United Kingdom — Home Office
UK Skilled Worker visa points calculator
Check whether you hit the 70-point threshold for a UK Skilled Worker visa. 50 mandatory points from a sponsor offer + skill level + English, plus a further 20 points from one tradeable combination (salary, PhD relevance, STEM PhD, new entrant, Immigration Salary List, or national pay-scale health / education role).
Does not currently meet 70 points
50 / 70
- Sponsor
- 20
- Skill level
- 20
- English
- 10
- Tradeable (Option A — salary £41,700 or more (and at least going rate))
- 0
Salary floor for chosen option: £41,700 — not met ✗.
Meets occupation going rate: yes ✓.
- • Salary £40,000 is below the option floor of £41,700. Tradeable points do not apply unless salary meets the floor.
- • All three mandatory requirements must be met AND at least 20 tradeable points earned to reach the 70-point pass threshold.
Dated verdict context
UK Skilled Worker calculator verdict context
Verified 2026-05-30
The calculator verdict should be read against the current 70-point table plus salary floors: GBP 41,700 general Skilled Worker floor and GBP 33,400 for the listed discounted tradeable options.
A passing calculator result means the points table is satisfied for the inputs given. The salary still has to clear the relevant option floor and, where applicable, the occupation going rate and sponsor evidence.
Points pass mark
70 points
50 mandatory points plus at least 20 tradeable points.
General salary floor
GBP 41,700
The default minimum salary for Skilled Worker applications, raised to £41,700 on 22 July 2025 (the required skill level also rose to RQF 6 / degree level). Applicants must also meet the occupation-specific "going rate" — whichever is higher.
Effective 2025-07-22 - GOV.UK — Appendix Skilled Worker
Discounted tradeable floor
GBP 33,400
Reduced floor (£33,400 from 22 July 2025) for occupations on the Immigration Salary List, the successor to the Shortage Occupation List.
Effective 2025-07-22 - GOV.UK — Immigration Salary List
Health and education floor
GBP 25,000
Applies to Health and Care Worker roles and to school-teacher roles on national pay-scales; the absolute floor rose to £25,000 on 9 April 2025. Going rate is set by reference to the NHS Agenda for Change bands or the relevant teacher pay-scale.
Effective 2025-04-09 - GOV.UK — Health and Care Worker
Source datasets
Limits
- The calculator does not validate sponsor licence status, the Certificate of Sponsorship or role genuineness.
- Occupation going rates can be higher than the headline option floor.
- Health, education and Immigration Salary List cases have special rules that must be checked against the current Appendix tables.
UK work-route money stack
UK Skilled Worker cost, salary and settlement answer
Read the UK Skilled Worker route as one stack: visa fee, IHS, maintenance funds, salary floor and the 5-year ILR planning clock. The Health and Care Worker route is kept separate because its IHS and salary rules are materially different.
Skilled Worker costs
Application fee £819; IHS £3,105; show-only maintenance £1,270.
Modelled paid-away range: £3,924-£4,044; show-only range: £1,270.
Salary floor
General floor £41,700/year; discounted ISL/tradeable floor £33,400/year.
The occupation-specific going rate can still bind higher than the headline floor.
Health and Care split
Application fee £324; IHS £0; salary floor £25,000/year.
The IHS exemption is the reason this route should not be collapsed into a generic Skilled Worker cost claim.
- Full UK migration cost builder
- Skilled Worker cost-to-complete
- Skilled Worker fee breakdown
- UK salary thresholds
- UK ILR date calculator
- Health and Care Worker route
- Health and Care cost-to-complete
- Health and Care fee breakdown
Source dates: cost models checked 30 June 2026 and 1 July 2026; UK salary thresholds checked 30 May 2026. These links support retrieval and review, not ranking, traffic or market-share outcome claims.
Worked examples
Typical profiles scored against the points table. The points and verdict below are produced by the same calculator above. You need 70 points: 50 mandatory plus at least 20 tradeable.
| Profile | Detail | Points | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sponsored professional on the general route | Licensed sponsor offer at £42,000, above both the £41,700 Option A floor and the SOC going rate, with B2 English. | 70 / 70 | Passes |
| STEM PhD holder, lower salary floor | STEM PhD relevant to the role on £34,000 — Option D drops the floor to £33,400, and salary still meets the going rate. | 70 / 70 | Passes |
| Immigration Salary List role below the going rate | Role on the Immigration Salary List at £34,000 — clears the £33,400 ISL floor; ISL roles are not zeroed for falling under the headline going rate. | 70 / 70 | Passes |
| General route, salary below the going rate | Clears the £41,700 floor at £42,000 but the SOC going rate is £45,000 — under Option A the tradeable points are lost, so the profile falls short. | 50 / 70 | Does not pass |
| Strong salary but no sponsor | High salary and English met, but no licensed-sponsor job offer — the mandatory sponsor points are missing, so the profile cannot reach 70. | 50 / 70 | Does not pass |
| Listed health / education pay-scale role | NHS / national pay-scale role at £26,000 on the discounted £25,000 floor — listed roles use published pay scales rather than the standard going rate. | 70 / 70 | Passes |
Points are scored against the GOV.UK table only. Passing the points test does not by itself grant a visa — sponsor licence status, the going rate, and other caseworker checks still apply.
About this calculator
The UK Skilled Worker visa is the headline sponsored-work route under the points-based immigration system. It replaced Tier 2 (General) in December 2020 and received major reforms in April 2024 and again on 22 July 2025, including the £41,700 general salary floor and the replacement of the Shortage Occupation List with the Immigration Salary List. The calculator here scores a profile against the current GOV.UK rules but does not evaluate sponsor licence status, genuineness of vacancy, or other caseworker discretionary tests.
Calculator provenance
- Rule review date
- 20 April 2026
- Calculation method
- Scores the public 70-point Skilled Worker table with one deterministic tradeable-points outcome.
It does not assess sponsor licence status, certificate validity, vacancy genuineness, maintenance, or document evidence. This independent calculator is for planning only; the authoritative result is the relevant government or caseworker decision.
FAQs
How many points do I need for a UK Skilled Worker visa?
Exactly 70 points: 50 from mandatory requirements (sponsor, skill level, English) plus a further 20 from the tradeable characteristics table (most commonly met through salary).
What is the general salary threshold?
From 22 July 2025, the general salary threshold is £41,700 for Option A, with a reduced £33,400 floor for PhD relevance, STEM PhD, new entrant, and Immigration Salary List roles, plus specific national pay-scale health and education roles.
What is the "going rate" and why does it matter?
The Home Office publishes occupation-specific "going rates" aligned to SOC codes. For most tradeable options, your salary must meet BOTH the option floor AND the occupation’s going rate. Listed health and education roles have their own published pay scales instead.
Does this calculator determine my eligibility?
No. It scores the points table only. Eligibility also depends on sponsor licence status, a valid Certificate of Sponsorship, genuine-vacancy tests, criminal-record checks, TB testing (for certain countries), and financial maintenance. The authoritative review is a Home Office caseworker decision, not this tool.
What happened to the Shortage Occupation List?
The Shortage Occupation List (SOL) was replaced by the Immigration Salary List (ISL) in April 2024. The discount for shortage roles was reduced and the salary threshold for ISL roles is now £33,400 (after the 22 July 2025 uplift). The calculator reflects the ISL framework.