How to Check if Your Job Is Still Eligible for Sponsorship

A job title alone does not determine Skilled Worker eligibility. You need the most appropriate four-digit SOC 2020 occupation code, but the code written in an advert or offer is not automatically conclusive either: it must match the actual duties, and the Home Office can question a code chosen to avoid an eligibility or salary rule.

Use this sequence for a current application.

Step 1: identify the proposed SOC 2020 code

If you already have an offer, ask the employer which four-digit occupation code it intends to put on the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS). Then check it rather than treating it as authoritative:

1. Compare the day-to-day duties, level of responsibility and required skills with the official job descriptions and related titles.
2. Use the official eligible-occupations table, which links to the CASCOT occupation-coding tool if the code is uncertain.
3. Ask the employer to resolve any mismatch between the proposed code and the written job description before it assigns the CoS.

Under SW 6.2 and SW 6.3 of Appendix Skilled Worker, the sponsor must choose an appropriate code. A decision maker may consider whether a less appropriate code was chosen because the correct code is ineligible, has a higher going rate, or is not on the Immigration Salary List. The employer's proposed code matters to the application, but it can still be wrong.

Step 2: check the skill classification and any qualifying list

The public GOV.UK table classifies SOC codes as Higher Skilled, Medium Skilled or Ineligible:

• A Higher Skilled code is generally capable of qualifying, subject to the rest of the Skilled Worker rules.
• A Medium Skilled code is not automatically eligible. For most current applicants, the specific job must be on the Immigration Salary List or the Temporary Shortage List in SW 6.1A. There are separate exceptions for certain prison officers and for some people who were already on the Skilled Worker route before 22 July 2025 and have held continuous permission.
• An Ineligible code cannot qualify merely because the pay is high or the employer is licensed.

Read the exact entry, not just the code number. Some list entries cover only named job types, only one or more UK nations, or have a removal date.

Immigration Salary List

For a non-transitional application using salary option D, an eligible Immigration Salary List job can meet the general threshold at £33,400 while still meeting 100% of the applicable going rate. Other salary options and transitional cases have their own tests. List status is therefore relevant, but it is not a blanket waiver of the occupation's going rate.

Temporary Shortage List

The Temporary Shortage List makes the listed Medium Skilled jobs eligible; it does not itself create an automatic salary discount. The applicant must still meet an available salary option and the occupation's applicable going rate. Under the rules verified for this guide, a listed job qualifies through the Temporary Shortage List only where the application uses a CoS issued before 31 December 2026. Check the live SW 6.1A before relying on that date or list.

Step 3: apply the correct salary option

The standard salary rule is usually the higher of:

• £41,700 a year; and
• 100% of the going rate for the occupation code.

That is the standard rule, not a universal rule for every applicant. Appendix Skilled Worker also contains alternative salary options for some relevant PhDs, STEM PhDs, Immigration Salary List jobs, new entrants, qualifying pre-4 April 2024 Skilled Workers, and listed health or education occupations. Some options use a lower general threshold and a percentage of the going rate; others still require the full going rate.

Check both the live going-rate table and the GOV.UK explanation of when a Skilled Worker can be paid less. Going rates may also need to be adjusted for the weekly hours stated by the sponsor. Do not decide eligibility from the annual salary alone.

For a fuller walkthrough of the salary options, see:

Skilled Worker salary thresholds explained

Step 4: verify the employer and the exact sponsoring entity

Check the employer against the official register of licensed Worker and Temporary Worker sponsors. Match the legal entity named in the offer, not only the brand or group name, and confirm that its licensed route and rating allow it to assign the required CoS.

Register presence does not prove that a specific vacancy is genuine, that the role is eligible, or that a visa will be granted. It establishes only that the listed organisation held the recorded sponsor status when the register was published.

VisaAtlas tracks the same Home Office register, currently listing 126,938+ licensed companies across 142,709+ sponsor records, so you can search and filter it more quickly before confirming against the official source.

Put the checks together

Before treating a job as sponsorship-eligible, confirm all four:

1. The proposed SOC code is the most appropriate code for the actual duties.
2. The code and specific job are eligible for someone in your circumstances, including any skill-level, list, nation or transitional restriction.
3. The salary meets both parts of an available salary option after any required hours adjustment.
4. The exact employing entity is currently able to sponsor under the relevant route.

A failure at any one stage can make the application ineligible even when the other three look right.

Search licensed sponsor companies by city and sector

Sources and verification

This guide was checked on 3 August 2026 against:

• GOV.UK: Skilled Worker eligible occupations and codes;
• Immigration Rules, Appendix Skilled Worker, especially SW 4.4 and SW 6.1 to SW 6.3;
• Immigration Rules, Appendix Skilled Occupations;
• Immigration Rules, Appendix Immigration Salary List; and
• GOV.UK: Skilled Worker job and salary requirements.

This is general information, not legal advice. Occupation lists, deadlines, salary figures and sponsor status can change; recheck the live official sources before an employer assigns a CoS or you submit an application.