Complete Guide to SOC 2020 Codes for UK Skilled Worker Visas

If you are applying for a UK Skilled Worker visa — or hiring someone on one — everything hinges on a four-digit number that most applicants have never heard of: the SOC 2020 occupation code. It decides whether the job is eligible at all, what minimum salary applies, and how the Home Office classifies the role for years to come. This guide explains where the codes come from, how the Home Office uses them, and how to find the right code for a real-world role.

What is SOC 2020?

SOC stands for Standard Occupational Classification. It is a taxonomy maintained by the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) that groups every paid job in the British labour market into a hierarchy of occupations. The current version, published in 2020 and usually called SOC 2020, sits four levels deep:

• Major group (1 digit) — e.g. 2 Professional occupations.
• Sub-major group (2 digits) — e.g. 21 Science, research, engineering and technology professionals.
• Minor group (3 digits) — e.g. 213 Information technology professionals.
• Unit group (4 digits) — e.g. 2134 Programmers and software development professionals.

The four-digit unit group is the level that matters for visa applications. When the Home Office talks about an “SOC code” for the Skilled Worker visa, they always mean the four-digit code.

Why the Home Office uses SOC codes

Before the Skilled Worker visa launched in December 2020, the UK had a patchwork of work-visa categories with their own occupation lists. The new system standardised everything on SOC. There are two reasons that matters in practice:

1. Eligibility: the Immigration Rules publish an Appendix Skilled Occupations. If a job’s four-digit SOC 2020 code is not on that list, the job cannot be sponsored on the Skilled Worker route — full stop.
2. Going-rate salary: the Rules also publish, for every eligible code, a going rate: an annual salary based on ONS earnings data for that occupation. To qualify, the applicant must be paid at least the going rate and at least a general minimum threshold (in 2026, the headline general minimum is £41,700 for most applicants, with discounts for new entrants, PhD holders, shortage occupations, and the Health & Care Worker route).

In other words, the SOC code answers two questions at once: can this job be sponsored? and how much do they have to be paid? Get the code wrong and the application is refused, or the Certificate of Sponsorship is rejected.

Who picks the code — the worker or the employer?

The sponsor (the employer holding a licence) nominates the SOC code on the Certificate of Sponsorship. The Home Office expects the sponsor to choose the code that best fits the actual duties of the role, not the job title. A job advertised as “Cloud Architect” might map to 2134 (Programmers and software development), 2136 (Programmers and software development — UK-specific subdivision depending on the latest list) or 2139 (Information technology professionals not elsewhere classified), depending on what the person actually does day-to-day.

If you are the applicant, you should still sanity-check the code the employer is proposing. A mis-coded role is one of the easiest reasons for a refusal on appeal. The ONS publishes a free SOC 2020 classification tool that takes a job title and a one-line description and suggests the most likely code. It is not authoritative for visa purposes, but it is a useful first pass.

Finding the salary threshold for your code

Every eligible SOC 2020 code has its own annual going rate in the Immigration Rules. The 2026 thresholds were updated to reflect ONS earnings data published in late 2025. Examples (rounded to the nearest £100):

• 2231 Nurses — £26,200 (Health & Care Worker discount applies).
• 2136 Programmers and software development professionals — £49,400.
• 2426 Business and related research professionals — £42,300.
• 5434 Chefs — £29,000.
• 2111 Chemical scientists — £42,000.

You can search the full 2026 list on this site — type a job title or four-digit code into the search box on the home page and pick the matching SOC entry. We update the figures within 24 hours of the Home Office publishing changes.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Treating SOC 2010 codes as interchangeable. The UK fully transitioned to SOC 2020 for visa purposes in late 2023. Older job adverts, internal HR systems, and recruiter spreadsheets may still use SOC 2010 codes. They are not valid for a new Certificate of Sponsorship.
• Picking the code by job title alone. Two roles with the same job title can sit under different SOC codes if the duties differ. “Senior Engineer” could be 2127 (Production and process engineers) or 2136 (Programmers and software development) depending on what the person does.
• Forgetting the going rate is the floor, not the ceiling. The going rate is the minimum acceptable salary for that SOC. The employer can — and often must — pay more, especially in London or for senior roles. The visa is refused if the offered salary is below either the going rate or the general minimum, whichever is higher.
• Missing the “new entrant” discount. If you are under 26, recently graduated, or moving from a Student visa, you may qualify for a discounted threshold. The discount only applies to specific SOC codes — check the Rules carefully.

How to find the right SOC code in practice

A practical checklist:

1. Write a one-paragraph description of the day-to-day duties of the role. Be honest — focus on what the person actually spends their time on, not aspirational marketing copy.
2. Run the description through the ONS SOC 2020 coding tool for a shortlist of likely codes.
3. Cross-check each candidate code against Appendix Skilled Occupations to confirm it is eligible for the Skilled Worker route.
4. Look up the going rate for the chosen code, and confirm the offered salary clears it after pro-rating for hours actually worked.
5. Document your reasoning. The Home Office can audit a sponsor and ask why a particular code was chosen; a contemporaneous note saves arguments later.

Frequently asked questions

What is a SOC 2020 code?

SOC 2020 is the Office for National Statistics Standard Occupational Classification, revised in 2020. Every paid job in the UK can be mapped to a four-digit SOC 2020 code. The Home Office uses this code to decide whether a job is eligible for a Skilled Worker visa and what the minimum salary must be.

How is the SOC 2020 code chosen for my job?

The sponsor (your employer) picks the code on the Certificate of Sponsorship. They should use the code that best matches the duties of the role, not the job title. ONS publishes a coding tool and an alphabetical index of job titles to help.

Do all SOC 2020 codes qualify for the Skilled Worker visa?

No. Only codes that the Home Office has designated as eligible occupations qualify. The list is published in Appendix Skilled Occupations of the Immigration Rules and is updated periodically.

Why do salary thresholds differ between SOC codes?

Each eligible code has a "going rate" — the median salary for that occupation in the UK labour market. The Skilled Worker rules require you to be paid at least the going rate for your specific SOC code (subject to a general minimum that applies to everyone).

What is the difference between SOC 2010 and SOC 2020?

SOC 2010 was the previous version. The 2020 revision split some legacy codes, merged others, and renamed many — especially in IT and engineering. UK immigration policy fully transitioned to SOC 2020 in late 2023. SOC 2010 codes should no longer appear on new Certificates of Sponsorship.

Sources and further reading

• ONS Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) 2020 — the canonical source for the code list and definitions.
• Immigration Rules: Appendix Skilled Occupations — the official list of eligible SOC codes and going rates.
• GOV.UK Skilled Worker visa overview — the applicant-facing entry point for the route.
• Register of Licensed Sponsors (Workers) — the data behind this site’s search.