UK Visas and Immigration has confirmed that the Immigration Salary List will close on December 31, 2026, ending the list’s role in setting concessions for sponsored workers. The interim Temporary Shortage List expires on the same date.
The key cutoff comes a day earlier for employers assigning sponsorship certificates. A Certificate of Sponsorship issued by December 30, 2026 can still qualify for the existing list benefits; applications can follow later.
The certificate date, not the date a worker submits a visa application, controls eligibility. Once issued, the worker has the usual 90 days to apply.
The Home Office rules distinguish between the list’s salary discount and the interim route for some medium-skilled roles. Both arrangements depend on the certificate being assigned by the cutoff.
The list currently lowers salary thresholds and fees
Introduced on April 4, 2024, the list replaced the Shortage Occupation List. For a qualifying job, it reduces the general salary threshold by 20%, to £33,400 from the standard £41,700. Employers must still meet the full occupation-specific going rate if that is higher.
Applicants also pay lower visa fees while qualifying for the list: £628 per person for permission lasting up to three years, or £1,235 per person for more than three years.
The list has had a second function since July 22, 2025. It has kept some RQF 3–5 jobs eligible for sponsorship, after the Skilled Worker route was generally restricted to roles at RQF Level 6, or degree level, and above.
The certificate date controls the transition
The Home Office’s transitional arrangements turn on when an affected worker was first sponsored. Workers in affected RQF 3–5 roles with certificates assigned before July 22, 2025, can still apply for extensions, changes of employment and settlement under the arrangements.
Those first sponsored on or after that date face a different limit. After the list closes, they will no longer be able to extend their visas or change employers in those roles. They may need to move into a job at RQF Level 6 or above to remain sponsored.
Employers cannot assign new certificates for roles that depend on list eligibility after the cutoff. But workers with a valid certificate assigned before closure can still submit their visa applications afterward, within the usual application window.
The appendix schedules removals across trades, science and care
The Home Office’s Immigration Salary List appendix sets December 31, 2026, as the removal date for 25 occupations. The listed roles and restrictions include:
| Occupation code | Listed roles scheduled for removal |
|---|---|
| 1212 | Forestry, fishing and related services managers, only fishing boat masters in Scotland |
| 1232 | Residential, day and domiciliary care managers and proprietors, all jobs |
| 2111 | Chemical scientists, only nuclear-industry jobs in Scotland |
| 2112 | Biological scientists, all jobs |
| 2115 | Social and humanities scientists, only archaeologists |
| 2142 | Graphic and multimedia designers, all jobs |
| 3111 | Laboratory technicians, only jobs requiring 3 or more years' related on-the-job experience |
| 3212 | Pharmaceutical technicians, all jobs |
| 3411 | Artists, all jobs |
| 3414 | Dancers and choreographers, only qualifying skilled classical ballet or contemporary dancers at internationally recognised UK companies endorsed by an industry body such as the Arts Councils |
| 3415 | Musicians, only qualifying skilled orchestral leaders, principals, sub-principals or numbered string positions, in orchestras that are full members of the Association of British Orchestras |
| 3416 | Arts officers, producers and directors, all jobs |
| 5119 | Agriculture and fishing trades not elsewhere classified, only fishing-industry jobs |
| 5213 | Welding trades, only high-integrity pipe welders with 3 or more years' related on-the-job experience |
| 5235 | Boat and ship builders and repairers, all jobs in Scotland |
| 5312 | Stonemasons and related trades, all jobs |
| 5313 | Bricklayers, all jobs |
| 5314 | Roofers, roof tilers and slaters, all jobs |
| 5316 | Carpenters and joiners, all jobs |
| 5319 | Construction and building trades not elsewhere classified, only retrofitters |
| 6129 | Animal care services occupations not elsewhere classified, only racing grooms, stallion handlers, stud grooms, stud hands, stud handlers and work riders |
| 6131 | Nursing auxiliaries and assistants, all jobs, but only in environments with registered nurses or other registered healthcare professionals for sponsorship purposes |
Care worker and senior care worker posts, codes 6135 and 6136, are the exceptions to the December 2026 removal date. Their later expiry date is July 22, 2028. Both roles already face separate restrictions: new overseas applications have been closed since July 22, 2025.
The replacement list is expected to be narrower
The government plans to replace the list with a reformed Temporary Shortage List, expected to cover fewer strategically important shortage occupations for a limited period. The interim version, in place since July 22, 2025, allows RQF 3–5 roles into the route at the full salary threshold; it does not provide the same salary discount.
The Migration Advisory Committee has advised against salary discounts for the reformed list. It describes the policy as “a policy instrument designed to give time-limited immigration access to selected middle-skilled occupations where access is deemed necessary to support delivery of the Industrial Strategy or critical infrastructure.” Workers using the interim list cannot bring dependants.
The committee tests whether a role is in shortage or likely to be soon, whether domestic recruitment has a credible plan, whether exploitation risks are managed, and whether immigration access suits the job and shortage. Each occupation also needs a Jobs Plan, prepared by the responsible government department with industry input, to show how training and domestic recruitment can reduce reliance on migration.
Blake Morgan advises employers to review sponsored workers’ certificate dates, identify jobs that rely on list eligibility, and assess recruitment plans and possible progression to RQF Level 6 roles. The firm also recommends monitoring changes to the replacement list and wider immigration reforms, including possible changes to settlement requirements.
A current NHS vacancy shows the cutoff is already shaping recruitment
A Senior Healthcare Support Worker vacancy at Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in Exeter, EX2 5DW, was posted October 27, 2026, and closes November 6, 2026. The job is code 6131, and the Trust says it cannot offer sponsorship for the role.
The vacancy notice says the Home Office has confirmed the list will close on 31 December 2026, “after which the occupation code is not expected to remain eligible for sponsorship for new applicants.”
