Skilled Worker ILR Salary Requirement: 2026 Updated Guide
September 23, 2026
For people who have completed five years in the UK on a Skilled Worker visa and are preparing to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), one of the most important issues is the salary requirement.
A common mistake is to think that because the required salary condition was met when the Skilled Worker visa was first granted, the same salary will also be enough at the ILR stage. However, the Home Office reassesses the salary when the ILR application is made. It does not only look at the annual salary; the person’s SOC code, the relevant salary for the occupation (going rate), the date of their first Skilled Worker CoS, the job they were sponsored for under their most recent permission, and in some cases previous PAYE records are also important.
The general rule for Skilled Worker ILR applications is that the applicant must meet both the general salary threshold and the relevant salary for their occupation (going rate).
In standard cases, the general salary threshold is £41,700 per year. However, the relevant salary for the applicant’s SOC code (going rate) is also checked.
Therefore, whichever of the two figures is higher will effectively be the figure that matters.
For example, if a person’s annual salary is £42,000 but the going rate for their SOC code is £45,000, exceeding the £41,700 general threshold is not enough. The salary requirement is not met because the going rate is not met.
Important changes were made to the Skilled Worker salary system in 2024. However, transitional arrangements are available for existing Skilled Workers.
If a person’s CoS for their first Skilled Worker visa was issued before 4 April 2024 and they have continuously held one or more Skilled Worker permissions since that date, a lower salary threshold may apply at the ILR stage. For these applicants, the £31,300 general salary threshold is generally compared with the lower going rate.
For example, consider a person who received their first Skilled Worker CoS in 2022 and has continuously held Skilled Worker status since then. If their current salary is £38,000 and the lower going rate for their occupation is £34,000, both the £31,300 transitional general salary threshold and the £34,000 lower going rate are considered. As the current salary of £38,000 is above both amounts, the person meets the salary requirement in this respect.
No. There is an important point to note here. Extending a visa or changing sponsor after April 2024 does not, by itself, mean that the transitional provisions are lost.
Under the current rules, the key point is that the first relevant CoS was issued before 4 April 2024 and the person has continuously held Skilled Worker permission since that date.
If the applicant’s most recent Skilled Worker permission was granted for a job listed in Appendix Immigration Salary List (ISL), a different salary threshold may apply.
If an applicant who benefits from the pre-4 April 2024 transitional provisions was most recently granted permission for an eligible job on the Immigration Salary List or the previous Shortage Occupation List, a £25,000 general salary threshold may apply under SW 24.3. The relevant going rate must also be met.
For this reason, especially in older Skilled Worker cases, it is necessary to look not only at the current SOC code but also at the date of the person’s first CoS and their immigration history.
It is also not correct to assume that the standard £41,700 rule directly applies to Health and Care Workers or certain health and education occupations.
The Appendix provides different salary arrangements for certain health and education occupation codes. In some cases, the general salary threshold can be as low as £25,000 and the going rate is determined by the national pay scale or the relevant occupation table.
When first entering the Skilled Worker route, some people may score points as a new entrant under lower salary requirements.
Under the new entrant rules, it is possible to use a certain percentage of the going rate. However, the discount available to new entrants is time-limited and does not automatically continue at the ILR stage.
Therefore, the fact that a person received their first Skilled Worker visa on a lower salary as a new entrant does not mean that the same salary will be enough for ILR in the fifth year.
Under the current Skilled Worker guidance, the applicant’s PAYE records for the previous 12 months may be checked. However, where PAYE checks are not available, the applicant may normally be expected to provide a payslip and bank records for the most recent month. These documents must not be dated more than 31 days before the date of application.
If the caseworker has no concerns, they may not need to review the full previous 12 months in detail in every case. However, if there are concerns about the salary history or current salary arrangement, a more detailed review may be carried out.
This is one of the points that requires particular attention in practice.
For example, if a person has been earning £29,000 for a long time and the salary threshold required for ILR is £31,300, the employer may increase the salary to £31,300 or more shortly before the ILR application.
Such a salary increase is not prohibited by itself. However, the Home Office may assess whether the increase is genuine and sustainable.
In particular, if the latest payslip and bank records do not support the new salary that the sponsor says will be paid in the future, the caseworker may ask the sponsor for further explanation and evidence.
The following points may be considered in this assessment:
No. For the ILR salary assessment, only the salary received from the applicant’s sponsored job can be considered. Income from supplementary employment cannot be added to the salary from the sponsored job to meet the required salary level.
When calculating the general salary threshold, normally only the first 48 hours of the person’s weekly working hours can be taken into account.
Therefore, it may cause a problem if a person appears to meet the required salary threshold only because they work very long hours.
For example, where a high annual salary is based on a standard working week of 55 or 60 hours, the Home Office may assess the general salary threshold by taking into account only the permitted hours.
Changing sponsor under the Skilled Worker route does not, by itself, reset the five-year period required for ILR. However, the job with the new sponsor, its occupation code, salary and the new sponsorship arrangement must meet the Skilled Worker requirements.
If the SOC code changes, the going rate may also change. Therefore, a salary that was enough in the person’s previous job may not be enough under the new SOC code.
If the salary at the time of the ILR application is lower than the salary stated on the person’s previous CoS, the Home Office may also consider whether there has been a previous breach of sponsorship or immigration conditions.
However, there may be legitimate reasons for a reduction in salary. Therefore, a difference between the salary stated on the CoS and the current salary does not automatically mean that the ILR application will be refused.
The salary requirement for Skilled Worker ILR applications can no longer be assessed by looking at a single figure alone.
Before applying, at least the following points should be checked together:
£41,700 is not a single salary threshold that applies to everyone making a Skilled Worker ILR application.
While £41,700 and the standard going rate apply to some applicants, different general salary thresholds such as £33,400, £31,300 or £25,000 may apply under the Immigration Salary List, transitional provisions, certain health and education occupations and some older Tier 2 categories. In every case, the relevant going rate must also be considered.
The transitional provisions may provide an important advantage, especially for people who entered the Skilled Worker route before 4 April 2024. However, looking only at the date of the first visa is not enough to determine the correct threshold; the person’s immigration history, most recent sponsorship arrangement, SOC code and current salary must be considered together.
Also, where a salary increase is made shortly before ILR, the Home Office should not be expected to rely only on the sponsor’s statement. It may also consider whether the new salary has actually been put into effect, the reason for the increase and whether the sponsor can sustainably pay that salary.
For this reason, the safest approach is to assess the salary requirement for Skilled Worker ILR applications individually before applying, based on the person’s own immigration and employment history.
Official sources: Immigration Rules – Appendix Skilled Worker · Home Office Skilled Worker Caseworker Guidance · GOV.UK – Skilled Worker ILR Salary Requirements · Appendix Skilled Occupations
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Meridien House
42 Upper Berkeley Street
W1H 5PW
London, England
+44 7739 699 968 (Mobile)
+44 20 3988 0575 (Landline)
contact@lexlegal.com