Electrical engineer in the UK: your Skilled Worker visa, step by step

What you must be paid

The standard going rate for this occupation code is £58,700 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025) a year. The going rate is the minimum pay the Home Office sets for a specific occupation code.

The salary rule has two parts. Part one is the threshold that applies to you: £41,700 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025) for most applicants, or £33,400 where the occupation is on the Immigration Salary List or another reduced-threshold rule covers you. Part two is the going rate. You must clear both. The higher figure governs.

Worked for an electrical engineer: the going rate is £58,700 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025). That is above £41,700. So £58,700 binds. An offer at £41,700 clears part one. It fails part two. It would not support an application under this code.

This occupation is not on the Immigration Salary List. The lower going rate of £47,100 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025) only matters if another reduced-threshold rule applies to you.

Registration and licensing

Engineering Council registration is voluntary. Nothing in law stops an unregistered person working as an engineer in the UK. There is no registration step between you and a sponsored job.

Four titles are legally protected: CEng, IEng, EngTech and ICTTech. Only registrants may use them. You can do the work without them. You cannot use the titles without being on the register.

Which job titles this code covers

Occupation code 2123 covers electrical engineers. The Home Office lists these related titles under the same code:

• Laser engineers
• Power systems engineers
• Railway signalling engineers

Your sponsor chooses the occupation code. It must honestly reflect the work you will do. The duties count, not the title on the offer letter.

The gap between the threshold and the going rate

For most Skilled Worker occupations the general threshold of £41,700 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025) is the number people remember. For electrical engineers it is not the number that matters. The going rate of £58,700 sits a long way above it.

That gap has a practical effect. An employer who offers "the visa minimum" may be thinking of £41,700 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025). Under code 2123 that offer fails part two of the salary rule. The offer has to reach £58,700.

The lower going rate of £47,100 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025) is also above the general threshold. So even where a reduced-threshold rule applies to you, the going rate is still likely to be the binding figure. Power systems engineers, railway signalling engineers and laser engineers all sit under this code. The same rate applies to each of them.

Rules change. Figures were checked against GOV.UK on 21 September 2026.

If this route does not fit: what else is open

New entrant and PhD reduced thresholds. A reduced general threshold can apply to new entrants, meaning early-career applicants or people switching from the Student or Graduate routes. It can also apply to holders of a relevant PhD. The going rate still has to be met.

Switching inside the UK. People already in the UK on another visa can often switch into Skilled Worker if a licensed sponsor hires them.

Canada Express Entry category-based draws, 2026. IRCC confirmed the 2026 categories on 18 Feb 2026. New categories include researchers and senior managers with Canadian work experience. Candidates in a category can be invited at lower scores than the general pool.

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 →