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Salary thresholds and the going-rate checker
By Nancy Osazee, Founder
For a standard Skilled Worker application, Appendix Skilled Worker option A says the salary must reach both £41,700 a year and the going rate for the occupation code. You need the higher of the two, not one of them.
The going rate is not one number for every job. You look it up for the SOC 2020 code. The tables are based on a 37.5-hour week and are pro-rated for other hours. Type the official figure into the checker. Do not guess it.
Written by Nancy Osazee, Founder of CareerPilot. This is a practical note, not advice about your own visa, contract, or legal case. Read the official page linked on this sheet before you rely on a figure.
Compare the figures you have
Type the going rate from the official table. This box compares it with the general threshold for options A to E, read from Appendix Skilled Worker on 10 October 2026. It does not decide a visa.
If 70%, 80% or 90% of the going rate is below £17.13 an hour, Appendix Skilled Occupations says £17.13 is used instead. This checker does not apply that floor. Options F to K are not included.
How to compare a salary with the going rate
- Get the occupation code. Ask the employer for the SOC 2020 code on the Certificate of Sponsorship, or find the job in the going-rates table.
- Read the going rate. Use the standard rate column unless the rules put you on a lower option. The rate is for 37.5 hours a week.
- Pro-rate the hours. If the job is not 37.5 hours, the going rate scales with the weekly hours the sponsor states.
- Take the higher figure. Compare your salary with whichever is higher: the general threshold for your option, or the pro-rated going rate.
Options A to E, as published
These general thresholds were read from Appendix Skilled Worker on 10 October 2026. The going-rate percentage is as well. A lower general threshold does not remove the going rate.
- A, standard: £41,700 and 100% of the going rate.
- B, relevant PhD: £37,500 and 90% of the going rate.
- C, relevant STEM PhD: £33,400 and 80% of the going rate.
- D, Immigration Salary List: £33,400 and 100% of the going rate.
- E, new entrant: £33,400 and 70% of the going rate.
What the checker leaves out on purpose
Options F to K in the same table apply only in the cases the rules describe, often where someone was already sponsored under earlier rules. The hourly floor of £17.13 can replace a reduced going rate when that floor is higher. Allowances and the exact hours on the certificate can change the result. The checker compares the numbers you type. It does not award points.
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On CareerPilot
The jobs list does not check the salary threshold for you. Use this page beside the advert.
Questions
Why is the general threshold not the only number?
Option A requires both £41,700 and the going rate. A job can be over £41,700 and still be under the going rate for that occupation, or the other way round.
Can I use a salary from a job board as the going rate?
No. The going rate is the figure in the Immigration Rules for the occupation code, not the average you see on adverts.
Do new entrants use £41,700?
Option E, for a new entrant at the start of their career, uses £33,400 and 70% of the going rate, if the rest of SW 12.1 to SW 12.3 is met. Being a graduate does not by itself make you a new entrant.
Sources
- Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Worker
- Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Occupations
- Skilled Worker visa going rates
Last checked 10 October 2026.