The Immigration Salary List Ends in December 2026

The Immigration Salary List is about to stop applying to most of the jobs on it. Appendix Immigration Salary List gives a removal date of 31 December 2026 for 23 of its 25 entries. Only care workers and senior care workers run on, until 22 July 2028.

That date hides a trap. The rule covers a Certificate of Sponsorship issued before the removal date, so the last day that counts is 30 December, not 31 December.

What comes next is much less certain. As of 1 November 2026 the Migration Advisory Committee has recommended a shorter Temporary Shortage List from January 2027, but we can find no published government response, and no Statement of Changes has been laid to bring it in. The most recent Statement of Changes, HC 584 of 3 September 2026, does not mention either list in its explanatory memorandum.

So there are about eight weeks left, and the rules on the other side of the deadline do not exist yet. This guide sets out what is fixed, what is still unknown, and what employers and workers can sensibly do now.

What the Immigration Salary List does today

The list gives a job a lower general salary threshold and a lower visa fee. It does not reduce the going rate: an ISL job must still pay 100% of the going rate for its occupation code.

	On the list	Not on the list
General salary threshold, most jobs	£33,400	£41,700
General salary threshold, health and education pay table	£25,000	£31,300
Going rate	Full going rate	Full going rate
Visa fee, up to 3 years	£628	£819 from outside the UK, £943 from inside
Visa fee, more than 3 years	£1,235	£1,618 from outside the UK, £1,865 from inside

The salary figures are options D, A, I and F in Appendix Skilled Worker, and the fees are on the GOV.UK costs page. Different figures can apply if you got your first certificate before 4 April 2024.

For jobs below degree level there is a third, bigger effect. Since 22 July 2025 most sponsored jobs have had to be at RQF level 6 or above, and being on the list is one of the few ways a job at RQF 3 to 5 can still be sponsored for a new hire. SW 6.1 sets that out. When the list goes, those jobs lose eligibility as well as the discount.

The real deadline is 30 December, not 31 December

The appendix says an occupation is only included where an application is made using a certificate "issued by a sponsor to an applicant before the removal date". The Temporary Shortage List rule, SW 6.1A, says the same thing: "before 31 December 2026".

Read literally, a certificate assigned on 31 December is too late. The wording looks deliberate: the same section of the rules uses “before 1 January 2027” for a different group, prison officers. So if the Home Office had meant to include 31 December, it had the phrase to hand.

The test looks at when the certificate was issued, not when the visa application goes in. A certificate expires if it is not used within 3 months of being assigned, so on this wording a certificate assigned in December could support an application made in early 2027.

One more caution: this date is not guaranteed to hold. The memorandum to HC 997 reserved the government’s right to bring removal dates forward if compliance issues appear on the lists.

Which jobs are affected

The 23 entries fall into three groups, based on the skill tables in Appendix Skilled Occupations and the MAC’s Stage 2 report.

Group	Occupations	New sponsorship on a certificate issued from 31 December 2026
Degree-level jobs	2111 chemical scientists, 2112 biological scientists, 2115 archaeologists, 2142 graphic and multimedia designers, 3415 musicians, 3416 arts officers, producers and directors	Still eligible, but on standard salary and fee terms
Below degree level, recommended by the MAC for 18 months	5213 welding trades, 5235 boat and ship builders, 5313 bricklayers, 5314 roofers, 5316 carpenters and joiners	Depends on new rules. Without them, closed to new hires
Below degree level, outside the MAC’s 28	1212 fishing boat masters, 1232 care managers, 3111 laboratory technicians, 3212 pharmaceutical technicians, 3411 artists, 3414 dancers and choreographers, 5119 fishing trades, 5312 stonemasons, 5319 retrofitters, 6129 racing grooms and stud workers, 6131 nursing auxiliaries, 9119 fishing deckhands	Closed to new hires unless new rules add them

Do not read the table as a substitute for the appendix. Many entries only cover specific job titles or parts of the UK. Welding, for example, is limited to high integrity pipe welders with at least three years’ experience, boat and ship building is Scotland only, and code 5319 on the list covers retrofitters alone. The MAC recommended 5319 for other job titles, but specifically not retrofitters.

The MAC also treated some arts roles separately. It said skilled ballet and contemporary dancers and orchestral musicians who meet the standard of internationally recognised UK companies should be on the Skilled Worker route, outside the shortage list. That is a recommendation too, not a rule.

What replaces the Immigration Salary List?

Officially, the Temporary Shortage List does. The 2025 White Paper said so, and the HC 997 memorandum says the ISL "will be phased out in future changes to Immigration Rules". An interim Temporary Shortage List of 52 occupations has existed since 22 July 2025. It is due to end at the same moment as the ISL.

It is not a like-for-like swap, for three reasons.

It carries no salary discount. The Skilled Worker caseworker guidance says being on the shortage list "does not give any other benefits, such as to salary". A job that qualifies only through that list uses the standard options, which today usually means £41,700 and the going rate unless a route such as the new entrant option applies.

The two lists barely overlap. Only five occupation codes appear on both: 3111, 3414, 5213, 5235 and 5319, and for 5319 the job titles differ. Bricklayers, roofers and carpenters are on the ISL but are not among the 52 occupations in SW 6.1A.

The future list is smaller and shorter. The MAC reported on 23 July 2026 and recommended 28 occupations, with access running from January 2027 to the end of June 2028. No occupation had a strong enough plan to earn the usual three years. Our Temporary Shortage List explainer covers how that review worked.

What we do not know yet

Whether the government will accept the MAC’s list, in full or at all. The advice is not binding.
When new rules will be laid. Any change needs a Statement of Changes, and none has been published.
What salary will apply. The MAC’s December 2025 salary review recommended occupation-specific thresholds at the median, no salary discounts, and a general threshold of at least £30,900, on the assumption that the route would not lead to settlement. Its Stage 2 report notes that those jobs do currently lead to settlement, and that the figure would need revisiting if that continues.
What transitional rules there will be for workers already sponsored in jobs that leave the lists.

If no new rules arrive, the default is simple. The ISL entries and the interim shortage list both lapse, and most jobs below degree level close to new sponsorship.

If you already hold a Skilled Worker visa

A job leaving the list does not end your visa. GOV.UK is direct on this: "You do not need to apply again if you stay in the same job, but your job is taken off the immigration salary list." What changes is what happens at your next application.

Extending in the same job with the same sponsor. Under SW 11.2 you can keep the ISL salary points if your last permission was for a job on the list and you are continuing in that job for that sponsor. The caseworker guidance adds a catch: the points survive but the fee discount does not, so you pay the normal fee.

Moving to a new employer. The caseworker guidance says an applicant moving to a different sponsor "will need to score tradeable points in another way". In practice that usually means meeting the standard threshold, or another option such as new entrant. It is worth running the numbers before you accept an offer. Our guide to changing jobs on a Skilled Worker visa explains the process.

First sponsored before 22 July 2025 in a job below degree level. SW 6.1(d) lets people who were granted permission under the earlier rules, and who have held Skilled Worker permission continuously since, carry on in those occupations. The HC 997 memorandum says these arrangements "will not be in place indefinitely and will be reviewed in due course", so they are protection for now, not for good.

Sponsored after 22 July 2025 in a job below degree level. This is the least clear group. The salary protection in SW 11.2 may help, but the skill-level protection in SW 6.1(d) only covers the earlier rules, and the list itself is tied to certificates issued before the removal date. Read literally, today’s text leaves a gap for someone extending on a later certificate. We could not find a Home Office statement on how these extensions will be handled, and new rules may close the gap. If this is you, get regulated advice before your current visa nears its end. Note that a Skilled Worker certificate can run for up to 5 years, so the end date on your certificate matters more than usual.

Family members. Since 22 July 2025, people sponsored for the first time in jobs below degree level generally cannot bring dependants, with limited exceptions. Check this before making plans around a list role.

Care workers are not part of the December deadline

Codes 6135 (care workers and home carers) and 6136 (senior care workers) have a removal date of 22 July 2028. That does not reopen overseas recruitment: SW 6.1B limits these codes to in-UK applications from people who have worked for the sponsor for at least three months, or who already hold a Skilled Worker visa in these occupations. Our Health and Care Worker guide covers those rules. Care managers (1232) are different and do fall under the 31 December date.

What employers should do before 31 December

List every role that relies on the ISL or the interim shortage list. Include people due to extend in the next year and anyone in your hiring pipeline. Check the code, any job title limits, the UK nation and the salary against the appendix.

Set your internal deadline well before 30 December. Holiday cover is an obvious risk. So is timing for overseas hires, because a certificate for an entry clearance application must first be allocated by the Home Office for that specific job. Allow time for that step, and do not plan to assign anything in the last few days of the year.

Do not assign certificates just to beat the date. The vacancy must be genuine and the job must be real, and the start date must be no more than 3 months after the application. A certificate rushed through for a role that does not yet exist is a compliance risk, and the Home Office has been revoking licences at record levels.

Budget for the change. Roles that stay eligible after the list ends may cost more in salary and visa fees. Our Fee Calculator covers the employer costs, and our guide to the April 2026 pay-period rules explains why a salary now has to clear the threshold every pay period.

Tell affected workers what you know. Include what you do not know. Workers deciding whether to change job or extend early need honest information.

What workers should do before 31 December

Find your occupation code. It is on your Certificate of Sponsorship. If you are job hunting, our guide to SOC codes will help you work out the likely code.

Check the role, not just the code. Use our Salary Checker to test a code against the cash floor and going rate, then confirm the result against the official appendix, which is the document that counts.

If you have a new job offer, ask when the certificate will be assigned. A verbal offer does not meet the deadline. Ask for the planned assignment date in writing and be clear that it has to be before 31 December if the role depends on the list.

If you are looking for sponsorship, prioritise employers who can move quickly. Our sponsor search lets you shortlist licensed employers by location and route. A licence does not mean a particular role qualifies, so check the job itself.

Watch for a Statement of Changes. New rules could arrive at short notice. GOV.UK’s statement of changes page is the place to check.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Immigration Salary List being abolished?

Mostly, yes. 23 of its 25 entries have a removal date of 31 December 2026, and the government has said the list will be phased out. Care worker and senior care worker entries remain until 22 July 2028.

What is the last date to assign a Certificate of Sponsorship for an ISL job?

30 December 2026 on the current wording, because the certificate must be issued before 31 December. The rules could change before then, so it makes sense to aim for an earlier date.

Will my visa be cancelled when my job leaves the list?

Not because of the list change. GOV.UK says you do not need to apply again if you stay in the same job. The removal matters when you next extend or change employer.

Is the Temporary Shortage List the same as the Immigration Salary List?

No. The ISL gives a lower salary threshold and lower fees. The Temporary Shortage List only lets a job below degree level be sponsored at all, with no salary discount. The two lists also cover mostly different jobs.

Can I still pay the lower ISL visa fee after my job is removed?

No. Caseworker guidance says that even where someone keeps the ISL salary points in the same job with the same sponsor, the fee discount does not apply and the normal fee is due.

Which jobs will be on the Temporary Shortage List from January 2027?

Nobody can say yet. The MAC recommended 28 occupations for 18 months, but the government has not confirmed them. Treat that list as the likely direction rather than a fact.

The bottom line

For most ISL jobs, a certificate needs to be issued by 30 December 2026 to use the list. Degree-level roles will stay sponsorable on standard terms. Most roles below degree level depend on rules that have not been published. People already in post in the same job keep more protection than people moving, but the position for some extensions remains unclear.

Act on what is certain, plan for more than one outcome, and check for a Statement of Changes before relying on anything here.

This article is general information, not legal or immigration advice, and reflects the position on 1 November 2026. Immigration Rules can change at short notice, and the right course depends on individual facts. Check the current Skilled Worker visa guidance and take advice from a regulated immigration adviser before making decisions about a role or an application.

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