The short answer
The test almost every summary gets half right
Search for the Skilled Worker salary threshold and you will be told £41,700. That figure is correct and, for technology roles, usually irrelevant. The rules require the higher of two separate figures, and for most sponsored tech occupations the second one wins comfortably.
An offer of £45,000 to a software developer clears the widely quoted threshold by £3,300 and is still refused, because the going rate for that occupation code is £54,700. Nothing about the £41,700 figure is wrong. It simply is not the number that decides the case.
| Route | Cash floor | Going rate |
|---|---|---|
A. Standard No discount claimed. The default route for most sponsored hires. | £41,700 | 100% |
B. PhD (non-STEM) You hold a PhD relevant to the job, in a subject outside STEM. | £37,500 | 90% |
C. PhD (STEM) You hold a PhD in a STEM subject relevant to the job. | £33,400 | 80% |
D. Immigration Salary List The occupation appears on the Immigration Salary List. Most tech occupations do not. | £33,400 | 80% |
E. New entrant Under 26, recently on a UK Student visa, or working toward a professional qualification. Usable for up to 4 years. | £33,400 | 70% |
Going rates for the most commonly sponsored tech occupations
These are the Home Office benchmark salaries that sit behind the standard route. Compare the third column against the £41,700 headline to see how often the cash floor is the smaller number.
| SOC | Occupation | Going rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2131 | IT project managers | £58,200 |
| 2132 | IT managers | £55,000 |
| 2133 | IT business analysts, architects and systems designers | £54,900 |
| 2134 | Programmers and software development professionals | £54,700 |
| 2135 | Cyber security professionals | £48,500 |
| 2136 | IT quality and testing professionalsbelow the cash floor, so £41,700 binds here | £41,200 |
| 2137 | IT network professionals | £45,600 |
| 2139 | Information technology professionals not elsewhere classified | £52,300 |
Four offers under SOC 2134, and why they pass or fail
£41,700
FailsClears the headline cash floor exactly and still fails. The going rate for 2134 is £54,700, so the standard route needs that instead.
£45,000
Fails standard£9,700 short on Option A. Would qualify under a STEM PhD or new entrant route, if either condition genuinely applies.
£54,700
MeetsExactly at the going rate, so the standard route is satisfied with no discount needed.
£38,290
Meets new entrant70% of £54,700. Above the £33,400 floor, so the going-rate share is the binding figure, not the floor.
Meeting a route’s salary figure is not the same as qualifying for that route. A £45,000 offer only works under Option C or E if the applicant genuinely holds a relevant STEM PhD or genuinely meets the new entrant conditions. The salary test and the eligibility condition are separate hurdles and both have to clear.
Check a specific offer against both tests
Pick the occupation code, enter the base salary, and see every route at once: what each one requires, which test is binding, the exact shortfall on any route that fails, and what the salary is worth after UK tax.
What counts as salary, and what quietly does not
Only guaranteed basic gross pay is assessed. Everything that makes a technology package attractive is excluded: annual bonus, commission, equity and RSU awards, sign-on payments, shift and on-call allowances, employer pension contributions, and benefits in kind.
This is where otherwise strong offers fail. A candidate offered £48,000 base plus a £12,000 bonus and £20,000 of annual RSU vesting has a package worth £80,000 and a Skilled Worker assessment of £48,000, which is £6,700 short of the standard requirement for SOC 2134. The package is generous; the application is refused. The fix is always the same and always has to happen before the Certificate of Sponsorship is assigned: move money from variable pay into base.
If the resulting base salary is itself worth checking against the market rather than against the statutory minimum, the UK tech salary guide gives the benchmarks. A going rate is a floor set by survey data, not evidence that an offer is competitive.
How the UK compares with Ireland for the same hire
UK Skilled Worker
£54,700
effective requirement, SOC 2134 standard route
Two tests: cash floor and going rate
Occupation-specific benchmark
Five routes with different discounts
Ireland Critical Skills
€40,904
degree-qualified standard threshold
One test: a single salary floor
No occupation-specific going rate
Spouse gains an unrestricted work permit
For an employer deciding where to place a role, the gap between those two requirements is frequently larger than any tax or cost-of-living difference between the two countries. Ireland’s threshold is a floor and nothing more, which makes mid-level hiring straightforward; the UK’s going-rate layer effectively sets a market-rate minimum for every sponsored technology role. See the Irish threshold guide for the equivalent detail on that side.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum salary for a UK Skilled Worker visa in 2026?
The general threshold is £41,700 a year for applications from 22 July 2025 onward, but that is only half the test. You must be paid the higher of that cash floor and the going rate for your occupation code. For most technology occupations the going rate exceeds £41,700, so the going rate is what actually determines eligibility. A programmer or software developer under SOC 2134 needs £54,700 on the standard route.
What is a going rate and how do I find mine?
The going rate is the Home Office benchmark salary for your Standard Occupational Classification code, derived from Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings data. The current set took effect on 22 July 2025 on a 2024 ASHE basis. Your sponsor picks the SOC code when they assign your Certificate of Sponsorship, and that choice sets your going rate. Check the code before the CoS is assigned, because an inaccurate code produces an inaccurate salary requirement and can invalidate the application.
What are the five salary options?
Option A is the standard route: £41,700 and 100% of the going rate. Option B applies if you hold a relevant PhD outside STEM: £37,500 and 90%. Option C applies for a relevant STEM PhD: £33,400 and 80%. Option D covers occupations on the Immigration Salary List: £33,400 and 80%. Option E is the new entrant route: £33,400 and 70%. In every case you need the higher of the cash figure and the going-rate percentage, and you must genuinely satisfy the option's condition.
Who counts as a new entrant?
Broadly, applicants under 26 at the date of application, those switching from a UK Student or Graduate visa, and those working toward a recognised professional qualification or a postdoctoral position. The route can be used for a maximum of four years across all permissions, after which you must be paid at the standard rate. For graduate hiring in technology it is the most valuable and most frequently missed route, since it reduces the going-rate requirement to 70%.
Does a bonus or equity count toward the salary requirement?
No. Only guaranteed basic gross pay counts. Bonuses, commission, overtime, shift allowances, equity and share awards, employer pension contributions, and benefits in kind are all excluded. This is the single most common reason a well-paid technology offer fails: a package worth well over the requirement can rest on a base salary that falls short.
Are software and IT roles on the Immigration Salary List?
Generally not. The Immigration Salary List replaced the Shortage Occupation List and is considerably narrower than its predecessor. Mainstream software, data, and IT occupations do not appear on it, so the Option D discount is usually unavailable for technology hires. Confirm against the current list rather than assuming, and do not build a hiring plan around a discount you cannot claim.
What happens if my salary later falls below the threshold?
Your sponsor must report changes to your pay, and a drop below the applicable requirement can put your sponsorship at risk. This covers moves to part-time hours, unpaid leave, and demotion. Statutory leave, phased returns, and certain sick-pay arrangements are treated more flexibly. A permanent reduction below the requirement generally means a fresh application at the correct salary rather than a variation.
How does this compare with Ireland's Critical Skills permit?
Ireland is markedly simpler and lower. The Critical Skills Employment Permit sets a single threshold of €40,904 for degree-qualified applicants in eligible occupations, with no going-rate test on top, so the arithmetic is one comparison rather than two. The UK layers an occupation-specific going rate over its cash floor, which pushes the effective requirement for most technology roles above £50,000. For employers weighing where to place a role, that difference is often larger than the tax difference between the two countries.
Related calculators and reading