The Shortage Occupation List UK 2024 is a list that highlights job roles that there are in demand across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom is currently looking internationally to help fill vacancies in various roles such scientists, engineers, IT professionals and the construction trades.
The UK government announced in late 2023, there are to be changes to the list and requirements by summer 2024. The shortage occupations list UK is not to be confused with other lists such as the Skilled Worker Occupation List or Healthcare and Education Shortage Occupation List.
Depending on your occupation or Standard Occupational Classification (SOC), will decide which work visa is best for you. Most work visas can lead to permanent residence in the UK after five years and then on to citizenship.
UPDATE – The Immigration Salary List (ISL) replaced the Shortage Occupation List in April 2024.
What is Shortage Occupation List UK?
UK employers are currently looking overseas to hire skilled workers to help fill job vacancies across many sectors.
Companies experienced a shortage of workers in 2023 at an average of 9.7%. The UK has always been able to attract people from all over the world to live, work and study. Over 1.2 million skilled workers arrived in in the year ending June 2023 for long-term immigration visas alone, all of them helping to ease the labour shortage.
The UK Shortage Occupation List UK 2024 is designed to make it easier for employers to sponsor skilled workers in most demand, for certain job roles. Occupations are added or removed from the list annually. Although, the list will be replaced later in 2024 with the Immigration Salary List (ISL).
Occupations on the SOL list have advantages over other job roles. There is a smaller application fee, reduced salary threshold and in some cases the Immigration Health Surcharge is not required.
Once you find your job role on the list, take note of the SOC code as you will need this throughout the process of moving to the UK.
2024 Changes to the Shortage Occupation List UK
Minimum Salary Threshold Increase
On the 4th of April 2024, the minimum salary threshold for occupations was raised from £26,200 to £38,700. Current visa holders looking to extend or change sponsor are not affected.
Partners of the main applicant under the family visa have also seen the minimum income limit increased, from £18,600 to £29,000.
Immigration Health Surcharge Increase
On the 6th of February 2024, the Immigration Health Surcharge was increased from £624 to £1,035 per year.
Students and applicants aged under 18 also increased from £470 to £776 per year.
Applicants and their dependants under the Health and Care Worker visa are still exempt.
Immigration Salary List UK
The Immigration Salary List (ISL) replaced the Shortage Occupation List in April 2024.
What jobs are there a shortage of in the UK?
The skills shortage in the UK is across many industries, and employers are struggling to fill these vacancies from British people alone. The jobs most in demand in the UK were last updated in August 2023 from the table below. You can also read our recent article on the Top 13 Skilled Jobs Needed in the UK 2024.
Shortage Occupation List (SOL)
All occupations on this list can be applied through the Skilled Worker visa route.
| SOC Code | Job Role | Country | Annual salary (80% of going rate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1181 | Health services and public health managers and directors – all jobs | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland | 80% of going rate: £33,040 |
| 1242 | Residential, day and domiciliary care managers and proprietors – all jobs | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland | 80% of going rate: £22,640 |
| 2111 | Chemical scientists – only jobs in the nuclear industry | Scotland only | 80% of going rate: £22,800 |
| 2112 | Biological scientists and biochemists – all jobs | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland | 80% of going rate: £24,480 |
| 2113 | Physical scientists – only the following jobs in the construction-related ground engineering industry: engineering geologist hydrogeologist geophysicist | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland | 80% of going rate: £26,080 |
| 2113 | Physical scientists – only the following jobs in the oil and gas industry: geophysicist geoscientist geologist geochemist technical services manager in the decommissioning and waste areas of the nuclear industry senior resource geologist and staff geologist in the mining sector | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland | 80% of going rate: £26,080 |
| 2114 | Social and humanities scientists – only archaeologists | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland | 80% of going rate: £20,480 |
| 2121 | Civil engineers – all jobs | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland | 80% of going rate: £27,760 |
| 2122 | Mechanical engineers – all jobs | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland | 80% of going rate: £26,400 |
| 2123 | Electrical engineers – all jobs | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland | 80% of going rate: £31,440 |
| 2124 | Electronics engineers – all jobs | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland | 80% of going rate: £27,120 |
| 2126 | Design and development engineers – all jobs | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland | 80% of going rate: £27,280 |
| 2127 | Production and process engineers – all jobs | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland | 80% of going rate: £25,600 |
| 2129 | Engineering professionals not elsewhere classified – all jobs | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland | 80% of going rate: £26,720 |
| 2135 | IT business analysts, architects and systems designers – all jobs | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland | 80% of going rate: £30,080 |
| 2136 | Programmers and software development professionals – all jobs | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland | 80% of going rate: £27,200 |
| 2137 | Web design and development professionals – all jobs | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland | 80% of going rate: £21,440 |
| 2139 | Information technology and communications professionals not elsewhere classified – only cyber security specialists | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland | 80% of going rate: £25,680 |
| 2216 | Veterinarians – all jobs | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland | 80% of going rate: £26,960 |
| 2425 | Actuaries, economists and statisticians – only bio-informaticians and informaticians | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland | 80% of going rate: £26,880 |
| 2431 | Architects – all jobs | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland | 80% of going rate: £26,320 |
| 2461 | Quality control and planning engineers – all jobs | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland | 80% of going rate: £25,280 |
| 3111 | Laboratory technicians – all jobs | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland | 80% of going rate: £15,120 |
| 3411 | Artists – all jobs | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland | 80% of going rate: £16,400 |
| 3414 | Dancers and choreographers – only skilled classical ballet dancers or skilled contemporary dancers who meet the standard required by internationally recognised UK ballet or contemporary dance companies. The company must be endorsed as being internationally recognised by a UK industry body such as the Arts Councils (of England, Scotland or Wales). | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland | 80% of going rate: £16,960 |
| 3415 | Musicians – only skilled orchestral musicians who are leaders, principals, sub-principals or numbered string positions, and who meet the standard required by internationally recognised UK orchestras. The orchestra must a full member of the Association of British Orchestras. | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland | 80% of going rate: £24,960 |
| 3416 | Arts officers, producers and directors – all jobs | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland | 80% of going rate: £23,360 |
| 3421 | Graphic designers – all jobs | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland | 80% of going rate: £18,400 |
| 5215 | Welding trades – only high integrity pipe welders, where the job requires 3 or more years’ related on-the-job experience. This experience must not have been gained through illegal working. | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland | 80% of going rate: £18,480 |
| 6145 | Care workers and home carers – private households or individuals (other than sole traders sponsoring someone to work for their business) cannot sponsor Skilled Worker applicants | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland | No going rate – the salary must be at least £20,960 per year |
| 6146 | Senior care workers – all jobs | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland | 80% of going rate: £14,880 |
Other Skilled Occupation Lists
If your occupation is not listed in the most recent SOL to be published, you may still qualify for job sponsorship on another list. Similar to SOL, your occupation must be eligible and you must earn a salary above the “Going Rate”.
Skilled Worker Occupation List
There are 225 occupations currently on this list, you can find the list here.
The largest of all the occupation lists in the UK, there is wide range of job roles across many industries.
Occupations on this list can be applied for through the Skilled Worker visa.
Health and Education Occupation List
Doctors, nurses, social workers and teaching professionals will find their code through the Healthcare and Education Occupations List. The Health and Care worker visa is currently the most popular way to immigrate to the UK, 101,570 applicants moved here year ending March 2023.
| Code | Job Role | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2211 | Medical practitioners – all jobs | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland |
| 2212 | Psychologists – all jobs | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland |
| 2213 | Pharmacists – all jobs | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland |
| 2217 | Medical radiographers – all jobs (including radiotherapy practitioners / technologists) | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland |
| 2219 | Health professionals not elsewhere classified – all jobs | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland |
| 2221 | Physiotherapists – all jobs | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland |
| 2222 | Occupational therapists – all jobs | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland |
| 2223 | Speech and language therapists – all jobs | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland |
| 2231 | Nurses – all jobs | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland |
| 2314 | Secondary education teaching professionals – only teachers in maths, physics, science (where an element of physics will be taught), computer science and modern foreign languages | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland |
| 2314 | Secondary education teaching professionals – only teachers in Gaelic | Scotland only |
| 2315 | Primary and nursery education teaching professionals – only Gaelic medium teachers | Scotland only |
| 2442 | Social workers – all jobs | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland |
| 3213 | Paramedics – all jobs | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland |
| 6141 | Nursing auxiliaries and assistants – all jobs | England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland |
Unskilled Shortage Occupation List UK
There are no job sponsorship opportunities if your occupation is not listed in any of the three lists discussed above.
Although, some UK work visas do not require a job offer or job sponsorship at all. Check out the UK Work Visas without Job Offer section below.
UK work visa options
How to apply for UK Shortage Occupation List? Depending on your personal circumstances such as age, nationality, SOC code and education. Will decide which UK work visa is correct for you.
Eligibility varies depending on your circumstances and the type of visa, but there are some general rules. You will have to be on one of the occupations lists linked to that visa, for example to apply for the Scale-Up visa it must on the Scale-Up Occupation List.
To apply for a job in the National Health Service (NHS) or healthcare in general. You would apply through the Health and Care Worker visa as this would relate to your job role. You would find the SOC code for your role on the Healthcare and Education Occupations List.
- You must work for an employer that has been approved for a sponsor license.
- Salary must meet a minimum threshold for that job role.
- Pass an English language test.
UK Work Visas with Job Sponsorship
UK Work Visas without Job Offer
Can a job Through Shortage Occupation List UK lead to citizenship?
Yes, depending on the visa type and your length of stay. You need to accumulate five years of working in the UK before you can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR).
There are 3 main stages to being granted British citizenship.
- Live and Work in the UK for 5 years on a work visa
- Apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR)
- Apply for Naturalisation/British citizenship
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