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Medium-skilled jobs after July 2025: the ISL and TSL

Since 22 July 2025 the Skilled Worker route is open to degree-level jobs, plus mid-level jobs only if they are on the Immigration Salary List or the Temporary Shortage List, or if the worker already held permission before that date. Both lists have a cut-off date for new certificates.

Until 22 July 2025 the Skilled Worker route covered a band of jobs skilled to RQF levels 3 to 5, such as technicians, tradespeople and some administrators. After that date, the route was narrowed. GOV.UK describes the position this way: if an occupation code is listed as "higher skilled", you can apply; if it is listed as "medium skilled", you can apply only if the job is on the Immigration Salary List, on the Temporary Shortage List, or is a prison officer extending or switching, or if you are extending and got your first certificate of sponsorship before 22 July 2025.

This guide sets out how the three exceptions work in the Rules (Appendix Skilled Worker, rule SW 6.1, and Appendix Skilled Occupations), with the cut-off dates shown on 9 October 2026, what the lists contain, and what the salary test is for a job that qualifies only through a list. It describes the rules; it does not say whether a given job or person qualifies.

How the Rules sort jobs

Rule SW 6.1 says the applicant must be sponsored for a job in an eligible SOC 2020 occupation code listed as eligible in one of these places:

  • Table 1, Table 2 or Table 3 of Appendix Skilled Occupations (the degree-level codes, which the Appendix describes as skilled to RQF level 6 or above);
  • the Immigration Salary List in Appendix Immigration Salary List;
  • the Temporary Shortage List in SW 6.1A;
  • Table 1a, Table 2aa or Table 3a of Appendix Skilled Occupations, if the applicant was granted permission as a Skilled Worker under the rules in place before 22 July 2025 and has had continuous permission as a Skilled Worker since then;
  • Table 2aa, if the applicant is being awarded points under options F to J and meets SW 4.2(b)(ii);
  • Table 2a, if awarded points under options F to J, meeting SW 4.2(b)(ii) and applying to work for the same sponsor as in their most recent permission; and
  • code 3314 (prison service officers below principal officer), for an application for permission to stay, with conditions on the certificate date and length.

Tables 1a, 2aa and 3a are the "additional" tables. The Appendix describes them as covering codes skilled to RQF level 3 to 5, other than 6135 care workers and home carers, which it describes as RQF level 2. It states that, except where the Immigration Salary List option or the Temporary Shortage List applies, sponsors may only sponsor Skilled Worker applicants in those codes if the applicant was granted permission under the rules in place before 22 July 2025 and has had continuous permission since.

Table 6 lists codes that are not eligible for the Skilled Worker, Global Business Mobility or Scale-up routes at all, for example because the skill level is too low or the job must be sponsored under another route.

The Temporary Shortage List

The Temporary Shortage List is written into the Rules at SW 6.1A. An occupation code is only on the list where it appears in the list in that rule and an application has been made using a certificate of sponsorship that a sponsor issued to the applicant before 31 December 2026.

The list contains 52 occupation codes on 9 October 2026, some limited to named job types. It includes technician codes (laboratory, electrical and electronics, engineering, building and civil engineering, quality assurance, planning and production, CAD and architectural), IT technician codes (3131 IT operations technicians, 3132 IT user support technicians, 3133 database administrators and web content technicians), 3544 data analysts, 3533 financial and accounting technicians, 4122 book-keepers and payroll managers, 5213 welding trades, 5241 electricians and electrical fitters, 5315 plumbers and heating installers, and a range of vehicle, construction and design codes. The authoritative list is in SW 6.1A.

The date works on the certificate, not the visa application. A certificate issued before 31 December 2026 is what matters, and the application must still be made using that certificate. The Rules in SW 6.1A set no later date. What happens to people already granted permission on a TSL job is a separate question, covered by the continuity rule in SW 6.1(d).

The Immigration Salary List

The Immigration Salary List replaced the Shortage Occupation List and sits in its own appendix. The Appendix says an occupation is only included where an application has been made using a certificate issued before the removal date shown in the table. On 9 October 2026 it contains 25 entries, with a removal date of 31 December 2026 for 23 of them and 22 July 2028 for two.

Examples of entries, read from the table, include:

  • 1232 residential, day and domiciliary care managers and proprietors;
  • 2112 biological scientists;
  • 2142 graphic and multimedia designers;
  • 3111 laboratory technicians, only jobs requiring 3 or more years' related on-the-job experience;
  • 5313 bricklayers, 5314 roofers and slaters, 5316 carpenters and joiners and 5312 stonemasons;
  • 5213 welding trades, but only high integrity pipe welders where the job requires 3 or more years' related experience;
  • 6131 nursing auxiliaries and assistants, with a note that for Skilled Worker purposes the code only applies to roles in environments where registered nurse or other registered healthcare professional roles also exist; and
  • 6135 care workers and home carers and 6136 senior care workers, which have the later 22 July 2028 removal date.

Many entries are limited by nation of the UK, by job type or by experience. The table has a column for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. SW 11.1 requires the job to be listed for the nation where it is based.

What the list changes. Being on the Immigration Salary List does two things. It makes the code eligible (SW 6.1(b)), and it opens the salary option D (or option I for health and care codes): a salary of at least £33,400 (or £25,000 for option I) and the going rate, rather than the £41,700 floor in option A. The application fee is also lower: £628 for up to 3 years and £1,235 for longer, according to the Home Office fee table.

If a job leaves the list. Rule SW 11.2 provides that if the job was removed on or before the date the certificate was assigned, the applicant's most recent permission must have been as a Skilled Worker sponsored in a job on the list (or the older Shortage Occupation List), and they must be sponsored to continue in the same job for the same sponsor. GOV.UK's Health and Care Worker page says a worker who stays in the same job does not need to apply again if their job is taken off the list.

People who already held permission before 22 July 2025

The third exception is transitional. Under SW 6.1(d), the additional tables (1a, 2aa and 3a) are open to an applicant who was granted permission as a Skilled Worker under the rules in place before 22 July 2025 and who has had continuous permission as a Skilled Worker since then. Time when the Exceptions for overstayers section of Part Suitability applies is disregarded.

GOV.UK's Skilled Worker page puts it in terms of certificates: you can apply if you are extending your visa and you got your first certificate of sponsorship before 22 July 2025. The Rules are expressed in terms of permission granted and continuity, and where the two differ the Rules are the legal test.

The wording is about continuity. A person who has never held Skilled Worker permission, or who has a gap in it, falls outside this exception, and for them a job in Table 1a, 2aa or 3a is open only if it is also on the Immigration Salary List or the Temporary Shortage List.

Care workers (6135) and senior care workers (6136) have their own restriction in SW 6.1B: the application must be for permission to stay, and either the applicant must have been legally working for the sponsor in that code for at least the three months ending on the date the certificate was issued, and apply before 22 July 2028, or hold Skilled Worker permission sponsored in those codes. Our care worker guide covers that rule.

Salary for a job that qualifies only through a list

A job being eligible through a list does not lower the salary test by itself. The relevant option depends on the list and the code.

  • For a job on the Immigration Salary List, option D asks for the going rate in Table 1 or Table 1a, and at least £33,400 (option I, for Health and Care ASHE salary jobs, asks for at least £25,000 and the going rate in Table 2, 2aa or 2a).
  • For a job on the Temporary Shortage List only, there is no list-specific salary option. The ordinary options apply. Under option A, the salary must equal or exceed both £41,700 and the going rate. The Table 1a going rates for several TSL codes are below £41,700: 3544 data analysts is £34,900, 5315 plumbers £38,100 and 5241 electricians £38,800, so for those codes £41,700 would be the higher figure under option A. Other options, for example for new entrants, have their own conditions.

Our salary threshold guide covers how the options work. These figures come from Table 1a as read on 9 October 2026, and the Appendix Skilled Occupations page shows it was last updated on 11 November 2025.

What the cut-off dates mean for planning

Both lists are tied to the date a certificate of sponsorship is issued: 31 December 2026 for the Temporary Shortage List and for 23 of the 25 Immigration Salary List entries, and 22 July 2028 for the two care codes. The Rules do not say what replaces them. GOV.UK's pages and the Appendices do not state any further extension, and a later Statement of Changes could change either date.

Three practical questions follow from the wording:

  1. Which date counts? The date the sponsor issued the certificate to the applicant, not the application date. A certificate issued before the cut-off, used in an application made after it, is still within the rule.
  2. What if the certificate is refused or unused? Rule SW 5.1(d) says a certificate must not have been used in a previous application that was either granted or refused (it can have been used in one that was rejected as invalid, made void or withdrawn). A new certificate would carry its own issue date, and so its own position against the cut-off.
  3. What about a later extension? The transitional rule in SW 6.1(d) is written around permission granted under the rules in place before 22 July 2025. The Rules do not say in terms what applies at the next extension for someone first granted through a list, so read SW 6.1 as it stands on the date of that application.

Sponsors should also read the sponsor guidance on each code, because lists change by Statement of Changes and a code can move between tables.

Finding a regulated adviser

The question "is my job still eligible?" depends on the exact occupation code, the job type, the nation, the list dates and the worker's own history. If you want a regulated adviser to check these against the Rules before you accept an offer or assign a certificate, GOV.UK explains how to find an immigration adviser, and only IAA-registered advisers, solicitors and other qualified persons can give immigration advice in England and Wales.

The Migratio directory lists IAA-registered advisers (with their level) and SRA-regulated solicitors, each with their regulator and registration number. Migratio is not regulated by the IAA or the SRA and does not give immigration advice. This page explains how the rules work; it does not tell you what to do in your case.

Questions people ask

Can I still get a Skilled Worker visa for a medium-skilled job?

GOV.UK says yes only if the job is on the Immigration Salary List or Temporary Shortage List, or you are extending a visa and got your first certificate of sponsorship before 22 July 2025. The Rules (SW 6.1) express the transitional rule in terms of permission granted before that date and continuous permission since.

What is the Temporary Shortage List?

A list of 52 occupation codes written into rule SW 6.1A of Appendix Skilled Worker, some limited to named job types. A code is on the list only if the certificate of sponsorship was issued to the applicant before 31 December 2026.

What is the Immigration Salary List?

It is a list in its own Rules appendix of occupations and job types eligible for the Skilled Worker route with lower salary and fee options. Each entry has a removal date, 31 December 2026 for most entries and 22 July 2028 for care workers (6135) and senior care workers (6136). Some entries are limited by nation of the UK.

What happens to my job if it comes off the Immigration Salary List?

Rule SW 11.2 allows the salary option to continue where your most recent permission was in a listed job and you are being sponsored to continue in the same job for the same sponsor. GOV.UK says a Health and Care Worker does not need to apply again if they stay in the same job and it is removed from the list.

Are electricians and plumbers on the Skilled Worker lists?

Codes 5241 electricians and electrical fitters and 5315 plumbers and heating and ventilating installers are on the Temporary Shortage List in SW 6.1A, for certificates issued before 31 December 2026. Bricklayers, carpenters and joiners, roofers and stonemasons are on the Immigration Salary List with the same removal date.

What salary do I need for a Temporary Shortage List job?

The list does not have its own salary option. Under option A the salary must be at least £41,700 and at least the going rate. Other options, such as for new entrants, may apply to some people. Read rules SW 4.4 and SW 8 to SW 14.

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-09.

Related guides

  • Skilled Worker salary: £41,700 and going rates — Under Appendix Skilled Worker the general salary test is at least £41,700 a year and the occupation's going rate, whichever is higher. Lower thresholds of £33,400, £37,500 or £25,000 apply to specific groups, and only guaranteed basic pay counts.
  • Skilled Worker visa cost: worker and employer totals — A worker applying from outside the UK for up to 3 years pays £819 plus £1,035 a year in healthcare surcharge, and usually needs £1,270 held in savings. The employer separately pays a £525 certificate fee and the immigration skills charge, and its licence fee if it is new.
  • Care worker visa in 2026: who can still apply — Under rule SW 6.1B, care workers (6135) and senior care workers (6136) can only apply for permission to stay, not for entry clearance from abroad. The rule allows either a switch after at least three months working legally for the sponsor, with an application before 22 July 2028, or an application by someone already holding permission in those codes.
  • Changing jobs on a Skilled Worker visa — A Skilled Worker must apply to update their visa if they move to a different employer, or to a job in a different occupation code. The update needs a new certificate of sponsorship and costs £943 for up to 3 years from inside the UK. You can keep working your current job until a decision, but should not start the new one.
  • Skilled Worker visa refused: options and deadlines — A refused Skilled Worker application can be challenged by administrative review (£80; 14 days if you applied in the UK, 28 days if you applied from abroad) because Appendix Skilled Worker is on the eligible list. A certificate of sponsorship that has been used in a refused application cannot be used again (SW 5.1(d)), so a fresh application needs a new certificate and a new visa fee.
  • Sponsor licence revoked: what it means for your visa — If your sponsor loses its licence, the Immigration Rules say your permission may be cancelled. Home Office guidance says that where you were not involved, cancellation normally leaves you 60 days to apply for permission with a new sponsor or to leave. There is no appeal or administrative review against cancellation. A temporary arrangement currently protects care workers.
  • Health and Care Worker vs Skilled Worker visa — The Health and Care Worker visa is a version of the Skilled Worker route for listed health and social care jobs with approved employers. It costs £324 for up to 3 years with no health surcharge, against £819 plus £1,035 a year on the standard Skilled Worker route. Which one applies depends on the job and employer, not on cost.