Skilled Worker visa requirements: the full checklist
You need 70 points: a certificate from an A-rated sponsor, an eligible job, English at B2 and a qualifying salary, plus £1,270 in savings unless your employer covers you.
Check the job and salary points of your offer
Minimum salary for this job
£52,000
Your salary of £54,000 meets it, with £2,000 to spare.
| Points option A | £41,700 floor |
| Going rate (full time) | £52,000 |
| Going rate per hour | £26.67 |
| Your pay per hour | £27.69 |
| Visa fee, up to 3 years (outside the UK) | £819 |
| Health surcharge, 3 years | £3,105 |
Higher skilled occupation (Table 1): eligible.
Threshold in each situation
| Standard rate | £52,000 |
| New entrant (under 26, recent student or graduate, in training) | £36,400 |
| PhD in a STEM subject relevant to the job | £41,600 |
| PhD in another subject relevant to the job | £46,800 |
Calculated in your browser: nothing you type is sent anywhere. Not legal advice; not affiliated with the Home Office.
Published by Radif Partners · How we calculate · Home Office fees of 8 October 2026, rules checked 13 October 2026
The Skilled Worker visa works on points, and every applicant needs the same 70. Fifty are mandatory: 20 for a valid certificate of sponsorship from an employer rated A on the register of licensed sponsors, 20 for a job in an eligible occupation code, and 10 for English at level B2 of the Common European Framework, the level required for new applicants since 8 January 2026. The last 20 come from the salary, through one of the options in Appendix Skilled Worker. Around the points sit further conditions: you must be 18 or over, hold £1,270 for 28 days unless the sponsor certifies maintenance or you have been in the UK for a year, provide a tuberculosis certificate if you live in a listed country, and supply criminal record certificates for jobs in health, education and social care. You must apply within 3 months of receiving the certificate and no more than 3 months before the job starts. The checker above covers the job and salary points.
The points table
| Requirement | Points | Type | Rules |
|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate of sponsorship from a licensed, A-rated sponsor | 20 | Mandatory | SW 5.1 to 5.7 |
| Job in an eligible occupation code | 20 | Mandatory | SW 6.1 to 6.5 |
| English at B2 (B1 for some existing visa holders) | 10 | Mandatory | SW 7.1 to 7.3 |
| Salary through one of the options A to K | 20 | Tradeable | SW 4.2 to 4.4, 8 to 14 |
The salary points are only awarded if the sponsorship and skill points are also awarded, so the four lines rise or fall together. A strong salary cannot rescue a job in the wrong code, and a perfect code cannot rescue a salary under the threshold.
Sponsor and certificate
Your employer must hold a Skilled Worker licence and appear as A-rated on the register; the only exception is a Skilled Worker staying with the sponsor of their last permission. The sponsor search lets you check the register before you resign from anything. The certificate of sponsorship itself is an electronic record with a reference number. Under SW 5.1 it must name you, describe the job and salary, carry a start date no more than three months after your application, and not have been used in an application that was granted or refused. For applications from abroad the certificate must have been allocated by the Home Office for that job. The sponsor must also have paid any immigration skills charge in full.
The caseworker can still refuse if there are reasonable grounds to think the job does not exist, is a sham, was created mainly to get you a visa, amounts to supplying you to a third party, or breaks minimum wage or working time law. The code must be the most appropriate one for the duties: the SOC code checker explains rule SW 6.2.
English, money and documents
English. New applicants need B2 in reading, writing, speaking and listening. You can show it with a GCSE, A Level or Scottish qualification in English begun before 18, a degree taught in English (an Ecctis check is needed for one awarded outside the UK), a secure English language test from an approved provider, or a passport from a majority English-speaking country such as Australia, Canada, Jamaica, New Zealand or the USA. If your most recent Skilled Worker permission was granted at B1, you stay on B1 for extensions and changes of employer. People switching from another route need B2, except from Health and Care Worker.
Money. Hold £1,270 for 28 days in a row, with day 28 no more than 31 days before you apply, unless your A-rated sponsor ticks "sponsor certifies maintenance" on the certificate or you have been in the UK with permission for 12 months. Each partner or child adds a sum of their own (dependants page).
Tuberculosis and criminal record. Applicants from countries listed in Appendix Tuberculosis need a valid medical certificate showing they were screened and are clear of active pulmonary TB. From abroad, jobs in listed health, education, therapy and social care codes need a criminal record certificate from every country where you spent 12 months or more in the last 10 years since turning 18; a partner coming with you needs one too. An ATAS certificate is required for some research at PhD level, and an Ecctis reference if you claim PhD points for an overseas doctorate.
Who cannot apply this way
You must be 18 or over. From abroad you need entry clearance before you travel, and since HC 1691 entry clearance applications from Afghan nationals are refused. From inside the UK you cannot switch from a visit visa, short-term study, Parent of a Child Student, seasonal work, domestic work in a private household, immigration bail or permission outside the rules. A Student switching must have finished the course, start work after it ends, or have studied full time for a PhD for 24 months. As a worked case, an electronics engineer (code 2124) offered £54,000 clears the salary points at a going rate of £52,000; the sponsor rating and the English evidence are what remain to check. Fees and timings are on the cost page and the processing time page, and the full text is in Appendix Skilled Worker.