Chef in the UK: your Skilled Worker visa, step by step

What you must be paid

The Skilled Worker salary rule has two parts. Part one is the threshold that applies to you: £41,700 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025) in general, or £33,400 if the occupation is on the Immigration Salary List or another reduced rule applies. Part two is the occupation's going rate. The going rate is the minimum pay the Home Office sets for each occupation code. You must clear both. The higher figure governs.

Chefs are the clearest example of why part one matters. The standard going rate for code 5434 is £33,400 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025). Code 5434 is not on the Immigration Salary List (ISL). The ISL is the gov.uk list of occupations that can use the reduced threshold. So part one for a chef is the general threshold of £41,700. Compare the two figures. £41,700 is higher than £33,400. So £41,700 binds. A restaurant offering exactly the going rate of £33,400 would fail part one.

The lower going rate for this code is £25,000 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025). It applies where a reduced-threshold rule such as the new entrant rule covers you. The Health and Care Worker visa does not cover code 5434.

Use the salary checker linked above to test your own offer.

Registration and licensing

There is no statutory registration or licence to work as a chef in the UK. Professional bodies exist and employers may value membership, but none is a legal condition of working or an immigration requirement.

Which job titles this code covers

The gov.uk related title for code 5434 is chefs. Your sponsor chooses the occupation code when it assigns your Certificate of Sponsorship. The code must honestly reflect the work you will do. The sponsor must be a UK employer with a sponsor licence. A sponsor licence is Home Office permission for an employer to sponsor visas.

Why the going rate is not the number to plan around

Many chefs abroad hear "£33,400 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025)" and plan against it. That is the going rate for code 5434, and it is the wrong figure to plan around. The rule has two parts and the higher one governs. For a chef the higher part is the general threshold of £41,700. A restaurant, hotel or catering company that wants to sponsor a chef must offer at least £41,700 unless a reduced-threshold rule applies to the applicant.

Compare that with a bricklayer. The bricklayer code has a going rate of £33,400 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025) too. Bricklayers are on the Immigration Salary List. So for a bricklayer the threshold is £33,400 and £33,400 applies. The same going rate produces two different answers because of the ISL. Chefs are not on the list in our data, last updated 11 November 2025. The list changes over time. If code 5434 were added, the threshold would drop to £33,400 and £33,400 would bind. Check the current list before you assume either figure.

If this route does not fit: what else is open

• New entrant reduced threshold. A reduced general threshold can apply to early-career applicants and to people switching from the Student or Graduate routes. The lower going rate for this code is £25,000 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025).
• In-country switching. If you are already in the UK on another visa, a licensed hospitality sponsor can often switch you into Skilled Worker.
• Canada Provincial Nominee Programs. A provincial nomination adds 600 CRS points to a Canada Express Entry profile. CRS is Canada's points score for permanent residence.

Our assessment checks you against every open UK and Canadian route in about three minutes and shows your score, where you stand and the first thing that would raise it. No card needed for that. Seeing every route in full needs a plan. See where you stand →