UK Visa Sponsorship Salary Requirements by Occupation: Software Developer, Engineer, Accountant, Teacher

"My salary is above £41,700 — am I good?" This is one of the most common questions in UK immigration communities, and for a significant number of applicants the answer is no. The general threshold of £41,700 is only one half of the salary calculation. For many high-demand occupations, the occupation-specific going rate is the binding figure — and it can be considerably higher.

Here is exactly what the numbers look like for four of the most common Skilled Worker professions.

How the Dual Threshold Works

Every Skilled Worker applicant must meet the higher of two figures:

1. The general salary threshold: £41,700 per year (as of July 2025), assessed against a 37.5-hour working week
2. The occupation-specific going rate: 100% of the median earnings for your SOC 2020 code, from Appendix Skilled Occupations

These thresholds are applied against guaranteed basic gross pay only. Performance bonuses, overtime, allowances, and benefits-in-kind are excluded from the calculation.

Additionally, the going rates are calculated on a 37.5-hour baseline. If your contracted hours exceed 37.5 per week, you must pro-rate the going rate upward. The formula is: Required salary = Going rate × (Contracted hours ÷ 37.5). Failing to apply this pro-rata adjustment is a documented cause of visa refusals for applicants who were genuinely above the standard threshold.

Software Developer / IT Professional

SOC code: 2134 (programmers and software development professionals)

Going rate: £54,700

Binding minimum salary: £54,700 — the going rate is higher than the £41,700 general floor, so it wins.

Pro-rata example: A software developer with a 40-hour contract needs at least £58,347 (£54,700 × 40/37.5).

This is the threshold that regularly surprises applicants. "Software developer" is one of the most-sponsored occupation codes, and the going rate has been recalibrated upward from previous years based on ASHE wage data. An employer offering £50,000 — comfortably above the general threshold — would be sponsoring at a salary that triggers a visa refusal.

New Entrant discount: Software developers who are under 26, recent UK graduates, or switching from a Student/Graduate visa can qualify for the New Entrant discount: the lower of £33,400 or 70% of the going rate. 70% of £54,700 is £38,290, which is below £33,400 — so the floor of £33,400 applies. New Entrants in this occupation can therefore be sponsored at £33,400, but this discount is time-limited to four years of total qualifying leave.

Civil and Mechanical Engineer

SOC code (civil): 2121 (civil engineers) Going rate (civil): £39,000

SOC code (mechanical): 2122 (mechanical engineers) Going rate (mechanical): £43,200

Binding minimum salary:

• Civil engineer: £41,700 (general threshold wins over going rate of £39,000)
• Mechanical engineer: £43,200 (going rate wins over general threshold)

Pro-rata example (mechanical engineer, 40-hour contract): £43,200 × 40/37.5 = £46,080 required.

Engineering is one of the sectors where the dual threshold creates the most confusion, because the general threshold wins for some codes (civil) but the going rate wins for others (mechanical, electrical). Always look up the specific SOC code — there is no safe assumption that one engineering rate applies to all roles.

For the Immigration Salary List (ISL), some engineering specialisms may appear at a reduced general threshold of £33,400. However, the ISL does not discount the going rate itself. For occupations where the going rate exceeds £33,400 — which is most engineering roles — the going rate remains the binding figure regardless of ISL status.

Accountant

SOC code: 2421 (chartered and certified accountants)

Going rate: £38,300

Binding minimum salary: £41,700 — the general threshold wins over the going rate of £38,300.

Pro-rata example (39-hour contract): £41,700 × 39/37.5 = £43,368 required.

Accountants are one of the occupations where the general £41,700 floor is the operative threshold, because the going rate sits below it. However, the pro-rata adjustment still applies for common contract structures. An applicant offered £42,500 on a 39-hour contract — apparently above the threshold — would actually face a shortfall of approximately £900 after pro-rating, which is sufficient grounds for refusal.

Transitional protection: Accountants who received their first Skilled Worker CoS before April 4, 2024, are assessed against the transitional lower threshold (approximately £31,300) rather than £41,700 for extensions and employer changes, provided they remain in the same SOC code. This protection lasts until April 2030.

Teacher (Secondary School)

SOC code: 2314 (secondary education teaching professionals)

Salary regime: Teachers in state-funded schools are covered by national pay scales — the Teachers' Pay and Conditions framework — and are exempt from the £41,700 general threshold. The minimum starting salary for a newly qualified teacher in England in 2026 is approximately £31,650 outside London, with London-area rates higher.

This exemption makes teaching one of the more accessible Skilled Worker routes for international applicants in terms of minimum salary, since state school salaries start below the £41,700 threshold.

Important note on skill level: Teaching roles are RQF Level 6 and are not affected by the July 2025 sub-degree exclusions. However, applicants sponsored as teachers in UK state schools will typically need to complete their Induction period as an Early Career Teacher (ECT) before full registration with the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) is confirmed.

Independent school teachers: Independent schools are not subject to the national pay scales, meaning the standard £41,700 going-rate-vs-general-threshold calculation applies for independent school teaching roles.

What Salary to Negotiate Before Your Employer Issues the CoS

Get the SOC code confirmed before salary negotiations are final. Your employer's HR team or their immigration solicitor should be able to confirm which SOC 2020 code will appear on the CoS. Once you have the code, check Appendix Skilled Occupations on gov.uk for the current going rate, and cross-check it against the £41,700 general threshold.

Then apply the pro-rata formula for your contracted hours. This is the number your offered salary must exceed — not the headline threshold that gets cited in social media posts.

The UK Skilled Worker Visa Guide includes a complete SOC code going-rate table, a pro-rata salary worksheet, and a checklist to verify your CoS before your employer formally submits it — so the salary is confirmed compliant before the application is filed.