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

What you must be paid

A Skilled Worker salary has to clear two figures. The first is the salary threshold that applies to you. The general threshold is £41,700 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025) a year. A reduced threshold of £33,400 applies only if the occupation is on the Immigration Salary List (ISL), or if another reduced-threshold rule covers you. The second figure is the going rate. The going rate is the minimum pay the Home Office sets for the occupation code. You must clear both. The higher figure governs.

Worked for an electrician, it looks like this. The standard going rate for code 5241 is £38,800 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025). Electricians are not on the ISL. So the general threshold of £41,700 applies. £41,700 is higher than £38,800. So a sponsored electrician must be paid at least £41,700, not £38,800.

The lower going rate for this code is £31,500 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025). That figure only comes into play where a reduced-threshold rule covers you, for example the new entrant rule for early-career applicants or people switching from the Student or Graduate routes. Even then a reduced general threshold still has to be met. That reduced figure depends on your case, so we do not state it here.

Registration and licensing

There is no licence, no register and no protected title for electricians in UK law. That is a genuine advantage compared with many regulated professions.

One paperwork point applies in England and Wales. Certain domestic electrical work needs building regulations sign-off. A member of an authorised competent person scheme can self-certify that work. A non-member must notify building control instead. This is a paperwork route, not a licence. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own building standards systems.

Which job titles this code covers

Code 5241 covers installation and maintenance electricians, electro-mechanical technicians, electric vehicle charging point installers, solar panel installers and smart energy experts. Your sponsor chooses the occupation code when they issue your Certificate of Sponsorship. The code must honestly reflect the work you will do. An electrical engineer with a degree-level design role belongs under a different code with its own going rate.

The £41,700 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025) gap and what it means for job offers

Some construction trades are on the Immigration Salary List. Electricians are not. An employer sponsoring an ISL trade can offer £33,400 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025). An employer sponsoring an electrician must offer £41,700. An advert at £38,800 is at the going rate but below the threshold. Rules change, so check the current ISL before you rely on any of this.

If this route does not fit: what else is open

• New entrant reduced thresholds (UK). A reduced general threshold can apply to early-career applicants and to people switching from the Student or Graduate routes. The figure depends on your circumstances.
• Canada Express Entry, category-based draws (2026). IRCC confirmed on 18 February 2026 that a trades category continues in 2026. IRCC's examples are carpenters, plumbers and machinists. Candidates in a category can be invited at lower scores than the general pool. Check whether your trade is included.
• In-country switching (UK). If you are already in the UK on another visa, you can often switch into Skilled Worker when a licensed sponsor hires you.

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