Motor mechanic or vehicle technician 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 a motor mechanic, it looks like this. The standard going rate for code 5231 is £35,500 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025). Vehicle technicians are not on the ISL. So the general threshold of £41,700 applies. £41,700 is higher than £35,500. So a sponsored mechanic must be paid at least £41,700, not £35,500.

An ISL trade with a going rate of £33,400 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025) can be sponsored at £33,400. A mechanic has a higher going rate but no ISL entry, so the threshold rises to £41,700.

The lower going rate for this code is £27,900 (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 statutory registration or licence to work as a vehicle technician or mechanic in the UK. Professional bodies exist, but membership is not a legal condition of working or an immigration requirement.

Which job titles this code covers

Code 5231 covers car and light vehicle technicians, heavy and large vehicle technicians, motorcycle technicians, motorsport technicians and auto electricians. Your sponsor chooses the occupation code when they issue your Certificate of Sponsorship. The code must honestly reflect the work you will do. An auto electrician belongs here, not under the building electricians code. A panel beater working on vehicles also belongs under this code rather than under sheet metal workers.

Auto electricians: the right code matters

Two occupation codes mention electricians. Code 5241 covers installation and maintenance electricians in buildings. Code 5231 covers auto electricians working on vehicles. The two codes have different going rates. Code 5231 has a going rate of £35,500 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025). Neither code is on the ISL, so the £41,700 general threshold binds for both. A garage sponsoring an auto electrician should use 5231. Rules change, so check the current going rates and ISL before you rely on any of this.

Routes beyond the standard visa

• Canada Express Entry, trades category (2026). IRCC's 2026 trades list, last modified on 22 June 2026, does not name automotive or vehicle mechanics. Heavy-duty equipment mechanics (NOC 72401) are named. A technician whose experience is on heavy plant rather than cars should check the current list on canada.ca. The eligibility rule for the category is 12 months of full-time experience within the past three years.
• New entrant reduced threshold (UK). Early-career technicians, and people switching from the Student or Graduate routes, may qualify for a reduced general threshold. The reduced figure depends on your circumstances and is not stated here.
• In-country switching (UK). A vehicle technician already in the UK on another visa can often move into Skilled Worker once a licensed sponsor offers a job.

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