SOC 2020 · 6136
Sponsoring senior care workers
Route closed to new overseas recruitment. Closed to new overseas applications since 22 July 2025, with transitional in-country arrangements to 22 July 2028 for existing sponsored care staff. Ongoing sponsor duties continue in full for current workers.
Appendix note for this code: Jobs with a working location in England are only eligible in this SOC 2020 occupation code where the sponsor holds registration with the Care Quality Commission and is currently carrying on a regulated activity. Eligibility for Skilled Worker applicants to be sponsored in this SOC 2020 occupation code is restricted, as set out in SW 6.1B of Appendix Skilled Worker.
Figures verified against GOV.UK Appendix Skilled Occupations (source revised 1 July 2026) on 9 July 2026. Rules change — confirm against the live appendix before making an offer.
Salary requirements at a glance
| Going rate (Table 1a — transitional) | £33,400/year (£17.13/hour) |
| General threshold (all occupations) | £41,700/year |
| Basis | Annual figures on a 37.5-hour week — pro-rate for other hours, with a £17.13/hour floor on standard rates. |
You must pay the higher of the general threshold and the occupation's going rate (new-entrant discounts can apply). Since 8 April 2026 salary is also tested per pay period and per hour worked, not just annually.
The rules that changed in 2025–26
- 22 July 2025 — RQF 6: new Skilled Worker roles must be degree-level; sub-degree occupations are sponsorable only via the Temporary Shortage List or Immigration Salary List (interim TSL due to expire 31 December 2026).
- 8 April 2026 — SW 14.3B: salary is now tested per pay period, for every hour worked — an annually compliant figure can still breach in a heavy month. Standard going rates carry a £17.13/hour floor (£12.82/hour for occupations on the 25th-percentile table).
- 1 July 2026: going rates were revised — the figures on this page come from that revision. Re-check any worker within a few thousand pounds of a threshold.
Sponsoring for this role: what you'll need on file
- A Certificate of Sponsorship with this SOC code and the offered salary.
- Right-to-work evidence from before day one, plus diarised follow-up checks.
- Recruitment evidence — adverts, shortlists, interview notes — kept per Appendix D.
- A job description that matches the CoS duties (role drift is reportable).
- Salary evidence (payslips) showing the CoS amount is actually paid.
SponsorFort keeps all of that organised per worker, scores the gaps, and tracks every reporting deadline that follows.
Related occupation guides
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