How to Check Whether a UK Job Is an Eligible Skilled Worker Occupation

You open a UK job advert, recognise your job title and start preparing an application. Before investing that time, check the occupation code. For the Skilled Worker visa, a familiar title does not establish whether the work is eligible.

Your starting point is the employer's proposed code and the duties behind it. Compare those with the current official guidance, then ask the employer to explain any mismatch. A search result for a similar title cannot settle the question for you.

Fact-checked against GOV.UK on 7 November 2026.

1. The occupation code

GOV.UK's Skilled Worker job guidance says you need the job's four-digit occupation code to check its eligibility. If you have an offer, ask the employer for that code. You may also see it called a SOC code, which refers to the Standard Occupational Classification.

Keep the code alongside the full job description. A broad title such as “analyst” leaves the core work unclear. Ask what you would analyse and how that work would be used. You need enough detail to understand why the employer considers its chosen occupation appropriate.

If the advert omits the code, that leaves a question to resolve with the hiring team. It does not establish that the role is ineligible. Ask whether the employer has assessed this particular vacancy for Skilled Worker sponsorship and which team can confirm the occupation.

You can send a short question before committing to a lengthy interview process:

“Could you confirm the occupation code proposed for this vacancy and share the full job description used to assess it for Skilled Worker sponsorship?”

Save the answer with the advert. If the role changes during interviews, return to the same question with the revised duties rather than carrying the original assumption forward.

2. The official lookup

If you do not know the code, GOV.UK links to the CASCOT occupation coding tool. Use it to investigate possible matches, then confirm the proposed code with the employer. Finding a plausible result is a starting point for that conversation.

Search using the work described in the vacancy. Try a fuller job title or an alternative term if the first search is unhelpful. The official guidance recognises that not every title appears, and similar-sounding jobs can belong to different codes.

Once you have a proposed code, open the official occupation table. Search the page for the exact digits and inspect the whole row. Read the job type and related titles as well as the final classification column.

A row in the table is not automatically an eligible job. The table includes occupations labelled Higher Skilled, Medium Skilled and Ineligible. Stopping when your search finds a matching title can therefore give you the wrong answer.

Search for the code before concluding that an unfamiliar title is absent. GOV.UK also recommends full words rather than abbreviations when searching its table. Keep the official page bookmarked so you can return to the current version when an offer arrives.

3. The duties match

Put the employer's job description beside the occupation information. Focus on the main purpose of the work and the responsibilities you would actually hold. Your current job title cannot establish the right code for this vacancy.

Make a brief comparison in your application notes:

• Core work: what you would spend most of your time doing.
• Responsibility: what you would own or decide independently.
• Occupation match: which description covers that work.
• Open questions: duties that need the employer's explanation.

This is a way to organise your questions, not a formula for choosing a code yourself. If the description combines several kinds of work, ask the sponsor how it assessed the role as a whole. Do not quietly discard inconvenient duties to make the vacancy fit a preferred category.

The Immigration Rules, Appendix Skilled Worker, require the sponsor to choose an appropriate occupation code. The rules address using a less appropriate code to get around occupation eligibility or the going rate. A more convenient code is not a solution to a mismatch in the actual job.

Ask for clarification if the interview reveals a different role from the advert. For example, a position described as managing a function may involve mostly routine support when the hiring manager explains it. That is a reason to review the duties with the employer, not to make your own immigration judgement from a sentence in the advert.

4. The eligibility conditions

Read the classification together with the current rules. Higher Skilled identifies an occupation category; you still need to meet the other visa requirements.

For a Medium Skilled occupation, check the additional basis on which the employer says the job qualifies. GOV.UK's job eligibility guidance points to the Immigration Salary List and Temporary Shortage List, alongside specific and transitional provisions. Do not assume the Medium Skilled label gives every applicant access to that occupation.

Open the relevant Immigration Salary List or Temporary Shortage List entry and read its wording. Some entries cover only specified jobs within a code, and the Immigration Salary List includes geographical limits. Check the actual work and location rather than treating the code as permission for everything in that group.

List membership can also sit alongside further conditions. The current Skilled Worker rules, particularly the job-skill provisions in SW 6, contain certificate-timing and occupation-specific restrictions. If the employer relies on a list or transitional provision, ask which rule applies and have its conditions checked for your circumstances. An existing sponsored worker's position may differ from a new applicant's.

An Ineligible label is not something to solve by selecting a neighbouring code. Ask the employer to review any genuine classification uncertainty, and get regulated immigration advice if the answer depends on your history or an exception. This guide cannot decide whether a provision applies to you.

5. The offer checks

Before accepting an offer on the assumption that sponsorship will be available, get clear answers to these questions:

• Which occupation code will the employer use for this specific role?
• How do the final duties match that occupation?
• Which eligibility provision applies if the occupation needs additional conditions?
• Will the employer sponsor this vacancy on the Skilled Worker route?
• Who will resolve differences between the offer and the sponsorship information?

When the Certificate of Sponsorship is available, compare its job information with the agreed offer. The official application document guidance includes your occupation code among the information you need and tells you to ask the employer for a copy of the certificate if you do not have one. The Certificate of Sponsorship guide explains that record in more detail.

Keep salary assessment separate from the occupation check. An appropriate eligible code does not establish that the offered pay meets the applicable salary rules, and a generous salary cannot make the wrong occupation code appropriate. Use the Skilled Worker salary checklist for the pay side of the offer.

The official job guidance also requires an approved employer. Confirm sponsorship for this vacancy with the hiring team rather than relying on a general statement that the company sponsors visas. Occupation eligibility is one part of the application, and your checks should not turn into a promise of visa approval.

Find current jobs, then use the code and duties to ask specific questions about the roles that interest you. You can subscribe below for the Sponsored Jobs UK newsletter while continuing your search.

This guide provides general job-search information, not immigration advice or an individual eligibility assessment. Check current GOV.UK guidance before relying on a rule.