Immigration Salary List UK 2026: What Indian Professionals Need to Know

The UK's Immigration Salary List (ISL) is one of the most misunderstood mechanisms in the Skilled Worker route — and for Indian professionals, misunderstanding it costs money, delays offers, or results in refusals that were entirely avoidable.

The ISL replaced the Shortage Occupation List in 2024. It works differently, and the key difference matters: being on the ISL no longer gives applicants a lower salary threshold by default. It provides a different salary calculation — and in some cases, it does lower the required minimum.

What the ISL Actually Is

The Immigration Salary List is a document published by the UK Home Office that lists specific Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) 2020 codes and their designated "ISL rate." For roles on this list, the salary threshold is calculated differently from the standard Skilled Worker route.

For a standard Skilled Worker role in 2026, the applicant must be paid whichever is higher of:

• £41,700 (the general threshold), or
• The "going rate" for their specific SOC code

For an ISL role, the threshold is £33,400 or the ISL rate for that SOC code, whichever is higher — and the ISL rate is typically set below the full going rate. This is what creates the lower-salary advantage for shortage roles.

The critical point: the ISL rate is not automatically lower than the general threshold. For some roles, the ISL rate exceeds £41,700 — in which case the ISL designation provides no financial advantage at all.

Key Salary Thresholds for 2026

For Indian professionals, the most relevant salary point is £41,700 for general roles. This is the floor for IT, engineering, finance, and management roles not on the ISL. Roles in the healthcare sector — where Indian nationals are heavily represented — may have specific ISL rates that differ from this baseline.

Going Rates for Common Indian Professional Roles

The going rate is not a negotiating position — it is a mandatory minimum that the Home Office verifies through payroll documentation. If your offered salary is even marginally below the pro-rated going rate for your contracted hours, the application is refused. There is no discretion.

For Indian IT professionals — the largest group applying on the Skilled Worker route — the going rate for software development roles (£54,700) is significantly above the general threshold of £41,700. Meeting the general threshold is not enough for these roles. The sponsor must offer at least £54,700 to satisfy the going rate requirement for SOC 2134.

This is where many Indian IT applicants working for Indian outsourcing companies with UK offices run into problems. The company may pay above the general threshold but below the sector going rate, resulting in a refusal.

The Hourly Rate Floor

An additional constraint that catches Indian professionals on non-standard contracts: salaries are calculated based on a maximum of 48 working hours per week. If the contract specifies more hours, only 48 hours per week is used in the salary calculation. Furthermore, there is an absolute hourly minimum of £17.13 regardless of the annual figure.

For an Indian professional on a contract with variable or extended hours, this can mean the effective annual salary used by UKVI is lower than the figure on the offer letter.

What This Means for IT Sector Indian Professionals

The Genuine Vacancy test (separate from but related to salary compliance) has specific implications for Indian IT firms. Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro, Cognizant, and similar companies regularly sponsor Indian professionals on UK Skilled Worker visas. For these applications, the Home Office applies heightened scrutiny to:

• Whether the role involves actual complex technical duties at RQF Level 6+ (as required by SOC 2134)
• Whether the worker will be deployed to a client site rather than managed by the sponsoring entity
• Whether the salary is genuinely paid by the sponsor or involves client billing arrangements that might inflate the apparent rate

The ISL does not protect these applications from genuine vacancy scrutiny. Even if a role is on the ISL, the application can be refused if the Home Office determines the vacancy was not genuine.

How to Find the Going Rate for Your Role

The Home Office publishes the Appendix Skilled Occupations document, which lists every eligible SOC 2020 code, its going rate, its ISL rate (if applicable), and the minimum hourly benchmark. This document is updated periodically — always use the current version when your application is in preparation.

To find your role's going rate:

1. Identify the correct SOC 2020 code for your specific job title (not the generic category — the sub-codes matter)
2. Check Appendix Skilled Occupations for the listed going rate
3. Verify your offered salary against both the general threshold (£41,700) and the going rate — your salary must meet or exceed whichever is higher
4. Calculate the pro-rated figure if you are working part-time or on fewer than 37.5 hours per week

Incorrect SOC code assignment is a common reason for refusals in the Indian IT sector. A job titled "Senior Consultant" may map to a management role (SOC 2431) rather than a technical role (SOC 2134) depending on the actual duties. The wrong mapping can lower the going rate requirement — or raise it, depending on the direction of the error. Either way, a mismatch between the actual role and the assigned code is a refusal risk.

New Entrant Discount for Indian Graduates

For Indian professionals under the age of 26, or those who have recently completed a degree in the UK or graduated within the last two years from an Indian institution and are switching from a student or graduate visa, the "New Entrant" discount applies. This reduces the threshold to £33,400 and the going rate requirement to 70%.

The discount is time-limited: it applies for a maximum of four years total on the Skilled Worker route. After that — and when extending the visa — the full £41,700 and 100% going rate apply. Indian professionals who rely on the New Entrant threshold must plan for this salary step-up when their extension is due.

For detailed guidance on calculating your salary compliance, identifying the correct SOC code, and navigating the ISL for healthcare or technical roles, the India → UK Skilled Worker Guide at immigrationstartguide.com/from-india/uk-skilled-worker/ provides the complete Appendix Skilled Occupations reference for 2026, with worked examples for the most common Indian professional occupations.

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