If you are applying for a UK Skilled Worker visa, one four-digit number decides more than almost anything else on your application: your SOC code. It determines whether you can be sponsored at all, and the minimum salary your employer must pay you.
This guide explains what SOC codes are, how to find the right one, and what the 2026 rules mean if your occupation sits below degree level.
What a SOC code actually is
SOC stands for Standard Occupational Classification. It is the system the Office for National Statistics uses to group every job in the UK economy into categories, each with a four-digit code. The Home Office borrows this system for immigration.
For example:
- 2136 — Programmers and software development professionals
- 2231 — Nurses
- 1222 — Restaurant and catering establishment managers and proprietors
- 6135 — Care workers and home carers
When your employer assigns your Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS), they must choose the code that genuinely reflects the work you will do. That single choice then drives everything else.
What your SOC code decides
Three things, all of them capable of sinking an application on their own:
- Whether the job is eligible. Since 22 July 2025, only occupations at RQF level 6 (degree level) and above are fully eligible for the Skilled Worker route. Codes below that are eligible only in limited circumstances.
- Your minimum salary. Each code has a published “going rate”. You must be paid at least that rate and at least the general threshold, whichever is higher.
- Whether you can bring dependants. Workers sponsored in RQF 3–5 occupations on the Temporary Shortage List or Immigration Salary List generally cannot bring partners and children.
The three eligibility categories in 2026
On the current GOV.UK tables, every occupation falls into one of three buckets. Our occupations and codes table shows all 412 of them:
| Category | What it means | Roughly how many codes |
|---|---|---|
| Higher Skilled | RQF 6+ — fully eligible for sponsorship | 121 |
| Medium Skilled | RQF 3–5 — only eligible in limited cases (see below) | 175 |
| Ineligible | Cannot be sponsored on the Skilled Worker route | 104 |
That middle category catches people out. “Medium Skilled” does not mean “no”, but it does mean you need a specific reason to qualify: the occupation appears on the Immigration Salary List or the interim Temporary Shortage List, or you were already in the Skilled Worker route before the July 2025 changes.
How to find your SOC code
1. Start from your duties, not your job title
This is the single most common mistake. “Business Development Ninja” is not a SOC code. Two companies can call the same work “Operations Manager” and “Service Delivery Lead”. Write down what you actually spend your week doing, then match that against the related job titles listed for each code.
2. Search the official list
Use our searchable occupations table — type a keyword such as “engineer”, “chef” or “analyst” and it filters all 412 codes, showing eligibility and both going rates for each.
3. Sanity-check the salary
If the going rate for the code you picked looks wildly different from what the job pays, that is a red flag. It usually means the code is wrong, or the job is genuinely below the threshold. See our guide to SOC code salary thresholds.
4. Confirm with your employer
Only your sponsor can assign the code on the CoS, and they carry the compliance risk if it is wrong. A mismatch between the code, the job description and your actual duties is one of the things the Home Office looks for.
Do not pick a code just because it is eligible
It is tempting to hunt for an RQF 6 code that vaguely fits when yours is ineligible. Deliberately using a code that does not reflect the real job is misrepresentation: it risks refusal, a ban, and the loss of the employer's sponsor licence. Choose the honest code first, then see what options exist.
Common SOC codes people search for
| Code | Occupation group |
|---|---|
| 1136 | Information technology directors |
| 1222 | Restaurant and catering managers and proprietors |
| 2133 | IT specialist managers |
| 2134 | IT project managers |
| 2136 | Programmers and software development professionals |
| 2142 | Mechanical engineers |
| 3552 | Business sales executives |
| 6135 | Care workers and home carers |
Codes and their going rates change. Always check the current entry in the full table before relying on a figure.
What to do if your occupation is ineligible
- Check the lists. Some RQF 3–5 occupations remain sponsorable through the Immigration Salary List (in place until December 2026) or the Temporary Shortage List.
- Look at the level above. Many people qualify in a more senior version of their role — a supervisory or specialist code at RQF 6 — if the job genuinely is that role.
- Check whether you are already “in route”. If you held a Skilled Worker visa or CoS before 22 July 2025, transitional rules let you continue, extend and change employer in below-degree occupations.
- Consider another route. Global Business Mobility, Scale-up, or the temporary worker routes each have their own criteria. Our sponsor directory shows which route each licensed employer can sponsor.
Find employers who can sponsor your code
Knowing your code is only half the job — you still need an employer with a sponsor licence. Search the full Home Office register on our UK sponsor list, filter by town or route, or browse sponsors by city.