The UK Immigration Salary List is a list of skilled jobs with a lower salary requirement for those applying for a Skilled Worker visa or Health and Care Worker visa. By using this list, employers in the UK can sponsor an overseas Skilled Worker at a lower salary than the standard requirement, specifically 80% of the route’s salary threshold or the job’s going rate, whichever is higher. The purpose of the list is to make it easier for employers to attract overseas workers into roles for which there are labour shortages in the UK.
The Temporary Salary List differs from the Immigration Salary List in that it contains only mid-skill level roles of RQF level 3 to 5. The Immigration Salary List typically contains higher-skilled roles of RQF level 6 or above.
How to use the Immigration Salary List to calculate minimum salaries for jobs
If your job is on the Immigration Salary List, you may be eligible for a discount on the general salary threshold for a Skilled Worker route. For example, if your role is on the Immigration Salary List, the minimum salary you need to get is either the discounted salary threshold £33,400 or your job’s going rate, whichever is higher.
There is one exception to this rule: If you received your first Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) before 4 April 2024 and your job is on the Immigration Salary List when you extend or update your Skilled Worker visa, the minimum salary general threshold is £25,000 or your job’s full going rate, whichever is higher.
To make the Immigration Salary List easier to understand, we have provided a step-by-step process below:
Step 1: Check if your job is on the Immigration Salary List
Step 2: Find your job’s going rate
When you look up your job’s going rate on the Immigration Salary List, you’ll see two different rates listed:
- Standard rate – This is the normal full going rate that most Skilled Worker applicants must meet. This applies if your first CoS was assigned on or after 4th April 2024.
- Lower rate – This is a reduced going rate used only for people under special ‘transitional’ rules. For example, if you were first sponsored before 4th April 2024, you may be allowed to use the lower going rate under the old rules until 2030 when extending your visa.
Important: the annual salary on Immigration Salary List is based on a 37.5-hour working week. This is why you must always use the hourly rate to calculate the salary based on your working hours, not an annual figure.
Step 3: Calculate your annual salary based on the going rate
If you work a different number of hours from 37.5 per week, you need to calculate the annual salary using this formula: Hourly rate × your weekly hours × 52 weeks = annual salary based on the going rate.
Step 4: Identify the discounted general threshold that applies to You
Determine which general threshold applies:
- New Skilled Worker (CoS on or after 4th April 2024), job on ISL: discounted general threshold is £33,400 per year
- Extending Skilled Worker (first CoS before 4th April 2024), job on ISL: general minimum is £25,000 per year
Step 5: Compare and choose the higher figure
Compare the two figures:
- The annual salary based on your job’s going rate (from Step 3)
- The applicable discounted general threshold (from Step 4)
The higher amount is the minimum salary you must be paid for your Skilled Worker visa.
Example 1: New Skilled Worker Visa Applicant, CoS Assigned After 4th April 2024
Scenario: An applicant is offered a job as a Biological Scientist, working 40 hours per week. The Certificate of Sponsorship was assigned after 4th April 2024. This job is on the Immigration Salary List with occupation code 2112.
Step 1: Check the going rate
Because the CoS was assigned after 4th April 2024, the applicant needs to meet the standard rate of the job: £20.67 per hour.
Step 2: Calculate the annual salary from the going rate
For a 40-hour working week the annual salary is: £20.67 × 40 hours × 52 weeks = £42,993.60 per year
Step 3: Identify the lower general threshold
Since the job is on the Immigration Salary List and the CoS was after 4th April 2024, the discounted general threshold is £33,400.
Step 4: Compare and choose the higher figure
Annual salary based on going rate: £42,993.60
Discounted general threshold: £33,360
Therefore, £42,993.60 is the minimum salary the employer needs to pay for this applicant to be eligible for the Skilled Worker visa.
Example 2: Skilled Worker Visa Extension, First Skilled Worker Visa Granted Before 4th April 2024
Scenario: Using the same job of Biological Scientist (occupation code 2112) on the Immigration Salary List, in this scenario, the worker received their first Skilled Worker visa before 4th April 2024 and is now applying to extend their visa. They work 40 hours per week.
Step 1: Check the going rate
Because the worker’s first CoS was before 4th April 2024, they fall under transitional rules and use the lower going rate: £15.74 per hour.
For a 40-hour working week:
£15.74 × 40 hours × 52 weeks = £32,739.20 per year
Step 3: Identify the applicable general threshold
Because the job is on the Immigration Salary List and the worker’s first CoS was before 4th April 2024, the general minimum salary threshold is £25,000 per year.
Step 4: Compare and choose the higher figure
Annual salary based on lower going rate: £32,739.20
General threshold for extension (first CoS before 4th April 2024): £25,000
The going-rate salary (£32,739.20) is higher than the threshold (£25,000).
Therefore, £32,739.20 is the minimum salary the worker must receive when extending their Skilled Worker visa.
