Management consultant or business analyst 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 2431 the standard going rate is £50,200 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025). The general threshold is £41,700. The going rate is higher, so £50,200 binds. An offer that only reaches £41,700 would fail the second part of the test.

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 2431 is not on it, so the reduced threshold does not apply through the ISL.

The lower going rate of £36,000 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025) is used only where a reduced-threshold rule covers you, such as the new entrant rule. Most applicants use the standard rate.

Registration and licensing

There is no statutory registration or licence to work as a management consultant or business analyst 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 2431 covers business analysts and consultants, management advisers and consultants, and risk analysts. Your sponsor chooses the occupation code on your Certificate of Sponsorship. The code must honestly reflect the work you will do. A role that is mainly systems design or software configuration may belong under an IT code with a different going rate.

The "business analyst" title sits on a boundary

Business analyst is a common job title. It is also a title that employers use loosely. Code 2431 is for analysts whose work is about the business itself: its processes, its risks, its strategy and its operations.

If your day-to-day work is writing technical specifications for developers, configuring systems or testing software, the sponsor may decide an IT occupation code fits better. That code carries its own going rate. The salary you need can change with the code. Before you accept an offer, ask the sponsor which code it intends to use. Then check the going rate for that code, not the one you assumed.

Risk analysts are named under this code as well.

If this route does not fit: what else is open

New entrant reduced threshold. If you are early in your career, or switching from a Student or Graduate visa, a reduced general threshold can apply. The lower going rate of £36,000 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025) is the figure used for this code in that case.

In-country switching. If you are already in the UK on another visa, a licensed sponsor can often hire you into Skilled Worker without you leaving the country. Graduate visa holders working as analysts often take this path.

Canada Express Entry and Provincial Nominee Programs. Canada's 2026 category-based draws include a new category for senior managers with Canadian work experience. Consultants without Canadian experience can still enter the general pool. A provincial nomination adds 600 CRS points.

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