UK Skilled Worker Visa Salary Calculator (2026 Going Rates)
Short answer. A Skilled Worker job must pay at least £41,700 and the going rate for its occupation code. If you are on a Graduate visa, finishing a UK degree or under 26, the bar drops to £33,400 and 70% of the going rate, for up to 4 years in total, counting your Graduate visa.
Uses Appendix Skilled Worker and the going rates in Appendix Skilled Occupations, checked in November 2026. Going rates are for 37.5 hours a week and are scaled to your hours, with a floor of £17.13 an hour. Only the first 48 hours a week count towards the £41,700 and £33,400 minimums. Health and education jobs on national pay scales follow different rules and are not covered.
The two salary tests every job must pass
Since 22 July 2025, a new Skilled Worker job must be at degree level, RQF level 6 or above, and pay the higher of two figures: the general minimum of £41,700 a year, or the going rate for the job’s occupation code. Both are tests, and you must pass both.
That is why the figure you need is often far above £41,700. A software developer’s going rate is £54,700, so a £45,000 offer fails the standard test even though it clears the general minimum.
- Only guaranteed basic pay counts. Bonuses, overtime, shift pay, allowances and employer pension contributions do not.
- Going rates assume 37.5 hours a week. They are scaled to your hours, so a 40 hour contract needs a higher salary.
- Only 48 hours a week count towards the £41,700 or £33,400 minimum.
The new entrant rate, and its 4 year clock
Most Indian graduates switching from a Graduate visa qualify as new entrants. You need at least £33,400 and 70% of the going rate if any of these apply: you are under 26, you are on a Student visa finishing a UK bachelor’s, master’s or PhD, or you are on a Graduate visa, or were in the last 2 years.
| Occupation code | Going rate | Standard minimum | New entrant minimum |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2134 Software developers | £54,700 | £54,700 | £38,300 |
| 2133 IT business analysts and architects | £54,900 | £54,900 | £38,400 |
| 2433 Actuaries, economists and statisticians | £55,100 | £55,100 | £38,600 |
| 2135 Cyber security professionals | £48,500 | £48,500 | £34,000 |
| 2136 IT testing professionals | £41,200 | £41,700 | £33,400 |
| 2121 Civil engineers | £50,400 | £50,400 | £35,200 |
| 2122 Mechanical engineers | £46,800 | £46,800 | £33,400 |
| 2421 Chartered and certified accountants | £49,200 | £49,200 | £34,500 |
| 2422 Finance and investment analysts | £45,800 | £45,800 | £33,400 |
| 2431 Management consultants and business analysts | £50,200 | £50,200 | £35,100 |
The catch is time. Your Graduate visa and your Skilled Worker visa together cannot go past 4 years on the new entrant rate. Two years on a Graduate visa leaves two years of discounted sponsorship. After that, a software developer needs the full £54,700 to extend. If you start at the £38,300 new entrant minimum, your pay has to rise about 43% inside those two years.
Faz's ruleSwitch early. Every month you spend on the Graduate visa is a month less on the new entrant rate.
Graduates often treat the Graduate visa as two free years and plan to look for sponsorship near the end. Under these rules that costs you. If you switch after 12 months, you get three years at the discounted rate to grow into the full going rate. If you switch after 24, you get two. Ask any employer who might sponsor you about it in your first months, not your last.
The data analyst trap and the 31 December deadline
Jobs below degree level, RQF levels 3 to 5, can only be sponsored for a new visa if they are on the Temporary Shortage List or the Immigration Salary List. Many jobs Indian graduates take sit there: data analyst (3544), database administrator (3133), business systems analyst (3549) and IT operations technician (3131).
- The list ends. A Temporary Shortage List job only qualifies if the certificate of sponsorship is issued before 31 December 2026.
- No family. Your partner and children can only join a Skilled Worker sponsored in a Table 1, 2 or 3 job. Shortage list jobs are in Table 1a, so they cannot.
- The job title is not the code. An analytics role coded as 2433 or 2133 is higher skilled and stays eligible after 2026. Coded as 3544, it does not.
Biological scientists (2112) and graphic designers (2142) are on the Immigration Salary List until 31 December 2026. That lets them use £33,400 with the full going rate, and pay a lower visa fee.
What the visa costs
Switching from inside the UK costs £943 for up to 3 years or £1,865 for longer, plus the health surcharge of £1,035 a year. A job on the Immigration Salary List pays £628 or £1,235 instead. If you have been in the UK on a visa for at least 12 months, you do not need to show the £1,270 savings.
Before you switch, check how long your Graduate visa has left with the UK Graduate visa calculator, which also shows the 18 month cut from 1 January 2027. The Graduate Route guide covers the job search, and is studying in the UK worth it runs the loan payback on a UK salary. The post study work guide compares the UK with Canada, Australia, Germany and the USA.
Questions people ask
What is the Skilled Worker visa salary threshold in 2026?
The higher of £41,700 a year and the going rate for your occupation code. New entrants, including Graduate visa holders and anyone under 26, need £33,400 and 70% of the going rate instead.
Can I switch from a Graduate visa to a Skilled Worker visa?
Yes, from inside the UK, once a licensed sponsor gives you a certificate of sponsorship for an eligible job. Graduate visa holders, and those whose Graduate visa ended in the last 2 years, can use the new entrant rate.
How long can I be paid the new entrant rate?
Until your time on Graduate and Skilled Worker visas together reaches 4 years. After that you need the standard rate to extend, which for most professional jobs is the full going rate.
Can a data analyst get a UK Skilled Worker visa?
Under code 3544, only while it is on the Temporary Shortage List, which needs a certificate of sponsorship issued before 31 December 2026, and without dependants. A role coded as 2433 or 2133 is a higher skilled job and is not affected.
Does a bonus count towards the Skilled Worker salary?
No. Only guaranteed basic gross pay counts. Bonuses, overtime, shift pay, allowances, benefits in kind and employer pension contributions are all left out.
Where these rules come from
- GOV.UK, Skilled Worker visa: your job
- GOV.UK, when you can be paid less
- GOV.UK, Skilled Worker visa costs
- Immigration Rules, Appendix Skilled Worker
- Immigration Rules, Appendix Skilled Occupations (going rates)
- Immigration Rules, Appendix Immigration Salary List
Checked in November 2026. Going rates change when the Home Office updates the Immigration Rules, so confirm yours against the current table before you accept an offer.