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A3 Application line, stop 3 of 4

Get the salary to the threshold, or find another way

Salary below the sponsorship threshold? Try the new-entrant rate first, then a pay review, the hours, a relevant PhD or the shortage list.

Checked against gov.uk, 7 October 2026

Example occupation (optional)

Immigration Rules, Appendix Skilled Worker: both lines in force since 22 July 2025. Checked 7 October 2026.

Pick an example occupation above, then find your occupation's going rate on visavi.uk (opens visavi.uk): it opens with your figures filled in.

Two lines, and one more you cannot see

The general threshold is £41,700. As a new entrant you may be paid less: at least £33,400, and 70% of the going rate for your occupation code.

The third line is that going rate. It depends on the job's code, and it can sit above the threshold. Find the code's rate in Appendix Skilled Occupations (opens gov.uk) before you accept.

You count as a new entrant if

  • you are under 26 when you apply, or
  • you are on a Student or Graduate visa, or held one recently, or
  • you are working towards a professional qualification.

The full list is in the rules (source 4). New-entrant time is capped at 4 years in total.

Five ways forward when the salary falls short

Use the new-entrant rate

If you qualify, the line drops to £33,400 or 70% of the going rate. Tell HR you qualify; many do not check.

Negotiate a pay review

A small rise can clear the line. Ask once, in writing, with the code and the figure that applies.

Check the hours

Pay is read against the weekly hours on the certificate. Only the first 48 hours a week count, and no hour may be paid below £17.13.

Use a relevant PhD

A relevant STEM PhD lowers the floor to £33,400; another relevant PhD to £37,500. Each still has a going-rate share.

Check the shortage list

Jobs on the Immigration Salary List need at least £33,400 and the going rate. Health and education jobs on national pay scales start at £25,000.

None of these fit?

Ask whether the start date or the role could change, then take the next branch on Plan B.

Send the request that matches your case

Salary below the line

Channel

Subject: Salary for the [target role] offer

Hi [contact name],

Thank you for the offer. I qualify as a new entrant for the Skilled Worker route, so the lower new-entrant rate applies to me. Could you check the offered salary against the new-entrant rate for the role's occupation code, so sponsorship can go ahead?

Thank you,
[your name]

Subject: Salary for the [target role] offer

Hi [contact name],

Thank you for the offer. For a Skilled Worker visa, the salary has to meet the threshold for the role's occupation code, and the figure offered falls short of it. Could the salary be reviewed so sponsorship can go ahead? I'm glad to talk it through.

Thank you,
[your name]

Subject: Hours and salary for the [target role] offer

Hi [contact name],

Thank you for the offer. Visa salary rules count pay against the weekly hours on the Certificate of Sponsorship. Could you confirm the contracted hours, and whether the salary for those hours meets the threshold for the role's occupation code?

Thank you,
[your name]

Subject: My PhD and the [target role] salary

Hi [contact name],

Thank you for the offer. My PhD is relevant to the role, and the Skilled Worker rules set a lower salary floor for relevant PhDs. Could you check the offered salary against that rule for the role's occupation code?

Thank you,
[your name]

Subject: The [target role] occupation code

Hi [contact name],

Thank you for the offer. I think the role's occupation code may be on the Immigration Salary List, which has its own salary rule. Could you check the code you plan to use and the salary rule that applies to it?

Thank you,
[your name]

When to send
Before you accept the offer.
If they say no
Ask whether the start date or hours could move, then look at Plan B.

Fill these in once. Every script fills in as you type.

Your name, course and role are kept on this device only. Nothing is sent anywhere.

Checkpoint

Flip each switch when it is done. They stay set on this device only.

Allowances and one-off payments usually do not count. Read what counts towards the salary, on ukvisasponsorguide.com (opens ukvisasponsorguide.com) before you compare an offer with the lines.

Before you ask

Does a signing bonus count towards the salary?

Usually not: one-off payments and most allowances are left out. Count only fixed basic pay for the contracted hours.

Can the employer raise my salary just for the visa?

It can offer more pay, and the visa is then judged on the salary on your certificate. It must be the salary you are actually paid.

Why do the lines not match the going rate for my job?

They are floors. The going rate for your occupation code can be higher, and your salary must meet both.

At offer stage, run the offer checklist. Still choosing employers? The graduate scheme tracker shows published pay against these lines.

Three escalators climb a tall pale shaft lined with angled panels, a few riders small near the top.
Moorgate, Elizabeth line escalators, London.Chris Morgan, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped and colour-graded.

Sources

  1. Immigration Rules, Appendix Skilled Worker, SW 4.4 option A; figure substituted by Statement of Changes HC 997 (APP SW2) (opens gov.uk)
    "You’ll usually need to be paid the ‘standard’ salary rate of at least £41,700 per year, or the ‘going rate’ for your job, whichever is higher."
    Checked 7 October 2026
  2. Immigration Rules, Appendix Skilled Worker, SW 4.4 option E; figure substituted by Statement of Changes HC 997 (APP SW4) (opens gov.uk)
    "You can be paid 70% of your job’s standard going rate if your salary will be at least £33,400 per year and one of the following applies:"
    Checked 7 October 2026
  3. Immigration Rules, Appendix Skilled Worker, SW 4.4 option E (opens gov.uk)
    "The applicant is a new entrant at the start of their career and their salary equals or exceeds both: • £33,400 per year and • 70% of the going rate for the SOC 2020 occupation code."
    Checked 7 October 2026
  4. Immigration Rules, Appendix Skilled Worker, SW 12.2 (opens gov.uk)
    "you’re currently in the UK on a Graduate visa (or you have been in the last 2 years, and a Graduate or visit visa was your most recent visa)"
    Checked 7 October 2026
  5. Immigration Rules, Appendix Skilled Worker, SW 12.3 (opens gov.uk)
    "SW 12.3. Granting the application must not mean the applicant’s combined permission as a Skilled Worker, Graduate and/or Tier 2 Migrant would be more than 4 years in total, whether or not the permission is for a continuous period."
    Checked 7 October 2026
  6. Immigration Rules, Appendix Skilled Worker, SW 4.4 option A; Immigration Rules, Appendix Skilled Occupations, Table 1 notes (opens gov.uk)
    "Going rates in Table 1 are per year and based on a 37.5-hour working week. They must be pro-rated for other working patterns, based on the weekly working hours stated by the applicant’s sponsor."
    Checked 7 October 2026
  7. Immigration Rules, Appendix Skilled Occupations, Table 1 notes (as substituted by HC 997) (opens gov.uk)
    "For the avoidance of doubt, where £17.13 per hour calculates as more than 70%, 80% or 90% of the stated going rate, £17.13 will nevertheless be taken to be 70%, 80% or 90% of the going rate, as applicable."
    Checked 7 October 2026
  8. Immigration Rules, Appendix Skilled Worker, SW 14.3 (opens gov.uk)
    "SW 14.3. If the applicant is being sponsored to work more than 48 hours a week, subject to SW 14.3A, only the salary for the first 48 hours a week will be considered towards the salary thresholds referred to in the table following SW 4.4."
    Checked 7 October 2026
  9. Immigration Rules, Appendix Skilled Worker, SW 4.4 option D; figure substituted by HC 997 (APP SW4) (opens gov.uk)
    "You must be paid at least £33,400 per year if you are being sponsored for a job on the immigration salary list."
    Checked 7 October 2026
  10. Immigration Rules, Appendix Skilled Worker, SW 4.4 option K; figure substituted by Statement of Changes HC 733 (APP SW2) (opens gov.uk)
    "There are different salary rules if you work in some healthcare or education jobs. Your salary must be at least £25,000"
    Checked 7 October 2026
  11. Immigration Rules, Appendix Skilled Worker, SW 4.4 option C; figure substituted by HC 997 (APP SW4) (opens gov.uk)
    "If you have a science, technology, engineering or maths (STEM) qualification, you can be paid 80% of your job’s standard going rate, as long as you will still be paid at least £33,400 a year."
    Checked 7 October 2026
  12. Immigration Rules, Appendix Skilled Worker, SW 4.4 option B; figure substituted by HC 997 (APP SW3) (opens gov.uk)
    "If you have a non-STEM qualification, you can be paid 90% of your job’s standard going rate, as long as you will still be paid at least £37,500 a year."
    Checked 7 October 2026

Updated Checked against gov.uk on

What changed

  • 7 October 2026: First published.

This is a playbook, not immigration advice. Before you act, check the rule on gov.uk or ask a regulated immigration adviser or a solicitor.