Geologist or physical scientist in the UK: your Skilled Worker visa, step by step

What you must be paid

The Skilled Worker salary rule has two parts. Part one is the threshold that applies to you: £41,700 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025) in general, or £33,400 if the occupation is on the Immigration Salary List or another reduced rule applies. Part two is the occupation's going rate. The going rate is the minimum pay the Home Office sets for each occupation code. You must clear both. The higher figure governs.

For code 2114 the standard going rate is £54,600 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025). That is higher than the general threshold of £41,700. So £54,600 binds. An offer that clears £41,700 but sits below £54,600 fails part two of the rule.

Code 2114 is not on the Immigration Salary List (ISL). The ISL is the gov.uk list of occupations that can use the reduced threshold. Even if it were listed, the going rate of £54,600 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025) would still be the higher figure. The lower going rate of £41,500 applies where a reduced-threshold rule such as the new entrant or PhD rule covers you.

Use the salary checker linked above to test a real offer.

Registration and licensing

There is no statutory registration or licence to work as a physical scientist in the UK. Professional bodies exist and employers may value membership, but none is a legal condition of working or an immigration requirement.

Which job titles this code covers

The gov.uk related titles for code 2114 are geologists, geophysicists, hydrogeologists and hydrologists, and meteorologists. Your sponsor chooses the occupation code when it assigns your Certificate of Sponsorship. The code must honestly reflect the work you will do. A chemist belongs under code 2111. A biologist belongs under code 2112.

The Health and Care Worker saving

Code 2114 is one of the few science codes listed as eligible for the Health and Care Worker visa. That visa is a version of the Skilled Worker visa for eligible health and social care occupations. It has lower application fees than the standard Skilled Worker visa. It has no immigration health surcharge. On other work visas the surcharge is £1,035 (UK Home Office, effective February 6, 2024) per person per year.

Eligibility depends on more than the code. The gov.uk Health and Care Worker page sets out which jobs and which employers qualify. A physical scientist working for an eligible health employer may qualify. A geologist working for a mining company will not, even though the code is the same. Ask your sponsor which visa it intends to sponsor you under. The salary figures do not change between the two visas. The going rate of £54,600 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025) still applies.

If this route does not fit: what else is open

• Health and Care Worker visa. For eligible health and social care employers. Lower application fees and no immigration health surcharge of £1,035 (UK Home Office, effective February 6, 2024) per person per year.
• Global Talent visa. No sponsor and no job offer are needed. The academia and research endorsement route covers scientists with a research record. There is no salary test.
• New entrant / PhD reduced thresholds. A reduced general threshold can apply to early-career applicants and to holders of a relevant PhD. The lower going rate for this code is £41,500 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025).

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