The Home Office updated its list of annual going rates for jobs eligible for the Scale-up visa on 13 March 2026; jobs must pay at least the going rate for their occupation code to qualify.
Key facts
- Who: Scale-up applicants and sponsoring employers, including jobs that also qualify for the Health and Care visa
- From: Page updated 13 March 2026; the source gives no separate in-force date
- Source: Scale-up: going rates for eligible occupations
The Home Office has updated its guidance listing the annual going rate for each occupation code eligible under the Scale-up route. The page is marked as updated on 13 March 2026. The source does not say which figures changed or when the updated rates take effect, so this item reports the current table only.
The table is sorted by occupation code, lowest first. Each entry gives an annual going rate and an hourly equivalent. The annual salaries are based on a 37.5-hour working week and must be pro-rated for other working patterns, using the weekly hours stated by the employer.
A job must pay at least the going rate to be eligible for a Scale-up visa. Applicants who do not know their occupation code can search for their job in the CASCOT occupation coding tool.
Some healthcare and education jobs follow different salary rules. Their going rates are based on the national pay scales set by the relevant independent body, for example the NHS.
Examples of going rates in the table:
- 1111 Chief executives and senior officials: £60,000 (£30.77 per hour)
- 2134 Programmers and software development professionals: £40,000 (£20.51 per hour)
- 2135 Cyber security professionals: £35,300 (£18.10 per hour)
- 2421 Chartered and certified accountants: £36,900 (£18.92 per hour)
- 2492 Newspaper and periodical broadcast journalists and reporters: £25,500 (£13.08 per hour)
- 3511 Aircraft pilots and air traffic controllers: £64,100 (£32.87 per hour)
What this means for applicants
Sponsors and applicants must check the job's occupation code against the current table and confirm the salary is at least the going rate for that code. Where the job is not full time, the annual figure must be pro-rated using the weekly hours stated by the employer. A job paying below the going rate is not eligible for a Scale-up visa. Some healthcare and education jobs have different salary rules, based on the national pay scales set by the relevant independent body.
Related guide
Sources
- Scale-up: going rates for eligible occupations, Home Office guidance, updated 13 March 2026