SOC Codes for UK Skilled Worker Visa — IT Sector Guide

A Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code is a numeric identifier that categorises jobs by their type and skill level. The UK Home Office uses SOC codes to determine whether a job qualifies for the Skilled Worker visa and, crucially, what the minimum salary — called the going rate — should be for that type of work.

When an employer assigns a Certificate of Sponsorship, they declare the SOC code and the salary option being relied on. The Home Office checks both the general threshold for that option and its required percentage of the going rate. Standard Option A uses £41,700 and 100% of the going rate; a qualifying new entrant uses £33,400 and 70%. Other options have different conditions and figures.

This means it is not enough to simply have a competitive salary — you need to make sure the code your employer has assigned accurately reflects your role. Using a code with a lower going rate to get around the threshold is treated as a compliance breach. Equally, if your employer assigns you the wrong code that carries a higher going rate, you might find the salary falls short even though it seems reasonable for the position.

The current SOC 2020 mapping is: 2133 IT business analysts, architects and systems designers (£54,900 standard going rate); 2134 programmers and software development professionals (£54,700); 2135 cyber security professionals (£48,500); and 2136 IT quality and testing professionals (£41,200).

Other common codes are 2137 IT network professionals (£45,600), 2139 IT professionals not elsewhere classified, including many DevOps roles (£52,300), and 2141 web design professionals (£43,800). These are the standard going rates checked on 15 August 2026, not universal minimums: the sponsor must also apply the correct salary option and general threshold.

Choose the code from the real duties, not the job title or the lowest rate. For example, a systems analyst may fit 2133, a software developer 2134, a penetration tester 2135, and a QA engineer 2136.

Most programmers and software developers use SOC 2134, whose standard going rate is currently £54,700. Web designers and certain web-focused developers may fit SOC 2141, currently £43,800. Front-end work can fall into either code depending on whether the job is primarily software development or web design.

Under standard Option A, the offer must meet both £41,700 and 100% of the going rate, so £41,700 is not enough for SOC 2134. A valid new entrant uses 70% of the going rate subject to a £33,400 general threshold; for SOC 2134, 70% is £38,290.

New-entrant eligibility is defined by the Immigration Rules and is time-limited. It is not established merely by being early in a career; the applicant must meet a listed condition and the grant must not take combined Graduate, Skilled Worker, and Tier 2 permission beyond four years.

SOC 3131 now covers IT operations technicians and is medium-skilled. It is not generally open merely because the salary reaches £41,700. At this review date it is available to a new applicant through the Temporary Shortage List only where the CoS is issued before 31 December 2026, or to a worker covered by the continuous pre-22 July 2025 transitional rules.

New applicants using a medium-skilled list provision generally cannot bring dependants. Network design and engineering duties may instead fit higher-skilled SOC 2137, but the sponsor must use the code that accurately reflects the job.

Because TSL access is time-limited, verify both the occupation list and the CoS deadline immediately before relying on a SOC 3131 vacancy.

The safest way to confirm your SOC code is to use the VisaAtlas SOC Code Intelligence tool, which maps job titles to their most likely occupation codes and shows the current going rate and new entrant rate for each. You can then share this information with your employer before they assign your Certificate of Sponsorship.

When you are ready to look for employers, the VisaAtlas sponsor search lets you filter by IT and technology sector and sort by CoS activity, so you can identify companies that are actively sponsoring tech roles — not just holding a licence they rarely use.

Remember: the going rates for SOC codes are updated by the Home Office periodically. Always check the current version of Appendix Skilled Worker on gov.uk or use a tool that reflects up-to-date figures before making any decisions.