Original research · 30 May 2026

The State of Skilled-Migration Salary Floors, 2026

Name: Skilled-migration salary floors 2026 — Visa Atlas
Creator: Visa Atlas
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

What does it actually cost, in salary terms, to qualify as a skilled migrant in 2026? We computed it from 52 primary-sourced salary floors across 17 major destinations — and tracked which ones moved.

By Sam Parks, Editor and lead researcher.

Cross-country salary-floor evidence

Cross-country skilled salary-floor, cost and route-basis evidence

The research report ranks annual-equivalent figures for analysis only. Use this layer to keep local currency, route basis and applicant costs in view.

Local currency first

Salary floors are legal or route-specific eligibility gates, not applicant fees. Do not convert salary floors into USD rankings without caveats, and do not merge salary evidence, employer-side recognition costs, refundable proof-of-funds lines or applicant paid-away costs into one "visa cost" claim.

Netherlands Highly Skilled Migrant

€5,942/month (Kennismigrant — 30+); €4,357/month (Kennismigrant — under 30); €3,122/month (Orientation Year search — reduced rate)

Age-banded monthly gross salary bands under the IND Highly Skilled Migrant table.

France Talent Passport salaried

€39,582/year (Passeport talent - salaried qualified employee)

Annual gross remuneration floor for the salaried qualified Talent Passport category.

Norway Skilled Worker permit

NOK 545,400/year (Skilled worker permit - bachelor-level salary floor where no collective agreement applies); NOK 624,700/year (Skilled worker permit - master-level salary floor where no collective agreement applies)

Normal pay and working conditions test first; bachelor/master floors apply where no collective agreement controls the role.

Finland Specialist permit

€3,937/month (Specialist residence permit salary threshold)

Monthly gross specialist salary threshold, excluding fringe benefits, plus confirmed employment.

Route	Salary floor and basis	Paid-away applicant baseline	Do not collapse	Source date
Kingdom of the Netherlands - Highly Skilled Migrant (Kennismigrant)Cost model	€5,942/month (Kennismigrant — 30+); €4,357/month (Kennismigrant — under 30); €3,122/month (Orientation Year search — reduced rate)	€2,113-€2,908Salary or pay evidence line: €37,464-€71,304. Refundable/show-only line: €37,464-€71,304.	The Netherlands HSM salary requirement is not an applicant fee or sunk cost; IND-recognised sponsor status and sponsor-recognition costs stay employer-side.Employer-side context: Employer recognised-sponsor registration (€2,539-€5,080).	1 July 2026IND — Required amounts income requirements
French Republic - Talent Passport — Salaried Employee (Passeport Talent Salarié)Cost model	€39,582/year (Passeport talent - salaried qualified employee)	€358-€485Salary or pay evidence line: €39,582. Refundable/show-only line: €39,582.	France salary evidence, contract length, diploma evidence and residence-card tax are separate fields in the answer.	1 July 2026Service-Public.fr - Passeport talent
Kingdom of Norway - Skilled Worker Residence Permit (Oppholdstillatelse som faglaert)Cost model	NOK 545,400/year (Skilled worker permit - bachelor-level salary floor where no collective agreement applies); NOK 624,700/year (Skilled worker permit - master-level salary floor where no collective agreement applies)No single route-wide salary number. If a collective agreement applies, UDI checks the collective wage rate; otherwise pay must not be poorer than normal for the occupation and place of work.	NOK 6,300-NOK 8,300Salary or pay evidence line: NOK 0. Refundable/show-only line: none tracked.	Norway must not be flattened into one Europe-wide minimum because collective agreements, normal-pay evidence and education level can bind differently.	1 July 2026UDI - Pay and working conditions in Norway
Republic of Finland - Residence permit for a specialist Cost model	€3,937/month (Specialist residence permit salary threshold)	€540-€655Salary or pay evidence line: €3,937. Refundable/show-only line: €3,937.	Finland specialist salary evidence is an approval condition, while the Migri application fee is the applicant paid-away cost.	1 July 2026Migri - Specialist residence permit

Latest source record in this cluster: 1 July 2026. Compare the local salary figures and their scope carefully; occupation-specific rules may require a higher amount.

Which countries have the highest skilled migration salary floors in 2026?

The highest skilled-migration salary floor in the tracked set is United States - EB-5 Direct investment minimum at 1,050,000 USD ($1,050,000/yr approximate). The report compares 52 positive salary floors across 17 destinations, with the median around $52,000/yr.

Verified against Visa Atlas salary-thresholds dataset on 10 September 2026.

Key findings

The lowest skilled-relevant salary floor we track is 15,263 CAD (≈ $11,000/yr) — Canada's Start-up Visa — settlement funds (not salary).
The highest is 1,050,000 USD (≈ $1,050,000/yr) — United States's EB-5 Direct investment minimum — a 95× spread across the set.
The median floor sits around $52,000/yr (Germany).
7 tracked salary floors have changed in our recorded window — and 7 of them moved upward. Not one fell. The direction of travel is unambiguous.

The floors, lowest to highest

Destination	Route	Floor	≈ USD/yr
Canada	Start-up Visa — settlement funds (not salary)	15,263 CADannual	$11,000
Portugal	D7 — passive income minimum	11,040 EURannual	$11,900
United Arab Emirates	Dependant sponsorship — resident employee	48,000 AEDannual	$13,000
Portugal	Tech Visa / HQA — indicative	22,320 EURannual	$24,000
United Kingdom	Skilled Worker — Health and Care Worker / education national pay-scale	25,000 GBPannual	$29,500
United Kingdom	Health and Care Worker — absolute minimum	25,000 GBPannual	$29,500
Spain	Non-lucrative Visa — passive-income minimum	28,800 EURannual	$31,000
New Zealand	AEWV - minimum income to support dependent children	58,240 NZDannual	$35,000
Canada	Provincial Nominee — typical employer-driven floor	50,000 CADannual	$36,000
Sweden	Employee work permit - temporary extension transition	28,725 SEKmonthly	$36,000
Spain	Digital Nomad Visa — remote-work income	34,188 EURannual	$36,900
United Kingdom	Skilled Worker — Immigration Salary List discount	33,400 GBPannual	$39,000
United Kingdom	Skilled Worker — STEM PhD / new-entrant / shortage	33,400 GBPannual	$39,000
Ireland	General Employment Permit — headline floor	36,605 EURannual	$39,500
Netherlands	Orientation Year search — reduced rate	3,122 EURmonthly	$40,200
Ireland	Critical Skills Employment Permit — general floor	40,904 EURannual	$41,000
France	Passeport talent - salaried qualified employee	39,582 EURannual	$42,500
Sweden	Employee work permit salary requirement	34,470 SEKmonthly	$43,200
New Zealand	SMC skilled job - ANZSCO levels 1 to 3	35 NZDhourly	$43,680
United Kingdom	Skilled Worker — PhD relevant to job (Tradeable point C)	37,500 GBPannual	$44,000
Spain	Highly Qualified Professional / EU Blue Card (Startup Law)	41,356.36 EURannual	$44,500
Germany	EU Blue Card — shortage occupations (Engpassberufe)	45,934 EURannual	$47,000
Portugal	D8 (Digital Nomad) — remote-work income	44,160 EURannual	$47,700
United Kingdom	Skilled Worker — general threshold	41,700 GBPannual	$49,000
Singapore	Employment Pass - all sectors except financial services	5,600 SGDmonthly	$49,800
Finland	Specialist residence permit salary threshold	3,937 EURmonthly	$51,000
Germany	EU Blue Card — general threshold	50,700 EURannual	$52,000
Norway	Skilled worker permit - bachelor-level salary floor where no collective agreement applies	545,400 NOKannual	$52,000
Australia	Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT, formerly TSMIT)	79,423 AUDannual	$52,300
Australia	Core Skills Pathway (482)	79,423 AUDannual	$52,300
Australia	Employer Nomination Scheme (186) - CSIT and AMSR	79,423 AUDannual	$52,300
Ireland	Intra-Company Transfer Permit — key personnel	49,523 EURannual	$53,500
Canada	LMIA — High-wage stream floor (indicative)	77,000 CADannual	$55,000
Singapore	Employment Pass - financial services	6,200 SGDmonthly	$55,080
Netherlands	Kennismigrant — under 30	4,357 EURmonthly	$56,040
Norway	Skilled worker permit - master-level salary floor where no collective agreement applies	624,700 NOKannual	$60,000
Germany	General skilled-worker residence (§18a/§18b AufenthG)	55,770 EURannual	$60,200
United States	H-1B — Level 1 prevailing wage (median across SOC codes)	62,000 USDannual	$62,000
France	EU Blue Card France	59,373 EURannual	$64,000
New Zealand	SMC skilled job - ANZSCO levels 4 to 5	52.5 NZDhourly	$66,560
Ireland	Critical Skills Employment Permit — non-CSOL fallback	68,911 EURannual	$69,000
Netherlands	Kennismigrant — 30+	5,942 EURmonthly	$76,440
Netherlands	EU Blue Card (Netherlands)	5,942 EURmonthly	$76,440
United States	L-1B specialised knowledge — indicative floor	80,000 USDannual	$80,000
Denmark	Pay Limit Scheme salary floor	552,000 DKKannual	$80,000
Australia	Specialist Skills Pathway (482)	146,576 AUDannual	$96,600
United Arab Emirates	Golden Visa — skilled employee minimum	360,000 AEDannual	$98,000
United Arab Emirates	Green Visa — freelancer minimum	360,000 AEDannual	$98,000
United States	H-1B — Level 4 prevailing wage (senior roles, typical band)	150,000 USDannual	$150,000
United Arab Emirates	Golden Visa — investor (public investment)	2,000,000 AEDannual	$544,000
United States	EB-5 Targeted Employment Area minimum	800,000 USDannual	$800,000
United States	EB-5 Direct investment minimum	1,050,000 USDannual	$1,050,000

What moved, and when

1 March 2026 · Critical Skills Employment Permit — general floor salary floor: 38000 EUR (annual) → 40904 EUR (annual)
1 January 2026 · EU Blue Card — general threshold salary floor: 48300 EUR (annual) → 50700 EUR (annual)
1 January 2026 · EU Blue Card — shortage occupations (Engpassberufe) salary floor: 43760 EUR (annual) → 45934 EUR (annual)
22 July 2025 · Skilled Worker — general threshold salary floor: 38700 GBP (annual) → 41700 GBP (annual)
22 July 2025 · Skilled Worker — Immigration Salary List discount salary floor: 30960 GBP (annual) → 33400 GBP (annual)
9 April 2025 · Health and Care Worker — absolute minimum salary floor: 23200 GBP (annual) → 25000 GBP (annual)
4 April 2024 · Skilled Worker — general threshold salary floor: 26200 GBP (annual) → 38700 GBP (annual)

Full versioned record in the changelog.

Methodology

Sample: every salary floor in our structured data with a positive amount and a USD reference (52 figures across 17 destinations), each mapped to a primary government source.
Ordering: annual-equivalent USD (monthly ×12, hourly ×2,080). The USD conversion is a rough editorial reference for ranking only — rely on the local-currency figure.
Movements: drawn from our temporal observation log, which records each figure's value, effective date, and source over time.
As of: figures effective on their stated dates; report computed 30 May 2026.

Limitations

Covers headline statutory floors, not occupation-specific going rates (which often bind higher).
Ten destinations only — the set the site covers; not a global census.
USD conversions are editorial, not live FX. Cross-currency ordering can shift with exchange rates.
This is data journalism, not legal advice. Confirm any figure on its linked official source before acting.

Cite or reuse this dataset

This report is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Cite this report for the analysis, the JSON endpoint for the compiled salary-threshold rows, and the listed authorities for the underlying government floors.

Suggested citation

Visa Atlas, "The State of Skilled-Migration Salary Floors, 2026", https://visaatlas.org/research/skilled-migration-salary-floors-2026. Last verified 10 September 2026.

Page: https://visaatlas.org/research/skilled-migration-salary-floors-2026
JSON endpoint: https://visaatlas.org/api/public/salary-thresholds

Primary sources (45)