Practical strategies for applicants and sponsors after the April 2024 increase.
What actually changed
From 4 April 2024, the general Skilled Worker minimum salary rose from £26,200 to £38,700. The going-rate component for each SOC code also increased to the 50th percentile of resident earnings.
Health and Care Worker visas, new-entrant roles, PhD-relevant roles and shortage occupations retain reduced thresholds, but the headline figure now sets the planning baseline for most employers.
Routes around the £38,700 figure
New entrants (under 26, recent graduates, those switching from Student visas) qualify at 70–80% of the going rate.
PhD-relevant roles in STEM qualify at 80%; non-STEM PhD roles at 90%. Immigration Salary List roles also receive a 20% discount.
Sponsor strategy in 2026
Audit existing SOC code assignments — many roles were upgraded to higher percentiles and would no longer pass a compliance visit.
Document the genuine vacancy and recruitment process before issuing a CoS; the Home Office now requests evidence in roughly 1 in 5 new sponsor licence cases.
Plan your next step
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