualifying under the ISL exception. The applicant must still meet the skill threshold (the role must be at RQF Level 3 or above) and the English language requirement. The ISL is reviewed periodically by the Migration Advisory Committee, and occupations can be added or removed based on labour market evidence. Sponsors should not assume that the ISL list will remain stable — the Shortage Occupation List saw significant changes every two to three years, and the ISL is expected to follow a similar review cycle.

English Language and Maintenance Requirements

The Skilled Worker Visa requires the applicant to demonstrate English language ability at level B1 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), as assessed by an approved secure English language test (SELT) provider. The two approved SELT providers in the UK are Trinity College London and IELTS SELT Consortium; outside the UK, the approved providers are IELTS SELT Consortium and LanguageCert. The test must be passed in all four components (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) and is valid for two years from the date of issue. Nationals of majority English-speaking countries (the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and several others) are exempt from the testing requirement, as are applicants who have a degree taught in English (with a NARIC equivalency statement confirming the degree is equivalent to a UK bachelor's degree or above).

The maintenance requirement is £1,270 for the main applicant, held in the applicant's bank account for at least 28 consecutive days before the date of application. The maintenance funds can also be certified by the sponsor on the CoS — the sponsor certifies that it will support the applicant for the first month of employment, eliminating the need for the applicant to provide bank statements. The dependant maintenance requirement is £845 for each dependant (partner and children under 18), held for the same 28-day period. Applicants already in the UK with valid leave for 12 months or more are exempt from the maintenance requirement, as are those applying for settlement. The bank statements must be from a regulated financial institution, must show the applicant's name, and must be in the same currency as the application fee payment (or be convertible at OANDA exchange rates). The maintenance requirement is one of the most common reasons for refusals — particularly for applicants who dip below the £1,270 threshold during the 28-day window or who use accounts that do not meet the regulated financial institution definition.

The IHS Surcharge and Total Application Cost

The Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), payable in addition to the visa application fee, grants the visa holder access to the National Health Service on the same terms as a UK resident. The IHS was raised from £624 to £1,035 per year for adults on 6 February 2024, and from £470 to £776 per year for those under 18, students, and Youth Mobility Scheme applicants. For a Skilled Worker Visa of three years (the typical duration for a new application), the IHS is £3,105 for the main applicant and £2,328 for each dependant child. The IHS is paid in full upfront at the time of application, regardless of whether the visa is ultimately granted — a refund is available only if the application is withdrawn or refused before the visa is issued. The combined cost of the visa application fee (approximately £827 for a three-year visa in 2025, applied for outside the UK) and the IHS produces a total government cost of approximately £3,932 for the main applicant.

The total application cost is even higher when dependants are included. A family of four (two adults, two children) applying for a three-year Skilled Worker Visa from outside the UK faces total government fees of approximately £12,400 — £827 per adult application fee, £827 per child (under 18) application fee, £3,105 per adult IHS, and £2,328 per child IHS — plus the costs of English language testing (approximately £150 to £200 per adult), TB testing for applicants from listed countries (approximately £65 to £150 per person), and biometrics (typically included in the application fee). The sponsor may bear part or all of these costs under the employment contract, but there is no legal obligation for the sponsor to do so — and many sponsors cap their contribution at the application fee and the IHS for the main applicant only. For families relocating to the UK, the upfront cost can exceed £15,000 before relocation and housing costs, making advance financial planning essential.

The 5-Year Path to ILR

The Skilled Worker Visa leads to Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) after five years of continuous residence in the route. The continuous residence requirement means that the applicant must not have been outside the UK for more than 180 days in any 12-month period during the five years, with exceptions for compassionate circumstances (such as a family bereavement or serious illness) and for work-related travel that is supported by the sponsor's evidence. The applicant must also meet the salary threshold at the time of the ILR application — typically £38,700 or the going rate for the role, whichever is higher — and must pass the Life in the UK test, which covers British history, government, society, and culture. The English language requirement for ILR is at level B1 (the same as for the initial visa), and applicants with a degree taught in English or who are nationals of a majority English-speaking country are exempt from re-testing.

The ILR application fee in 2025 is £2,885 per adult applicant, with biometrics included. The ILR is granted in the form of an eVisa (digital immigration status, replacing the physical Biometric Residence Permit since 2025) and confers the right to live, work, and study in the UK without restriction. ILR holders can apply for British citizenship one year after the ILR grant, provided they meet the residence, good character, and language requirements — see our UK ILR eligibility guide and our Life in the UK test guide for the citizenship path. ILR can be lost if the holder is outside the UK for more than two consecutive years, or if they are deported for criminal activity under the UK Borders Act 2007. The Skilled Worker route does not provide accelerated settlement (the previous Tier 2 provision for high earners, allowing ILR after three years at a salary above £159,600, was abolished in April 2024), so the five-year path is now the same for all Skilled Worker Visa holders regardless of income.

Family and Dependants on the Skilled Worker Route

The Skilled Worker Visa allows the main applicant to bring their partner (spouse, civil partner, or unmarried partner of two years' cohabitation) and children under 18 as dependants. Each dependant must make a separate visa application, pay the application fee and IHS, and provide biometrics. The partner must demonstrate English language ability at level A1 for the initial visa (raised to A2 on extension and B1 on ILR), and the family must meet the maintenance requirement of £1,270 for the main applicant plus £845 per dependant (or sponsor certification). The dependant partner can work in the UK in any role except as a doctor in training (without prior Home Office approval) and as a professional sportsperson, providing significant flexibility for dual-income families.

The April 2024 reforms restricted dependant eligibility for social care workers, who can no longer bring dependants if their initial visa was issued on or after 11 March 2024. This change has had significant impact on the social care sector, where many care workers had planned to bring their families to the UK and have had to defer or abandon those plans. For other Skilled Worker Visa holders, dependant eligibility is unchanged. Dependant children can attend UK state schools free of charge, and the family can access NHS services through the IHS. Children born in the UK to Skilled Worker Visa holders do not automatically acquire British citizenship (the UK operates jus soli only for children of British citizens or settled persons), but they can be registered as British citizens under section 1(3) of the British Nationality Act 1981 if either parent later obtains ILR. For more on the settlement path, see our UK ILR continuous residence rules and try our UK ILR calculator.

Frequently asked questions

For more, see our UK ILR eligibility guide and our UK ILR continuous residence rules, or try our UK ILR calculator to check your eligibility date.

Last reviewed July 2, 2026. This article is informational and does not constitute legal, tax, or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional for guidance specific to your situation.