The UK Immigration Salary List closes on 31 December 2026. Here's what it means for you

Last checked: 14 October 2026. Every rule below links to the official GOV.UK page. Rules change, so check the source before you act.

If you've been eyeing a bricklaying job in the UK, a pharmacy technician post or a junior data analyst role with visa sponsorship, the date on the calendar now matters as much as the salary on the advert.

Two lists have kept medium-skilled jobs open to the Skilled Worker visa since the rules tightened in July 2025: the Immigration Salary List and the Temporary Shortage List. Both close to new sponsorship at the end of this year. Here is what that means in plain English, who it affects, and what to do while there is still time.

The short version

• The cut-off: a job on either list only counts if your employer issues your Certificate of Sponsorship before 31 December 2026. (Appendix Immigration Salary List; Appendix Skilled Worker, SW 6.1A)
• Care workers have a different date: people already in the UK can still be sponsored for care worker and senior care worker roles until 22 July 2028, if they have worked legally for that sponsor in the role for at least three months, and people already on a care worker visa can continue to extend.
• Degree-level jobs are not affected. If your job is graduate level and pays at least £41,700 or the going rate, whichever is higher, nothing changes on 31 December.
• What comes next is not decided. The Migration Advisory Committee has recommended a new, shorter Temporary Shortage List, but the government has not yet confirmed it.

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First, why these lists matter

Since 22 July 2025, most new Skilled Worker visas need a job at degree level (RQF 6). Jobs below that, which GOV.UK calls "medium skilled", are only eligible if they are on the Immigration Salary List or the Temporary Shortage List, if you are a prison officer extending or switching in the UK, or if you are extending a visa and got your first certificate of sponsorship before 22 July 2025. (GOV.UK: Skilled Worker visa, your job; HC 997 explanatory memorandum)

So for a lot of skilled trades, technician and support roles, these two lists are the only door in.

The Immigration Salary List has 25 entries today. Alongside opening the door to some medium-skilled jobs, it lets employers pay a lower general salary threshold: £33,400 instead of £41,700, although the going rate for the job still applies. (Appendix Skilled Worker, option D) Examples include:

• bricklayers, carpenters and joiners, roofers and stonemasons
• pharmaceutical technicians and some laboratory technicians
• nursing auxiliaries and assistants (where registered nurses also work)
• graphic and multimedia designers, biological scientists, and care home managers

The Temporary Shortage List has 52 occupations. It gets medium-skilled jobs through the skill-level rule, but it does not lower the salary threshold. Examples include:

• electricians, plumbers, welders and pipe fitters
• vehicle technicians, mechanics and electricians
• IT user support and IT operations technicians, and data analysts
• HR officers, book-keepers and payroll managers, insurance underwriters

You can check any job's four-digit occupation code against both lists on GOV.UK. Your employer will know the code, so ask them.

What actually happens on 31 December 2026

The rules don't say "the list ends". They say a job only counts as being on the list if the application uses a Certificate of Sponsorship issued before 31 December 2026. (Appendix Immigration Salary List; SW 6.1A)

Three practical things follow from that:

1. It's the certificate date that counts, not your visa decision. The rules tie the list to the date the certificate was issued, so an application made after 31 December can still rely on the list if the certificate was issued before it. A certificate must be used within 3 months. (Appendix Immigration Salary List; Appendix Skilled Worker, SW 6.1A)
2. "Before 31 December" means 30 December at the latest. Don't plan around the last day. Christmas is not the week to be chasing an HR team for a certificate.
3. No certificate, no list. If you have an offer for a listed role but the employer hasn't issued the certificate by then, that route closes for that job.

Care workers and senior care workers: a separate story

Care work runs on its own timetable. Since 22 July 2025, care worker and senior care worker roles can't be filled by new hires from overseas. People already in the UK can still be sponsored for them until 22 July 2028, if they have worked legally for that sponsor in the role for at least three months before the certificate is issued. People who already hold a Skilled Worker visa as a care worker or senior care worker can continue to extend in that role. (GOV.UK: Health and Care Worker visa, your job; Appendix Skilled Worker, SW 6.1B)

If you're outside the UK and hoping for a care job, the honest answer is that this route is closed to you. The best countries for visa sponsorship jobs guide shows where healthcare roles are still open to applicants from abroad.

If you're already in the UK on a Skilled Worker visa

This is where it gets personal, and the key date is when you were first sponsored.

• First sponsored before 22 July 2025, in a medium-skilled role: If you were granted Skilled Worker permission under the rules in place before 22 July 2025 and have held it continuously since, you can keep being sponsored in a medium-skilled role. (Appendix Skilled Worker, SW 6.1(d); HC 997 explanatory memorandum)
• First sponsored on or after 22 July 2025, in a role that relies on one of the lists: you can extend or change employer while the list is open. After it closes, you would need a degree-level job (RQF 6 or above) for any future extension or change of employer. (Appendix Skilled Worker, SW 6.1)
• In a degree-level role: nothing changes on 31 December.

If your visa runs out in 2027 and you're in the middle group, talk to your employer now. A change of employer or an early extension before the cut-off may be worth looking at, and a registered immigration adviser can look at your exact dates.

What might replace the Temporary Shortage List

In July 2026 the Migration Advisory Committee recommended a new Temporary Shortage List of 28 occupations, each with 18 months of access, down from the 52 on the list today. It judged that none had a strong enough workforce plan to justify the full three years. (MAC letter to the Home Secretary, 23 Jul 2026)

These are recommendations, not rules. The government has not yet published a change to the Immigration Rules to bring them in. The latest change to the Immigration Rules, HC 584 of 3 September 2026, does not change either list. Until it does, the list in Appendix Skilled Worker is the one that counts, and it closes on the date above. This post will be updated when that changes.

If you're applying from outside the UK

The UK is still very much open to degree-level hires. The general rule is a job with a licensed sponsor that pays at least £41,700 or the going rate for the job, whichever is higher. Some people can be paid less, from £33,400, for example new entrants and some PhD holders. (GOV.UK: your job)

Right now many of the UK roles on Global Sponsor Hub are degree-level jobs, which are not touched by the 31 December change.

See jobs in the UK or read the Living and working in the UK guide.

Before you apply, two quick checks:

1. Is the employer on the Register of licensed sponsors? If not, it can't issue a Certificate of Sponsorship.
2. Does the salary meet the rule for your occupation code? The visa wizard is a quick first check.

If your job is medium skilled and the timing no longer works, look at countries where it does: Australia, Canada, Germany and Ireland all have employer routes for skilled trades and technicians. Compare them in the top 10 visa sponsorship countries for 2026.

For UK employers hiring for listed roles

If you have a medium-skilled vacancy that relies on either list, the window to issue a Certificate of Sponsorship is now under eight weeks. Check your licence and your certificate allocation early. The Sponsor Licence Centre covers the steps, and you can post your first role on Global Sponsor Hub for free to reach candidates who are ready to move.

What to do this week

• Find your occupation code and check it against both lists on GOV.UK.
• In the UK on a listed role? Note when you were first sponsored, and when your current visa ends.
• Holding an offer for a listed role? Ask the employer, politely and in writing, when they plan to issue your Certificate of Sponsorship.
• Job hunting from abroad? Focus on degree-level roles that clear £41,700 or the going rate, and set an alert so new UK roles reach you on the day they're posted.

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FAQ (FAQPage schema)

When does the UK Immigration Salary List end? For new sponsorship, a job only counts as being on the list if the Certificate of Sponsorship is issued before 31 December 2026. Care worker and senior care worker roles have a later date, 22 July 2028, for people already in the UK who have worked legally for that sponsor in the role for at least three months before the certificate is issued. People who already hold a Skilled Worker visa as a care worker or senior care worker can continue to extend in that role.

Is the Temporary Shortage List ending too? Yes. The current list only counts for certificates issued before 31 December 2026. The Migration Advisory Committee has recommended a shorter list of 28 occupations, but the government has not yet put it into the rules.

I'm already in the UK on a Skilled Worker visa. Can I still extend? It depends on when you were first sponsored. If it was before 22 July 2025, transitional rules let you keep extending in a medium-skilled role. If it was on or after that date, you can extend while the list is open, but after it closes you would need a degree-level role.

Does this affect degree-level jobs? No. Jobs at RQF level 6 or above that meet the salary rule are not affected.

Can I still get a UK care job from abroad? No. Since 22 July 2025, care worker and senior care worker roles can't be filled by new hires from overseas. People already in the UK can still be sponsored for them until 22 July 2028, if they have worked legally for that sponsor in the role for at least three months before the certificate is issued. People who already hold a Skilled Worker visa as a care worker or senior care worker can continue to extend in that role.