UK Skilled Worker salary thresholds explained: what your CoS must show

One of the most common reasons a Skilled Worker visa application fails — and one of the most common details fraudsters get wrong — is the salary figure on the Certificate of Sponsorship. The UK Home Office sets minimum salary thresholds for each occupation, and if your CoS shows a salary below the required level, your visa application will be refused, regardless of everything else.

The general threshold — April 2024 onwards.

From 4 April 2024, the general salary threshold for the Skilled Worker route increased to £38,700 per year. This is the headline figure — but the actual minimum for your role is whichever is higher: £38,700, or the "going rate" for your specific SOC code.

The going rate is set by UKVI for each Standard Occupational Classification code. For some highly skilled roles — certain engineering specialisms, senior financial roles, specialist medical positions — the going rate exceeds £38,700, meaning the minimum salary on your CoS must be higher.

Health and Care Worker route — different rules.

The Health and Care Worker visa has a lower general threshold: £23,200 per year. But this only applies to specific NHS and care sector roles on the Health and Care Worker eligible occupations list. If your role is not on that list, the standard £38,700 threshold applies.

New entrant and transitional rates.

There are reduced rates for "new entrants" to the labour market — recent graduates and those under 26 — which are set at 70% of the going rate. These are not commonly seen on fake CoS documents because fraudsters tend to copy legitimate figures from genuine documents and do not adjust them accurately for individual roles.

What to check on your CoS.

1. 1

   Find your SOC code on the CoS.

   The CoS should clearly state the Standard Occupational Classification code for the role. This is a 4-digit number — e.g. 2136 for programmers and software development professionals.

2. 2

   Look up the going rate for that SOC code.

   UKVI publishes the going rates in the Skilled Worker visa guidance appendix. The rate is the annual salary you must be paid. Check the current version — it changes periodically.

3. 3

   Verify the salary on the CoS meets or exceeds both figures.

   The salary must be at least £38,700 AND at least the going rate for the SOC code. If it meets one but not the other, the application will fail.

4. 4

   Check for internal consistency.

   The salary figures must be consistent throughout the document. If the annual figure, monthly figure, and weekly figure do not multiply correctly, the document may be a forgery.

SponsorShield cross-references the salary on your CoS against the current UKVI going rate table for your SOC code automatically. If the figure is below the minimum — even marginally — the check will flag it as a risk signal.

The most common salary fraud pattern we see: a CoS that lists the old threshold — £26,200 or £29,000, which were the thresholds before April 2024. These documents are typically either outdated templates reused by real employers (rare) or forgeries that were built using older reference material (common).