If you are a UK employer looking to recruit foreign workers under the Skilled Worker visa route, you need to meet several requirements. One of the most important of these requirements is to offer an eligible job to the person you want to sponsor. This implies that a person applying for a Skilled Worker visa must be offered a job eligible for this route under the immigration rules.

An eligible job for a Skilled Worker visa in 2026 is one that is genuine, at an appropriate skill level and meets the minimum salary threshold.  

If the job offered fails to meet these criteria, the application for a Skilled Worker visa will usually be refused.

What is an eligible job in 2026 for a Skilled Worker visa?

Before checking whether the job being offered is eligible, the applicant must check if the employer is a licenced sponsor. This is required because only a company, which has a valid sponsor licence, can hire foreign workers on the Skilled Worker route.

You can check if your employer is a licenced sponsor through the list of sponsors on the www.gov.uk 

There are primarily 3 criteria which make a job eligible for a skilled worker visa. When you are looking to sponsor a migrant worker, or you are a worker applying for a skilled worker visa, you must ensure that the job on the offer is genuine, at an appropriate skill level, and meets the minimum salary threshold.

1. The job must be genuine

There must not be reasonable grounds for the decision maker to believe the job the skilled worker visa applicant is being sponsored to do;

(a) does not exist; or

(b) is a sham; or

(c) has been created primarily so the applicant can apply for entry clearance to the UK or permission to stay here.

There must also not be reasonable grounds for the decision maker to believe the job the applicant is being sponsored to do amounts to:

(a) the recruitment of the skilled worker visa applicant to a third party who is not the sponsor to fill a temporary or permanent position with that party; or

(b) contract work to take up an ongoing routine role or to give an ongoing routine service for a third party who is not the sponsor, regardless of the length or nature of any arrangement between the sponsor and the third party.

An eligible job must comply with the UK's National Minimum Wage Regulations (legal rules that set the minimum hourly pay employers/sponsors must provide to most workers) or the WTR (Working Time Regulations - a set of employment laws that regulate the number of hours employees and workers can work, their entitlement to rest breaks, and their paid annual leave).

If the sponsor is found to have offered a job that is not genuine, they may have their sponsor licence suspended or even revoked. Similarly, an applicant who fails to secure an eligible job will have their visa refused.

2. The job being offered must be at an appropriate skill level

The Home Office divides Skilled Occupations into two skill bands. The occupation codes that appear in Tables 1, 2 and 3 identify graduate-level jobs assessed as RQF level 6 or above. On the other hand, the occupation codes listed in Tables 1A, 2A and 3A cover sub-degree roles at RQF levels 3-5. 

In 2026, an eligible job under the Skilled Worker route means a job for which you want to sponsor a foreign worker is at an appropriate skill level. It is important to note here that from 22 July 2025, foreign workers making their first application under this route can only be sponsored if the job they are being sponsored for is at RQF level 6 (graduate level) or above. These are called ‘high-skilled’ jobs.

RQF (Regulated Qualifications Framework) level is a system used in England, Northern Ireland, and some UK immigration routes to measure the difficulty and complexity of a qualification. The higher the RQF level, the more advanced the knowledge and skills required.

RQF levels are important for several UK visa categories, including the Skilled Worker visa, because they determine whether a qualification or job meets the required skill level.

A medium-skilled job (sub-degree job) is still an eligible job for a Skilled Worker visa in 2026 

There is a provision for medium-skilled jobs that appear on ISL (Immigration Shortage List) or TSL (Temporary Shortage List), meaning you can still sponsor workers for a job at RQF 3-5 level if they appear on either of these 2 lists. As of now, these 2 lists are valid until 31 December 2026. After this date, potentially medium-skilled jobs may not be eligible for sponsorship at all.

Also, a person can apply for an extension if they already held Skilled Worker or Tier 2 leave in a medium-skilled job (sub-degree job) before 22 July 2025 and remain in continuing employment with valid sponsorship.

Practically, the Skilled Worker route in 2026 draws its eligible occupation codes (a specific 4-digit numerical code that identifies a job role recognised by the UK government as meeting the skill requirements for certain immigration routes, particularly the Skilled Worker visa) from Tables 1, 2 and 3 of the Immigration Rules - Appendix Skilled Occupations. Where transitional protections apply, the sponsor should use the relevant continuing-employment tables: Tables 1A, 2A or 3A (covers sub-degree roles at RQF levels 3 to 5) of the Immigration Rules - Appendix Skilled Occupations.

3. The job must meet the minimum salary threshold

In 2026, the standard salary for the type of work you will be doing on this route is 

• £41,700 per year; or

• your job’s ‘going rate’ 

whichever is higher.

For example, if you have a salary of £46,000 per year, but the annual going rate for the same job is £47,000, your job does not satisfy the standard salary requirements for this visa.

Going rate is calculated using labour market data from the ONS (Office for National Statistics), and then the UK government publishes it for each job type and SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) code.

Please note that each occupation code has its own annual going rate.

Eligible jobs in 2026 under the Skilled Worker route with lower salary thresholds

In 2026, your job may be eligible under the Skilled Worker route even if you are paid a salary of less than the latest standard annual salary requirement of £41,700 or the standard ‘going rate’ for your job, whichever is higher. 

Your sponsor can pay you less than £41,700 per year or your job’s standard ‘going rate’, whichever is higher, in the following conditions:

• You can be paid 70% of your job’s standard going rate or a salary of at least £33,400, which ever is higher, provided you are a “new entrant” i.e. if you are aged under 26 or switching from student visa or a graduate visa, this salary can only be for a total of 4 years only and subtract the period spent on graduate visa. 

• If you have a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Maths) qualification that is relevant to your job, you can be paid 80% of the standard going rate for your job, as long as you will still be paid a salary of at least £33,400 per year.

• If you have a non-STEM qualification, you can be paid 90% of the going rate for your job, as long as you will still be paid a salary of at least £37,500 per year.

• If you will be working in a postdoc position or in certain science/higher education roles in one of the following occupation codes, you can be paid 70% of your job’s standard going rate:

• 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

• 2311: higher education teaching professionals

If this applies to you, you can check how much you will need to be paid to qualify for the Skilled Worker visa. 

Other conditions where you can be paid less than the standard salary level include

You must be paid a salary of at least £33,400 per year if you are being sponsored for a job that appears on the ISL. Your sponsor must still pay you at least the standard going rate for your job.

Different salary rules apply if you work in some healthcare or education sector jobs, where the going rate is based on national pay scales regardless of whether you will be working in a job in the private sector or the public sector.

For such jobs, you must be paid a minimum salary of at least £25,000 per year or your job’s ‘going rate’ at Table 4 (National pay scales), whichever is higher.

How to know if the job being offered is an eligible job in 2026 under the Skilled Worker route?

Before you can check if your job is eligible for a Skilled Worker visa, you need to know its 4-digit occupation code.

If you have already received a job offer, you can ask your employer for your occupation code.

If you do not know your occupation code, you can search for your job in the CASCOT occupation coding tool.

You need to check whether the job you are being sponsored for meets the skill and sponsorship requirements set by the Home Office. It is not enough to simply have a job title. The job must match an eligible occupation code and satisfy the Skilled Worker visa rules.

You can follow the steps below to check whether you have an eligible job for a Skilled Worker visa.

1. Make sure the job is ‘genuine’

2. Your job must match an occupation code that is eligible under the Skilled Worker route. Please note that not every job title is included. If you cannot find your exact job title, you should try looking for similar jobs.

3. You must have a job offer from a UK employer that holds a valid sponsor licence.

4. The role must be skilled to at least RQF Level 6 (unless it appears on the ISL or TSL or is a prison officer (3314) and you are extending or switching to this visa).

5. The salary you are being offered must meet the relevant minimum salary threshold for the Skilled Worker route.

How can Visa and Migration help?

We help businesses in the UK to meet the requirements for an eligible job in 2026 for a Skilled Worker visa. We ensure the job you are offering is genuine and meets the latest skill and salary thresholds. We also help you with situations where you can still recruit workers for medium-skilled jobs and pay a lower salary than the latest standard salary threshold. 

On the other hand, if you are a skilled worker visa applicant, we ensure your application does not face refusal because you have been offered a job that is not eligible in 2026. 

If you are looking to apply for a Skilled Worker visa or extension in 2026, we can help you plan for it early.

For expert advice and queries on the UK Skilled Worker visa minimum salary in 2026, you can call us at +44 (0)20 3411 1261 or write to info@visaandmigration.com