Transitional Protection for UK Skilled Worker Visa: What Pre-April 2024 Workers Need to Know

On April 4, 2024, the UK Skilled Worker visa salary threshold increased dramatically — from £26,200 to £38,700 per year. A further increase to £41,700 followed in July 2025. These numbers represent the current standard baseline for new applicants. But for workers who were already sponsored before April 4, 2024, a set of transitional protections effectively shields them from the full impact of these increases — in some cases until April 2030.

Understanding whether these protections apply to you, and precisely what they cover, is one of the most misunderstood areas of the current Skilled Worker rules.

The Core Transitional Rule

If your first Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) was assigned before April 4, 2024, you are eligible for transitional protection when applying for:

• An extension of your current Skilled Worker leave
• A new CoS with a different employer (changing jobs)
• ILR (under certain conditions — see below)

Under transitional protection, the applicable general salary threshold is £31,300 per year rather than £41,700. You also benefit from a "lower going rate" rather than the full 100% median going rate for your SOC code.

These protections apply as long as you remain in an eligible occupation and do not take a break in continuous Skilled Worker leave. They remain in effect until April 4, 2030, provided your CoS was originally assigned before April 4, 2024.

What "Lower Going Rate" Means

The going rate for each SOC code was revised upward in 2024 and again in 2025. Under transitional protection, you do not need to meet the new, higher going rate — instead, you benefit from the lower going rate that applied before the April 2024 changes.

This distinction is crucial for workers in roles where the occupation-specific going rate increased significantly. A civil engineer's going rate, for example, moved to £50,400 under the current standard rules. Under transitional protection, a pre-April 2024 CoS holder would instead need to meet only the lower going rate for SOC 2121 as it applied prior to the April 2024 revisions.

The specific lower going rates are published in the Immigration Rules — your employer or their legal adviser should refer to the applicable transitional schedule when preparing a CoS for an extension or role change.

Transitional Protection Applies When Changing Employers

This is the part that catches most workers off guard: transitional protection does not disappear when you switch employers. As long as your original CoS predates April 4, 2024, you can move to a new employer and still apply the transitional thresholds — provided:

1. You remain in an eligible occupation (same SOC code or an occupation that retains transitional eligibility)
2. Your new employer assigns a fresh CoS before your current leave expires (no gap in continuous Skilled Worker permission)
3. The new role genuinely falls within the SOC code being assigned

Workers who incorrectly believe they must meet the full £41,700 threshold on a job change have unnecessarily rejected employers offering £32,000–£38,000 salaries that would have been perfectly compliant under their transitional protection. This misunderstanding costs people opportunities.

What Transitional Protection Does NOT Cover

New skills upgrade requirement: Since July 22, 2025, the minimum skill level for standard sponsorship rose to RQF Level 6. Transitional salary protections do not automatically exempt workers from this requirement. If you were sponsored in an RQF Level 3–5 role before April 2024, your ability to continue or extend depends on whether your occupation appears on the Temporary Shortage List (expiring December 31, 2026) or another qualifying transitional arrangement — not the salary transitional protection.

ILR application: This is a critical nuance. Transitional salary protections partially apply to ILR, but with an important condition. To qualify for ILR, even under transitional arrangements, you must still meet the full, current going rate for your occupation (not the transitional lower going rate). The transitional general threshold (£31,300) does apply to the ILR application, but the going rate applied is the current, unmodified rate.

This creates a specific risk for workers in roles where the going rate exceeds £31,300 — which is most roles. The transitional threshold only helps if the general threshold (£31,300) exceeds the current going rate, which is rare given how going rates have risen.

The Confusion About ILR Salary Requirements

A common scenario in the r/SkilledWorkerVisaUK community illustrates the confusion: a worker with a pre-April 2024 CoS approaches their ILR application and wonders whether they need to meet the new £41,700 threshold or their transitional £31,300.

The answer depends on which is higher — the transitional threshold (£31,300) or the current going rate for their occupation. For most technical and professional roles, the current going rate exceeds £31,300 significantly, so the going rate is the binding figure. The transitional protection reduces the general threshold but cannot reduce the going rate.

Workers who assumed transitional protection shields them from meeting the going rate at ILR stage have encountered refusals despite otherwise strong applications.

When Transitional Protection Expires

All transitional salary protections expire on April 4, 2030. From that date, any extension, role change, or ILR application will be assessed against the full, unmodified thresholds and going rates in effect at that time.

Workers currently relying on transitional protection should plan their salary progression with 2030 in mind. If you intend to remain in the UK and your current salary is below the current full going rate for your role, you have until April 2030 to reach compliance — after which there is no further grace period.

Checking Whether You Have Transitional Protection

The key date is when your first CoS under the Skilled Worker route was assigned (not when your visa was issued, not when you entered the UK). If your employer assigned the CoS before April 4, 2024, you have transitional protection. The CoS reference number and assignment date are typically visible in the Sponsor Management System records your employer holds.

For a full explanation of how transitional protections interact with job changes, ILR applications, the Earned Settlement model, and the RQF skill level changes, the UK Skilled Worker Visa Guide covers the complete transitional framework with scenario-based examples.