Visa salary thresholds
Minimum pay each government requires for sponsored, skilled, and residence-by-income routes. Where a country does not publish one numeric floor, we say so explicitly and describe the official pay test instead.
Reviewed 2026-07-02. Thresholds change without notice. Always confirm on the linked primary source before making employment decisions.
Cross-country salary-floor evidence
Cross-country skilled salary-floor, cost and route-basis evidence
The salary hub compares route pay floors, but this layer keeps the high-intent cost and route context attached.
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.
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.
€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 specialistCost 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 |
- Salary-floor research report
- Computed figures
- Netherlands salary thresholds
- Netherlands Highly Skilled Migrant cost model
- Netherlands Highly Skilled Migrant route guide
- France salary thresholds
- France Talent Passport salaried cost model
- France Talent Passport salaried route guide
- Norway salary thresholds
- Norway Skilled Worker permit cost model
- Norway Skilled Worker permit route guide
- Finland salary thresholds
- Finland Specialist permit cost model
- Finland Specialist permit route guide
- Salary-thresholds JSON
- Cost-to-complete JSON
- How our salary-floor figures compare
Latest source record in this cluster: 1 July 2026. This cluster supports retrieval and review, not ranking, traffic, AI-citation or market-share outcome claims.
What does the salary thresholds hub compare?
The salary thresholds hub compares 14 headline skilled-work salary floors and 21 destination pay-test records. Each row keeps the local-currency figure, effective date, review date and source URL attached.
Verified against IAPMEI — Tech Visa on 1 June 2026.
Occupation salary-floor checker
Match a profession to the mapped skilled route and salary threshold across priority destinations. The result uses the same verified visa and salary-threshold records exposed in the public JSON datasets.
Occupation salary-floor checker
Software engineer across priority destinations
Verified 2026-07-08
| Destination | Mapped route | Salary floor | Approx. USD/yr | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | Critical Skills Employment Permit 2 matched routes | €40,904 / year Critical Skills Employment Permit — general floor | $41,000 | DETE — Critical Skills Employment Permit Effective 2026-03-01 |
| France | Talent Passport — Salaried Employee (Passeport Talent Salarié) 2 matched routes | €39,582 / year Passeport talent - salaried qualified employee | $42,500 | Service-Public.fr - Passeport talent Effective 2026-06-01 |
| Sweden | Work Permit (Arbetstillstånd) 2 matched routes | SEK 34,470 / month Employee work permit salary requirement | $43,200 | Swedish Migration Agency - Employees Effective 2026-06-16 |
| New Zealand | Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa 2 matched routes | NZ$35.00 / hour SMC skilled job - ANZSCO levels 1 to 3 | $43,680 | Immigration New Zealand - Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa Effective 2026-03-09 |
| Germany | EU Blue Card (Germany) 3 matched routes | €45,934 / year EU Blue Card — shortage occupations (Engpassberufe) | $47,000 | Make it in Germany — EU Blue Card Effective 2026-01-01 |
| United Kingdom | Skilled Worker visa 4 matched routes | £41,700 / year Skilled Worker — general threshold | $49,000 | GOV.UK — Appendix Skilled Worker Effective 2025-07-22 |
| Singapore | Employment Pass (EP) 4 matched routes | SGD 5,600 / month Employment Pass - all sectors except financial services | $49,800 | MOM - Employment Pass eligibility Effective 2025-01-01 |
| Finland | Residence permit for a specialist 2 matched routes | €3,937 / month Specialist residence permit salary threshold | $51,000 | Migri - Specialist residence permit Effective 2026-01-01 |
| Norway | Skilled Worker Residence Permit (Oppholdstillatelse som faglaert) 3 matched routes | NOK 545,400 / year Skilled worker permit - bachelor-level salary floor where no collective agreement applies | $52,000 | UDI - Pay and working conditions in Norway Effective 2026-07-01 |
| Australia | Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) 3 matched routes | A$79,423 / year Core Skills Pathway (482) | $52,300 | Home Affairs - Core Skills stream Effective 2026-07-01 |
| United States | H-1B Specialty Occupation 7 matched routes | US$62,000 / year H-1B — Level 1 prevailing wage (median across SOC codes) | $62,000 | DOL — Foreign Labor Certification wage search Effective 2024-07-01 |
| Netherlands | Highly Skilled Migrant (Kennismigrant) 3 matched routes | €5,942 / month Kennismigrant — 30+ | $76,440 | IND — Required amounts income requirements Effective 2026-01-01 |
| Denmark | Pay Limit Scheme (Beloebsordningen) 3 matched routes | DKK 552,000 / year Pay Limit Scheme salary floor | $80,000 | New to Denmark - Pay Limit Scheme Effective 2026-01-01 |
| Canada | Express Entry — Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) 3 matched routes | No route-specific floor mapped Express Entry — Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) eligibility | - | IRCC — Federal Skilled Worker Program Effective 2026-07-21 |
| Austria | Red-White-Red Card (Rot-Weiß-Rot-Karte) 3 matched routes | No fixed published floor Red-White-Red Card - shortage occupation collective-pay test | - | Migration.gv.at - Skilled Workers in Shortage Occupations Effective 2026-06-27 |
Rows are selected from profession-to-route tags, visa slugs and source-backed salary-threshold records.
Source datasets: /api/public/salary-thresholds, /api/public/visas
Skilled-work salary floor by country
The headline skilled-work route in each destination with a fixed numeric floor, lowest first. Routes differ in nature — a fixed sponsor floor, a prevailing-wage minimum, or a residence-qualifying income — so treat this as orientation, not a strict like-for-like ranking. The annual-equivalent USD is a rough cross-currency reference only; rely on the local-currency figure. Destinations that use a market-rate or collective-agreement test instead of a fixed floor are listed below and on their destination pages, but are not ranked here.
| Destination | Main skilled route | Salary floor | ≈ USD/yr | Effective | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal# | Tech Visa / HQA — indicative | 22,320 EURannual | $24,000 | 1 January 2024 | 1 June 2026 |
| Ireland# | Critical Skills Employment Permit — general floor Changed 1 March 2026: was 38000 EUR (annual); now 40904 EUR (annual). Change record. | 40,904 EURannual | $41,000 | 1 March 2026 | 22 June 2026 |
| France# | Passeport talent - salaried qualified employee | 39,582 EURannual | $42,500 | 1 June 2026 | 1 July 2026 |
| Sweden# | Employee work permit salary requirement | 34,470 SEKmonthly | $43,200 | 16 June 2026 | 27 June 2026 |
| New Zealand# | SMC skilled job - ANZSCO levels 1 to 3 | 35 NZDhourly | $43,680 | 9 March 2026 | 1 July 2026 |
| United Kingdom# | Skilled Worker — general threshold Changed 22 July 2025: was 38700 GBP (annual); now 41700 GBP (annual). Change record. | 41,700 GBPannual | $49,000 | 22 July 2025 | 30 May 2026 |
| Singapore# | Employment Pass - all sectors except financial services | 5,600 SGDmonthly | $49,800 | 1 January 2025 | 1 July 2026 |
| Germany# | EU Blue Card — general threshold Changed 1 January 2026: was 48300 EUR (annual); now 50700 EUR (annual). Change record. | 50,700 EURannual | $52,000 | 1 January 2026 | 22 June 2026 |
| Australia# | Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT, formerly TSMIT) | 79,423 AUDannual | $52,300 | 1 July 2026 | 1 July 2026 |
| Canada# | LMIA — High-wage stream floor (indicative) | 75,000 CADannual | $54,000 | 27 June 2025 | 1 June 2026 |
| United States# | H-1B — Level 1 prevailing wage (median across SOC codes) | 62,000 USDannual | $62,000 | 1 July 2024 | 8 July 2026 |
| Netherlands# | Kennismigrant — 30+ | 5,942 EURmonthly | $76,440 | 1 January 2026 | 1 July 2026 |
| Denmark# | Pay Limit Scheme salary floor | 552,000 DKKannual | $80,000 | 1 January 2026 | 1 July 2026 |
| United Arab Emirates# | Golden Visa — skilled employee minimum | 360,000 AEDannual | $98,000 | 3 October 2022 | 23 July 2026 |
Each figure links to its destination page, and this table keeps the row-level verification date visible for the source record used in the comparison.
By destination
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
7 thresholds · last checked 2026-05-30
Republic of Ireland
4 thresholds · last checked 2026-06-22
Federal Republic of Germany
4 thresholds · last checked 2026-06-22
Portuguese Republic
3 thresholds · last checked 2026-06-01
Kingdom of Spain
3 thresholds · last checked 2026-06-22
Kingdom of the Netherlands
4 thresholds · last checked 2026-07-01
United Arab Emirates
4 thresholds · last checked 2026-07-23
Canada
4 thresholds · last checked 2026-06-01
Commonwealth of Australia
5 thresholds · last checked 2026-07-01
United States of America
5 thresholds · last checked 2026-07-08
Republic of Singapore
2 thresholds · last checked 2026-07-01
New Zealand
4 thresholds · last checked 2026-07-01
French Republic
2 thresholds · last checked 2026-07-01
Swiss Confederation
1 thresholds · last checked 2026-06-27
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
1 thresholds · last checked 2026-07-08
Republic of Austria
1 thresholds · last checked 2026-06-27
Kingdom of Denmark
1 thresholds · last checked 2026-07-01
Kingdom of Sweden
1 thresholds · last checked 2026-06-27
Kingdom of Norway
3 thresholds · last checked 2026-07-01
Republic of Finland
1 thresholds · last checked 2026-07-01
Italian Republic
1 thresholds · last checked 2026-06-27
How we define a “threshold”
A threshold is the minimum annual remuneration at which the government will approve a work, residence, or investment visa of a given type. We track four common variants:
- Headline floor — the flat minimum (e.g. UK Skilled Worker £41,700, AU TSMIT A$73,150).
- Occupation-specific going rate — the per-SOC/ANZSCO/ISCO rate that overrides the headline floor when higher (UK going rates, US DOL prevailing wage levels, AU AMSR).
- Age-banded floors — lower rates for applicants under 30 or recent graduates (NL Kennismigrant under-30, Orientation Year).
- Passive-income floors — minimum unearned income for residence-by-income routes (PT D7, ES non-lucrative, Golden-class investor floors).
Cite or reuse this dataset
This figure is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Cite the Visa Atlas page for the compiled, dated dataset, and cite the official source for the underlying government rule.
Suggested citation
Visa Atlas, "Global visa salary thresholds dataset", https://visaatlas.org/salary-thresholds. Last verified 23 July 2026.
- JSON endpoint
- https://visaatlas.org/api/public/salary-thresholds
Primary sources (44)
- GOV.UK — Appendix Skilled Worker
- GOV.UK — Immigration Salary List
- GOV.UK — Health and Care Worker
- GOV.UK — Global Talent
- DETE — Critical Skills Employment Permit
- DETE — General Employment Permit
- DETE — Intra-Company Transfer Permit
- Make it in Germany — EU Blue Card
- Make it in Germany — Skilled workers
- Make it in Germany — Chancenkarte
- AIMA — Residence visas
- AIMA — Residence visas
- IAPMEI — Tech Visa
- BOE — Real Decreto 126/2026 (SMI)
- UGE-CE — June 2026 salary threshold note
- Ministerio de Inclusión — Non-lucrative residence
- IND — Required amounts income requirements
- UAE Government Portal — Golden Visa
- UAE Government Portal — Golden Visa
- UAE Government Portal — Green Visa
- UAE Government Portal — Family visa
- ESDC — Provincial/territorial median wages
- ESDC - Temporary Foreign Worker Program refusal to process
- IRCC — Provincial Nominee Program
- IRCC — Start-up Visa eligibility
- Home Affairs - salary requirements
- Home Affairs - Core Skills stream
- Home Affairs — Subclass 189
- DOL — FLC wage search
- USCIS — L-1B
- USCIS — EB-5
- MOM - Employment Pass eligibility
- Immigration New Zealand - Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa
- Immigration New Zealand - Accredited Employer Work Visa
- Immigration New Zealand - Operational Manual U8.20
- Service-Public.fr - Passeport talent
- SEM - Non-EU/EFTA nationals
- Hong Kong Immigration Department - General Employment Policy
- Migration.gv.at - Skilled Workers in Shortage Occupations
- New to Denmark - Pay Limit Scheme
- Swedish Migration Agency - Employees
- UDI - Pay and working conditions in Norway
- Migri - Specialist residence permit
- EU Immigration Portal - Highly-qualified worker in Italy
Frequently asked questions
What salary do I need for a work visa?+
It depends on the country and the specific role. Most sponsored routes apply the higher of a headline floor (for example the UK Skilled Worker general threshold) or the occupation-specific going rate. Each destination page lists the current figures with their effective dates.
Is the salary threshold gross or net?+
Thresholds are quoted as gross annual remuneration before tax. Some countries count only base salary while others allow certain allowances — the per-destination page notes what counts toward the figure.
Do younger applicants get a lower salary threshold?+
In some countries, yes — the Netherlands, for example, sets a lower Kennismigrant floor for under-30s and recent graduates. Age-banded floors are flagged on the relevant destination page.
How often do salary thresholds change?+
Typically once a year, but they can change without notice when rules are reformed. Always confirm the current figure on the linked primary source before making employment decisions.