SOC occupation code for sponsorship

Every sponsored job is matched to a 4-digit code from the Standard Occupational Classification, currently SOC 2020. GOV.UK says that before you can find out if your job is eligible, you need to know its 4-digit occupation code. The code appears on your certificate of sponsorship and the Home Office checks it against the Immigration Rules, Appendix Skilled Occupations, which lists eligible codes and their going rates.

Appendix Skilled Occupations is split into tables. Table 1 lists codes skilled to RQF level 6 or above, Table 1a lists medium-skilled codes at RQF levels 3 to 5 that are now mostly limited to people sponsored before 22 July 2025, and Table 3 lists health and education codes whose going rates come from national pay scales.

GOV.UK's Health and Care Worker visa list includes:

• 2211 Generalist medical practitioners and 2212 Specialist medical practitioners
• 2231 Midwifery nurses, 2232 Registered community nurses, 2233 Registered specialist nurses, 2234 Registered nurse practitioners, 2235 Registered mental health nurses, 2236 Registered children's nurses and 2237 Other registered nursing professionals
• 2221 Physiotherapists, 2222 Occupational therapists and 2223 Speech and language therapists
• 2251 Pharmacists, 2252 Optometrists, 2253 Dental practitioners, 2254 Medical radiographers, 2255 Paramedics and 2256 Podiatrists
• 6131 Nursing auxiliaries and assistants

Care workers (6135) and senior care workers (6136) can now use those codes only when extending, updating or switching. Some other codes, such as dental nurses (6133), are limited to extending or updating if the certificate was issued before 22 July 2025.

Each code has a going rate. For most health codes, Appendix Skilled Occupations, Table 3, says going rates are based on national pay scales, so the minimum depends on your NHS pay band rather than a single figure. On the Health and Care Worker visa you usually need at least £25,000 or the going rate if higher. On the Skilled Worker visa the general minimum is the higher of £41,700 or the going rate, with different rules for healthcare.

1. Ask your employer which code it will use; it chooses the code when assigning the certificate.
2. Look the job up yourself in the CASCOT occupation coding tool, which GOV.UK links to.
3. Check that the code's description matches your actual duties. GOV.UK warns that similar jobs can have different codes.
4. Confirm the code is on the eligible list for your visa and that your salary meets its going rate, for example with our sponsorship salary checker.

• Nurses before registration. If you start in a pre-registration role, the certificate uses that job's code and salary, not the registered nurse code.
• Changing role. Moving to a job with a different code usually means a new certificate and visa application.
• Code does not match the duties. GOV.UK asks you to check the description against your job, so query a mismatch with your employer before you apply.

See our Health and Care Worker visa guide and how to find sponsoring NHS trusts.