Software developer in the UK: your Skilled Worker visa, step by step

What you must be paid

The standard going rate for this occupation code is £54,700 (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 a software developer: the going rate is £54,700 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025). That is above £41,700. So £54,700 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 £40,000 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025) only matters if another reduced-threshold rule applies to you.

Registration and licensing

There is no statutory registration or licence needed to work in this occupation in the UK. Professional bodies exist and employers may value membership. None of that is a legal condition of working or an immigration requirement.

For developers this is the whole story. There is no professional register, no exam and no title to protect. Your offer letter and your sponsor's licence are what the Home Office looks at.

Which job titles this code covers

Occupation code 2134 covers programmers and software development professionals. The Home Office lists these related titles under the same code:

• Computer games designers
• Computer programmers
• Software developers

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 salary is the only gate, so get the number right

Many occupations have two gates: a salary rule and a registration rule. Software development has one. The salary figure is the whole conversation with a sponsor.

Here is how an offer can go wrong. A UK employer sees that the Skilled Worker general threshold is £41,700 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025). They make an offer at that level. The offer clears part one of the rule. It fails part two, because the going rate for code 2134 is £54,700. The higher figure governs. That offer would not support a Certificate of Sponsorship (the document your licensed sponsor assigns to you) under this code.

The fix is simple. The offer needs to reach £54,700 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025). Check your offer against that number before anything else is arranged.

The lower going rate is £40,000 (UK Home Office, effective July 22, 2025). It only becomes relevant where a reduced-threshold rule covers you. This code is not on the Immigration Salary List. The new entrant rule can apply to early-career developers, including people switching from the Student or Graduate routes.

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

If this route does not fit: what else is open

Global Talent visa. No sponsor and no job offer is needed. Endorsement routes exist for digital technology, for academia and research, and for arts and culture. Digital technology is the endorsement route most relevant to developers.

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.

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

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