Chief executive in the UK: your Skilled Worker visa, step by step

What you must be paid

The Skilled Worker visa has a two-part salary test. You must clear the salary threshold that applies to you. You must also clear the going rate for your occupation code. The going rate is the minimum annual pay the Home Office sets for that specific job. The higher of the two figures governs.

For code 1111 the standard going rate is £88,100 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025). The general threshold is £41,700. The going rate is more than double the threshold, so £88,100 binds.

This occupation is not on the Immigration Salary List (ISL). The ISL is the list of occupations allowed to use the reduced £33,400 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025) threshold. Code 1111 is not on it.

The lower going rate of £60,000 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025) is used only where a reduced-threshold rule covers you, such as the new entrant rule. It is unusual for a chief executive to be a new entrant.

Registration and licensing

There is no statutory registration or licence to work as a chief executive or senior official in the UK. Professional bodies exist and employers may value membership. None is a legal condition of working. None is an immigration requirement.

Which job titles this code covers

Code 1111 covers chief executives, chairpersons, senior public service officials, and diplomats and foreign office officials. Your sponsor chooses the occupation code on your Certificate of Sponsorship. The code must honestly reflect the work you will do. A head of department or a country manager who reports to a chief executive is usually not a chief executive. The sponsor would need a different code for that role.

The highest going rate on this site, and why it matters

Code 1111 carries the highest standard going rate of the 53 occupations covered here: £88,100 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025). The lower going rate of £60,000 is itself higher than the general threshold of £41,700. That means both parts of the salary test are set by the going rate, whatever rule applies to you.

A genuine chief executive post will often pay at or above this level. The salary test is then straightforward. But the code is sometimes chosen for roles that do not carry chief executive responsibility, because the title sounds senior. Where the job is really a general manager or a director of one function, a sponsor choosing 1111 must still pay £88,100 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025). Many will not. The honest code for the actual work may carry a lower going rate. Ask the sponsor which code it is using before the Certificate of Sponsorship is assigned.

If this route does not fit: what else is open

Canada Express Entry, 2026 category-based draws. Canada's 2026 categories include a new one for senior managers with Canadian work experience. Candidates in a category can be invited at lower scores than the general pool. Senior leaders without Canadian experience can still enter the general pool.

Canada Provincial Nominee Programs. A provincial nomination adds 600 CRS points.

Global Talent visa. This route needs no sponsor and no job offer. It has endorsement routes for digital technology, academia and research, and arts and culture. A senior leader in a technology company may fit the digital technology route.

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 →