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Programmers and software development professionals

Occupation · SOC 2020 2134 · United Kingdom

SOC 2020 code
2134
Going rate (Table 1, options A and D)
£54,700 (£28.05 per hour)
On the Immigration Salary List
No
Sponsored work visas 2025, minor group 213
10,223
Going rate£54,700 Table 1
Year by year
Data as at Immigration Rules, 11 Nov 2025
OC<GBRPROGRAMMERS<AND<SOFTWARE<DEVELOPMENT<P
21348<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<2

Going rates

Minimum salaries by table of Appendix Skilled Occupations (per year, 37.5-hour week). Which table applies depends on the route and option.

TableGoing ratePhD points
Table 1£54,700 (£28.05 per hour)Yes
Table 2£40,000 (£20.51 per hour)Yes

Example job titles (non-exclusive)

  • Computer games designers
  • Computer programmers
  • Software developers
  • Programmers and software development professionals not elsewhere classified
Source: Immigration Rules, Appendix Skilled Occupations and Appendix Immigration Salary List (GOV.UK)Data as at 11 Nov 2025

Sponsored work visas, minor group 213

Home Office grants for SOC 2020 minor group 213 (Information Technology Professionals); unit-group detail is published only for part of the data.

Visas granted by year (minor group)

14k29k202120222023202420252026
14k29k202120222023202420252026
Data table
202116,720
202228,636
202316,116
202412,242
202510,223
20265,020
By route
  1. Skilled Worker47,570
  2. Senior or Specialist Worker (Global Business Mobility)26,694
  3. Intra-company Transfer11,280
  4. Government Authorised Exchange (previously Tier 5)3,046
  5. Graduate Trainee (Global Business Mobility)147
  6. Scale-up Worker132
By nationality, unit group 2134 (where published)
  1. India3,325
  2. United States423
  3. Russia279
  4. China276
  5. France253
  6. Germany250
  7. Italy185
  8. Pakistan128
  9. Turkey127
  10. Romania126
Source: Home Office, Immigration system statistics (year ending June 2026), Open Government Licence v3.0Data as at Jun 2026

Compared with other occupations

The going rate for Programmers and software development professionals (Table 1 where listed) is £54,700 a year, #23 highest of 277 eligible occupations and 82.3% above the median going rate of £30,000.

Going rate (Table 1 where listed)
£54,700
Median going rate, all occupations
£30,000
Rank (highest first)
23 of 277
Occupations on the Immigration Salary List
25
Going rate (Table 1), this and related occupations, £ a year
  1. Programmers and software development professionals54,700
  2. IT project managers58,200
  3. IT managers55,000
  4. IT business analysts, architects and systems designers54,900
  5. Cyber security professionals48,500
  6. IT quality and testing professionals41,200
  7. IT network professionals45,600
  8. Information technology professionals not elsewhere classified52,300
  9. Chemical scientists39,900
  10. Biological scientists40,300
  11. Biochemists and biomedical scientists45,900
Source: Immigration Rules, Appendix Skilled Occupations and Appendix Immigration Salary List (GOV.UK)Data as at 11 Nov 2025

Official data, not advice. Visa Atlas publishes figures from government registers and statistics. It does not assess eligibility or give immigration advice; for advice, consult a regulated adviser. Read more