Last reviewed
Band 5 and above clear the salary rules in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland at the bottom of the band. Band 1 and 2 jobs can't be sponsored, and Band 3 and 4 need Skilled Worker permission from before 22 July 2025, except code 6131. Your basic pay must reach the higher of £25,000 and your band's going rate in your nation.
The Home Office figure for each band is its 2024/25 entry point, from a table last updated on 22 July 2025. Every nation's live Agenda for Change scale has risen since, so a post paid on scale is above the going rate in every band and nation. The £25,000 floor is the figure that matters at the bottom of Band 3.
£25,000
Salary floor for NHS band jobs
Option K. Applies in full to part-time posts.
£29,970
Band 5 going rate in England
Band 5 starts at £32,073 on the 2026/27 scale.
8
Bands open to all applicants
Band 5 to Band 9. Bands 3 and 4 need Skilled Worker permission from before 22 July 2025, except code 6131.
Terms used here: going rate, Health and Care Worker visa and certificate of sponsorship.
Yes means the band's entry point on the live scale is at least the higher of £25,000 and the band's going rate. The entry point is the lowest pay point. A post offered higher up the band is checked on its own figure.
| Band | Who can be sponsored | England | Scotland | Wales | Northern Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Band 2 | No one: band 1 and 2 jobs aren't eligible | Not eligible | Not eligible | Not eligible | Not eligible |
| Band 3 | Skilled Workers with permission from before 22 July 2025, plus code 6131 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not at the entry point |
| Band 4 | Skilled Workers with permission from before 22 July 2025, plus code 6131 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Band 5 to Band 9 | Anyone in an eligible code | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Going rate: Home Office Table 4, updated 22 July 2025, for a 37.5-hour week (37 in Scotland). Live scale: each nation's own pay circular, listed under Where these figures come from. Entry and top points only; high cost area supplements aren't included.
Band 3 is open only to Skilled Workers who had permission before 22 July 2025, and to code 6131. On pay, it clears the rule at the entry point in England, Scotland and Wales. In Northern Ireland the entry point is £24,937, under the £25,000 floor, so only a point from £25,000 upward clears it.
| Nation | Going rate in the rules | Entry point | Top point | Meets the rule at the entry point |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| England (2026/27) | £24,071 | £25,760 | £27,476 | Yes |
| Scotland (2026/27) | £26,869 | £29,103 | £31,409 | Yes |
| Wales (2026/27) | £24,433 | £26,300 | £27,890 | Yes |
| Northern Ireland (2025/26) | £22,816 | £24,937 | £26,598 | Not at the entry point |
Band 4 is open only to Skilled Workers who had permission before 22 July 2025, and to code 6131. On pay, it clears the rule at the entry point in all four nations.
| Nation | Going rate in the rules | Entry point | Top point | Meets the rule at the entry point |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| England (2026/27) | £26,530 | £28,392 | £31,157 | Yes |
| Scotland (2026/27) | £29,116 | £31,537 | £34,303 | Yes |
| Wales (2026/27) | £26,928 | £28,819 | £31,626 | Yes |
| Northern Ireland (2025/26) | £25,147 | £27,485 | £30,162 | Yes |
Band 5 clears the rule at the entry point in all four nations.
| Nation | Going rate in the rules | Entry point | Top point | Meets the rule at the entry point |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| England (2026/27) | £29,970 | £32,073 | £39,043 | Yes |
| Scotland (2026/27) | £31,892 | £34,544 | £43,039 | Yes |
| Wales (2026/27) | £30,420 | £32,557 | £39,631 | Yes |
| Northern Ireland (2025/26) | £28,407 | £31,049 | £37,796 | Yes |
Band 6 clears the rule at the entry point in all four nations.
| Nation | Going rate in the rules | Entry point | Top point | Meets the rule at the entry point |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| England (2026/27) | £37,338 | £39,959 | £48,117 | Yes |
| Scotland (2026/27) | £39,912 | £43,231 | £52,679 | Yes |
| Wales (2026/27) | £37,898 | £40,559 | £48,841 | Yes |
| Northern Ireland (2025/26) | £35,392 | £38,682 | £46,580 | Yes |
Band 7 clears the rule at the entry point in all four nations.
| Nation | Going rate in the rules | Entry point | Top point | Meets the rule at the entry point |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| England (2026/27) | £46,148 | £49,387 | £56,515 | Yes |
| Scotland (2026/27) | £48,788 | £52,845 | £61,466 | Yes |
| Wales (2026/27) | £46,840 | £50,129 | £57,365 | Yes |
| Northern Ireland (2025/26) | £43,742 | £47,810 | £54,710 | Yes |
Band 8a clears the rule at the entry point in all four nations.
| Nation | Going rate in the rules | Entry point | Top point | Meets the rule at the entry point |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| England (2026/27) | £53,755 | £57,528 | £64,750 | Yes |
| Scotland (2026/27) | £60,126 | £65,125 | £70,303 | Yes |
| Wales (2026/27) | £54,550 | £58,379 | £65,723 | Yes |
| Northern Ireland (2025/26) | £50,952 | £55,690 | £62,682 | Yes |
Band 8b clears the rule at the entry point in all four nations.
| Nation | Going rate in the rules | Entry point | Top point | Meets the rule at the entry point |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| England (2026/27) | £62,215 | £66,582 | £77,368 | Yes |
| Scotland (2026/27) | £70,986 | £76,888 | £82,251 | Yes |
| Wales (2026/27) | £63,150 | £67,583 | £78,530 | Yes |
| Northern Ireland (2025/26) | £58,972 | £64,455 | £74,896 | Yes |
Band 8c clears the rule at the entry point in all four nations.
| Nation | Going rate in the rules | Entry point | Top point | Meets the rule at the entry point |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| England (2026/27) | £74,290 | £79,504 | £91,609 | Yes |
| Scotland (2026/27) | £83,837 | £90,808 | £97,338 | Yes |
| Wales (2026/27) | £75,405 | £80,698 | £92,984 | Yes |
| Northern Ireland (2025/26) | £70,417 | £76,965 | £88,682 | Yes |
Band 8d clears the rule at the entry point in all four nations.
| Nation | Going rate in the rules | Entry point | Top point | Meets the rule at the entry point |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| England (2026/27) | £88,168 | £94,356 | £108,814 | Yes |
| Scotland (2026/27) | £99,534 | £107,810 | £112,426 | Yes |
| Wales (2026/27) | £89,491 | £95,773 | £110,448 | Yes |
| Northern Ireland (2025/26) | £83,571 | £91,342 | £105,337 | Yes |
Band 9 clears the rule at the entry point in all four nations.
| Nation | Going rate in the rules | Entry point | Top point | Meets the rule at the entry point |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| England (2026/27) | £105,385 | £112,782 | £129,783 | Yes |
| Scotland (2026/27) | £117,732 | £127,521 | £133,044 | Yes |
| Wales (2026/27) | £106,967 | £114,475 | £131,732 | Yes |
| Northern Ireland (2025/26) | £99,891 | £109,179 | £125,637 | Yes |
For these codes the salary points come from option K: your pay must be at least £25,000 and at least the going rate for your band in the nation where you'll work. There's no new entrant rate, PhD discount or Immigration Salary List reduction here. Those options belong to jobs whose going rate comes from the ASHE earnings survey, and none of the 26 band codes is in those tables.
The going rate is a Home Office figure. Table 4 of Appendix Skilled Occupations lists one rate per band and nation. The table was last updated on 22 July 2025. Its figures are the 2024/25 entry points, so they sit below the live scale in every band and nation. A post paid on scale passes the going-rate test. The £25,000 floor is the figure that still matters at the bottom of Band 3: the entry point is £25,760 in England, £29,103 in Scotland, £26,300 in Wales and £24,937 in Northern Ireland.
Only basic pay counts, plus guaranteed payments treated exactly like basic pay for tax, pension and National Insurance. Shift, overtime and unsocial hours pay don't count, and neither do allowances. A high cost area supplement is an allowance, London weighting under another name, so it doesn't count towards the salary figure. If you had a Tier 2 (General) or Tier 2 Health and Care Worker visa from before 1 December 2020 and have held Skilled Worker permission since, you can still count guaranteed allowances such as London weighting. You must apply before 1 December 2026 and stay with the same sponsor. Ask your sponsor what figure it has put on the certificate. The caseworker checks that figure rather than the band.
The going rates are for a 37.5-hour week, or 37 hours in Scotland. For other hours the Home Office pro-rates the going rate by the weekly hours on your certificate. The £25,000 floor isn't pro-rated, so a part-time post paid under £25,000 fails it however high the band. The only exception to the floor is for nurses waiting for NMC registration. NHS Scotland's full-time week is 36 hours from 1 April 2026; a 36-hour post pro-rates the going rate down by the same share, and the floor stays.
England's Band 5 entry point rose from £31,049 to £32,073 on 1 April 2026, a 3.3% rise. Scotland's scale rose 3.75% from 1 April 2026, taking Band 5 to £34,544, and Wales's rose 3.3%, taking Band 5 to £32,557. Northern Ireland's latest published scale is 2025/26, in force from 1 April 2025; the 2026/27 circular hadn't been issued when this page was reviewed. The Home Office table didn't change. It was last updated on 22 July 2025.
Table 4 says band 1 and band 2 jobs are not eligible to be sponsored. For band 3 and band 4 jobs, sponsors may only sponsor Skilled Workers who were granted permission under the rules in place before 22 July 2025 and have held it continuously since.
The exception is code 6131, nursing auxiliaries and assistants. It's on the Immigration Salary List in all four nations until 31 December 2026, so a trust can still sponsor a new applicant into a Band 3 or Band 4 healthcare assistant post under it. The code only covers settings where registered nurses or other registered professionals also work.
The GOV.UK guide adds that codes 3213, 3219, 6132 and 6133, with 1231 and 3211, can only be used to extend or update a visa where the certificate of sponsorship was issued before 22 July 2025, and only by someone who has held a Health and Care Worker or Skilled Worker visa continuously since.
Band 2 starts above £25,000 on the live scales in England, Scotland and Wales and still can't be sponsored. The band rule and the pay rule are separate tests.
Care workers and senior care workers aren't on these bands in the rules. Their going rates, one per salary track, are on their own occupation pages, and the route is closed to applicants from outside the UK.
Since 22 July 2025, care workers and senior care workers can no longer be sponsored from outside the UK. From inside the UK you can still be sponsored in these roles in two cases: you already hold a Skilled Worker visa as a care worker or senior care worker, or you have worked legally for the employer that will sponsor you, in one of these roles, for at least the 3 months before it issues your certificate of sponsorship. In the second case you must apply before 22 July 2028.
Doctors (codes 2211 and 2212) and dentists (2253) are on national pay scales too, but by grade rather than band: Table 3 lists their going rates per nation, and their occupation pages link to GOV.UK's table. Teachers use Table 5 of the same appendix.
Table 4 sets the going rate for 26 codes: 21 open to all applicants, and 5 that can only be used by people who already held Skilled Worker permission before 22 July 2025, except 6131.
Going rates: Table 4 of the Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Occupations, also published as National pay scales for eligible healthcare occupation codes (updated 22 July 2025). The salary points rule is option K in Appendix Skilled Worker (SW 4.4, SW 13 and SW 14). The £25,000 floor rose from £23,200 on 9 April 2025 (Migration Advisory Committee, Review of salary requirements).
Live scales: NHS Employers, Pay scales for 2026/27 (England, from 1 April 2026); Scottish Government circular PCS(AFC)2026/1 (Scotland, from 1 April 2026); Welsh Government pay letter AfC(W) 02/2026 (Wales, from 1 April 2026); Department of Health circular HSC (AfC) 06/2025 (Northern Ireland, from 1 April 2025). Entry and top points only.
The pay circulars are public documents and their figures are quoted as published, with a link to each.
£41,700 is the general Skilled Worker threshold and doesn't apply to the band codes. £31,300 is the floor for health and care codes whose going rate comes from the ASHE survey, such as managers, scientists and technicians, and for people on the transitional track from before April 2024. Figures under £25,000 are from before 9 April 2025, when the floor for national pay scale jobs rose from £23,200 to £25,000. For the band codes the rule is £25,000 or the band's going rate, whichever is higher.
No. The pay rule is one condition among several. The trust needs a sponsor licence and a certificate of sponsorship for the post, the job has to be in an eligible code at Band 5 or above unless you qualify for the Band 3 and 4 exception, and whether to recruit from overseas is the trust's own decision. Check the trust on the sponsor licence checker and look for posts that say they're open to sponsored candidates.
No. The rules say band 1 and band 2 jobs are not eligible to be sponsored. Band 2 in England starts at £25,272 from 1 April 2026, which is above the floor, but the band rule is a separate test from the pay rule.
The going rate is pro-rated by the weekly hours on your certificate, and the £25,000 floor isn't. A 30-hour Band 5 post in England has a pro-rated going rate of £23,976, but it still has to pay at least £25,000 a year. At the bottom of Band 5, 30 hours a week pays £25,658, so this post clears the floor. With fewer hours, the same pay point can fall under £25,000.
Not for most people. Shift, overtime and unsocial hours pay never count, and the rules exclude allowances. A high cost area supplement is an allowance, London weighting under another name, so it doesn't count either. Guaranteed payments treated exactly like basic pay for tax, pension and National Insurance do count. If you had a Tier 2 (General) or Tier 2 Health and Care Worker visa from before 1 December 2020 and have held Skilled Worker permission since, you can still count guaranteed allowances such as London weighting. You must apply before 1 December 2026 and stay with the same sponsor.
For up to 8 months it can be lower, in a nursing job in codes 2231 to 2237. It applies if you're working towards NMC registration, have passed the NMC's English language requirement and computer based test, and will sit the OSCE within 3 months of your start date. It also applies if you held NMC registration before and are on an NMC-approved return to practice programme. During those months your pay must still be at least the Band 3 going rate for your nation: £24,071 in England, £26,869 in Scotland, £24,433 in Wales and £22,816 in Northern Ireland. This lowers the pay floor for the nursing job; it doesn't open Band 3 or Band 4 posts. Your sponsor has to confirm it will stop sponsoring you if you don't register within 8 months.
The live scale. The Home Office figure is only the test. The trust pays the Agenda for Change rate for its nation, plus any high cost area supplement, and today that's above the going rate in every band and nation.
The one where you'll work. Table 4 has a column for each nation, and each nation's own circular sets the live scale. Northern Ireland's 2026/27 circular hadn't been published when this page was reviewed, so its live figures are the 2025/26 scale.