Skilled Worker · SOC code & going rate

Appendix Skilled Occupations: how to pick the right SOC code at CoS assignment.

Direct answer

Appendix Skilled Occupations is the Home Office's list of SOC 2020 occupation codes eligible for sponsorship on the Skilled Worker route, the Global Business Mobility routes, and the Scale-up Worker route. Each SOC code has a published going rate. This is the minimum salary the Home Office expects the role to pay. To sponsor a worker, the role must be matched to a specific code on Table 1 (RQF level 6+), Table 1a (RQF 3–5, limited eligibility, with the 6135 Care worker exception at RQF 2), or Table 2 (RQF 6+). Picking the wrong code is the most common technical error we see at CoS assignment. It can cause salary, ISC and compliance problems.

Who this applies to: UK sponsors assigning a Certificate of Sponsorship to a worker. This is usually the HR lead, hiring manager or sponsor-licence key person choosing the SOC code in the SMS.

Regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority

By Mehmood RajokaLast reviewed 2 June 2026

Why the SOC code matters more than employers realise

The SOC code is the decision the rest of the sponsorship hangs from.

Many employers treat the SOC code as a clerical step and pick the nearest title from a list. In practice, the code determines if the role is eligible, what the worker must be paid and where the compliance risk sits.

→Eligibility: only roles on Appendix Skilled Occupations can be sponsored. A SOC code not on the appendix means the role cannot be sponsored under Skilled Worker.

→Going rate: each SOC code has its own published going rate. The applicable minimum salary is the higher of the general threshold (£41,700) and the SOC code going rate.

→Immigration Salary List: only specific SOC codes are on the ISL. The discounted £33,400 threshold and 80% going-rate rule apply only if the SOC code is on the list.

→Compliance: the SOC code determines what the worker's duties should reasonably be. If the actual job materially differs from the code's description, the Home Office can treat the sponsorship as a sponsor compliance breach.

→Worker visa: the worker's visa is granted on the basis of the SOC code on the CoS. A change of duties that moves the role to a different SOC code is a 10-working-day reportable event.

The three tables

Appendix Skilled Occupations at a glance.

Table 1

Graduate-level and above occupations: most professional and managerial roles. The main table for typical Skilled Worker sponsorships.

RQF level 6+

Table 1a

Below-graduate roles with restricted eligibility. Special case: SOC 6135 Care workers and home carers, considered skilled to RQF level 2, the only sub-RQF-3 code on the list.

RQF level 3–5 (limited)

Table 2

Additional RQF 6+ occupations, with equivalent SOC 2010 occupation codes shown for cross-reference where the SOC 2020 code has changed.

RQF level 6+ (with SOC 2010 cross-reference)

Going rates

Each SOC code has a published going rate. The points-based-system salary tradeable options (A–J) interact with the general threshold, the ISL discount, the new entrant discount, and the PhD-level discount.

Per SOC code

Last updated

Appendix Skilled Occupations is revised periodically. The current version was last updated 29 April 2026. Always check the live appendix at the time of CoS assignment.

29 April 2026

Routes covered by Appendix Skilled Occupations: Skilled Worker, Global Business Mobility, and Scale-up Worker. The Health and Care Worker visa is a Skilled Worker sub-route, same SOC code basis.

How to pick the right SOC code

The five questions every sponsor should answer before SMS assignment.

There is no formula for SOC code selection. It is a judgement call, and the Home Office assesses the actual job duties rather than the title. We use the following five questions during CoS preparation.

→1. What does this worker actually do day-to-day? Write a list of 5–8 substantive duties before going to the SOC code list. The duties drive the code, not the title.

→2. Which SOC code description most closely matches those duties? Read the full code description in the Office for National Statistics SOC 2020 system, not just the title.

→3. Is the SOC code in Appendix Skilled Occupations (Table 1, Table 1a, or Table 2)? If not, the role cannot be sponsored under Skilled Worker.

→4. What is the going rate for that SOC code, and how does the worker's salary compare to (a) £41,700 and (b) the SOC code going rate?

→5. Is the SOC code on the Immigration Salary List? If yes, the £33,400 / 80% × going rate discount applies. If no, the standard rates apply.

The cascade when the SOC code is wrong

What goes wrong when the SOC code is picked superficially.

The SMS may accept a wrong SOC code at assignment. The problem often appears later during a Home Office compliance visit, a worker's visa extension or a civil penalty review.

→Salary cascade: wrong SOC code means a wrong going rate. The worker may be under-paid against the actual code's going rate, which is a sponsor compliance breach even if you paid above £41,700.

→ISL cascade: picking a SOC code that is on the ISL when the role really matches a non-ISL code means the sponsor has applied a discount they were not entitled to. Treated as a serious compliance issue.

→Skill-level cascade: picking a Table 1 (RQF 6+) code for a role that is genuinely RQF 3–5 creates a mismatch between the duties and the basis on which the worker's visa was granted.

→Worker visa cascade, at the worker's visa extension the case officer reviews the actual duties against the original SOC code. A material mismatch can lead to visa refusal, and if the worker is no longer eligible to stay, the sponsor's licence is at risk.

→Compliance visit cascade: Home Office officers interview workers about their duties. If the answer does not match the SOC code on file, the licence rating is on the line.

Going rates and the points system

Where the going rate sits inside the points-based system.

Skilled Worker is a points-based route. To get the 70 points needed for the visa, the worker must score on (a) a job at the right skill level, (b) English language, and (c) salary. The salary score interacts with several discount rules that can lower the threshold for specific worker categories.

→Standard salary score: the higher of £41,700 per year or the SOC code going rate at 100%

→Immigration Salary List discount (Option E in some sources): minimum salary the higher of £33,400 or 80% × going rate, only if the SOC code is on the ISL

→New entrant discount: a lower threshold available to workers meeting new-entrant criteria (e.g. under 26, recent graduate, student-to-Skilled-Worker switch), verify the current rate against gov.uk

→PhD-level discount: a lower threshold for roles in defined PhD-level SOC codes, verify the current rate

→Health and Care Worker rate: a sub-route within Skilled Worker with its own salary rules for specific health and care roles

→The applicable salary for any specific worker is the highest figure that the points-based system requires across the relevant discount rules, not the lowest discount available

Common SOC code mistakes

Five SOC code errors we see most often at CoS assignment.

→Matching by job title rather than duties: picking '2425 Finance and investment analysts and advisers' for a junior accountant whose duties really fall under a different code

→Picking a Table 1 RQF 6+ code for a role the worker is not genuinely qualified to do at graduate level, creating a skill-level mismatch

→Picking an ISL code to access the £33,400 discount when the actual duties match a non-ISL code, applying a discount the role is not entitled to

→Failing to update the SOC code when the role materially changes after CoS assignment, leaving a stale code on file is a 10-working-day reportable event the sponsor has missed

→Treating the SOC 2020 and SOC 2010 lists as interchangeable. They are not. The appendix uses SOC 2020 and only cross-references SOC 2010 as a reference aid

How Harveys helps

What we do at the SOC-code decision point.

SOC code selection is exactly the kind of decision that benefits from a 30-minute regulated review before the SMS assignment is clicked. It is also the decision that, once made, is hardest to walk back. We treat it as a structured deliverable in every Skilled Worker engagement.

→CoS preparation including SOC code review and going-rate verification: per-assignment support via the CoS / SMS Desk

→Sponsor Licence Application including a SOC code sense-check for the named worker pipeline, fixed-fee, Standard £2,250 or Complete £2,950

→Audit-Ready Sponsor Compliance retainer: ongoing watching of the ISL, going rates, and Appendix Skilled Occupations as they are revised, so you do not get caught out by a SOC code being removed

→Mock audit and Home Office visit prep: duty-vs-SOC-code testing as part of the visit readiness process

→All work delivered under IAA Level 1 regulation: Regulation No. F202537009

Common questions

Questions employers ask us.

It is the Home Office's appendix to the Immigration Rules listing every SOC 2020 occupation code eligible for sponsorship on the Skilled Worker route, the Global Business Mobility routes, and the Scale-up Worker route. The appendix is split into Table 1 (RQF level 6 and above), Table 1a (RQF level 3 to 5, with limited eligibility and the SOC 6135 Care worker exception), and Table 2 (additional RQF 6+ occupations with SOC 2010 cross-references). Each SOC code has a published going rate that interacts with the £41,700 general threshold to set the worker's minimum salary.

In Appendix Skilled Occupations on gov.uk. The going rate is published per SOC code, with salary points-based-system options A–J showing how the rate interacts with the general threshold, the ISL discount, the new entrant discount, and other route-specific rules. Always check the live appendix at the time of CoS assignment, going rates are revised periodically.

An exact match is not expected. SOC code selection is a judgement call against the actual duties of the role. Start with a written list of the worker's substantive day-to-day duties (5–8 items). Read the full descriptions for the closest two or three codes and pick the best fit. If two codes look equally close and one is on the Immigration Salary List, do not choose the ISL code just for the discount. The Home Office assesses actual duties, not the more favourable code.

The appendix tells you directly: Table 1 codes are RQF 6+, Table 1a codes are RQF 3–5 (with limited eligibility), Table 2 codes are RQF 6+. SOC 6135 Care workers and home carers sits in Table 1a as an explicit RQF 2 exception, made eligible for sponsorship despite the lower skill level. Outside that one exception, sub-RQF-3 roles are not eligible for sponsorship under Skilled Worker.

It typically does not cause an immediate problem: the SMS accepts the input. The issue surfaces later: at a Home Office compliance visit when officers interview the worker about their actual duties, at the worker's visa extension when the case officer reviews the role against the code, or in a civil penalty review where the underlying job is examined. Wrong SOC codes cascade into salary breaches, ISL misuse, skill-level mismatches, and licence rating risk. This is one of the most common technical errors we see at consultation.

If the role materially changes after assignment, the change of duties must be reported through SMS within 10 working days. Depending on the scale of change, the worker may also need to submit a change-of-employment visa application. A SOC code that was wrong from the outset is harder to fix. You typically cannot just edit it on the CoS. Take regulated advice before any post-assignment SOC code change.

Related services & resources

Sources: GOV.UK

GOV.UK: Skilled Worker visa: eligible occupations (opens in new tab): Home Office list of eligible SOC codes and going rates for the Skilled Worker route.

Regulated immigration advice

Harveys Legal is regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority.

Firm Reg No. F202537009. Verify on the IAA register before engagement.

About the author

This page was written by Mehmood Rajoka, founder of Harveys Legal, and fact-checked against the GOV.UK sources linked on the page. Harveys Legal Limited is regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority, Reg No. F202537009.

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About to assign a CoS? Get the SOC code right before you click submit.

Book a consultation. We will work through the worker's actual duties, the candidate SOC codes, the applicable going rate, and whether the role qualifies for the ISL discount, before the SMS assignment is made and the £525 CoS fee plus the ISC are charged. Harveys Legal supports immigration applications, sponsor compliance preparation and related legal processes. Final decisions remain with the Home Office or relevant decision-maker.

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Harveys Legal supports immigration applications, sponsor compliance preparation and related legal processes. Final decisions remain with the Home Office or the relevant decision-maker.

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