Skilled Worker tradeable points: how options A to K work

The rules say you must get 50 mandatory points (SW 4.1) and 20 more points from one of the options in the table in SW 4.2. These 20 more points are called “tradeable points”. Each option is labelled A to K. It links a salary to a situation. GOV.UK publishes the rules.

What are the mandatory points?

You must get all 50 points in this table (SW 4.1):

What you need	Rules	Points
Sponsorship	SW 5.1 to SW 5.7	20
A job at the right skill level	SW 6.1 to SW 6.5	20
English at level B2. The level is B1 if your most recent permission was as a Skilled Worker and was granted with a B1 requirement	SW 7.1 to SW 7.3	10

See English language for the English requirement. You get no points for a job at the right skill level unless you also get the 20 sponsorship points (SW 6.5).

What are the tradeable points options?

You must get 20 points from one of the options below (SW 4.2). Each option is worth 20 points. For each option, your salary must be at least both figures shown.

Option	What you need	Minimum salary	And at least	Rules
A	Salary only	£41,700 per year	the going rate for the SOC 2020 code	SW 8.1
B	PhD in a subject relevant to the job	£37,500 per year	90% of the going rate	SW 9.1 to SW 9.4
C	PhD in a STEM subject relevant to the job	£33,400 per year	80% of the going rate	SW 10.1 to SW 10.3
D	Sponsored for a job on the Immigration Salary List	£33,400 per year	the going rate	SW 11.1 to SW 11.3
E	New entrant at the start of their career	£33,400 per year	70% of the going rate	SW 12.1 to SW 12.3
F	Salary only	£31,300 per year	the going rate	SW 8.1
G	PhD in a subject relevant to the job	£28,200 per year	90% of the going rate	SW 9.1 to SW 9.4
H	PhD in a STEM subject relevant to the job	£25,000 per year	80% of the going rate	SW 10.1 to SW 10.3
I	Sponsored for a job on the Immigration Salary List	£25,000 per year	the going rate	SW 11.1 to SW 11.3
J	New entrant at the start of their career	£25,000 per year	70% of the going rate	SW 12.1 to SW 12.3
K	Sponsored for a job in a listed health or education occupation	£25,000 per year	the going rate	SW 13.1 to SW 13.3

See salary thresholds to find out where each threshold comes from. See going rates for the going rate for each SOC 2020 code. The going rate is a set pay figure for the job’s occupation code. For the discounts in options B, C and E, see when you can be paid less and new entrant.

Which options can I use?

SW 4.2 limits which options you can use:

• Options A to E. You can only get points from options A to E, unless one of the cases below applies (SW 4.2(a)).
• Options F to J. You can only get points from options F to J in one of these cases (SW 4.2(b)):
  • you are being sponsored for a Health and Care ASHE salary job
  • you apply before 4 April 2030, were granted permission as a Skilled Worker under the rules in place before 4 April 2024, and have had permission as a Skilled Worker without a break since then
• Option K. You can only get points from option K if you are being sponsored for a job in an eligible SOC 2020 code listed in Table 3 or Table 3a of Appendix Skilled Occupations (SW 4.2(c)).
• Option F for prison service officers. You can get points from option F if all of these are true (SW 4.2(d)):
  • you are sponsored for a job in SOC 2020 code 3314 Prison service officers (below principal officer)
  • the certificate of sponsorship was issued before 1 January 2028
  • its end date is not more than three years after the start date

The rules define a Health and Care ASHE salary job in SW A1.1. They list ten SOC 2020 codes. They also list the type of employer or regulated activity you must be sponsored, employed or engaged for.

You get no tradeable points unless you also get the 20 points for sponsorship (SW 5.7) and the 20 points for a job at the right skill level (SW 6.4). This is in SW 4.4.

What counts as salary for tradeable points?

These rules apply to every option (SW 14.1 to SW 14.3).

Salary includes only:

• guaranteed basic gross pay (before income tax, and including employee pension and national insurance contributions)
• other guaranteed payments that are treated exactly the same as basic gross pay for tax, pension and national insurance (SW 14.1)

Salary does not include (SW 14.2):

• pay that cannot be guaranteed because the nature of the job means hours go up and down
• extra pay such as shift, overtime or bonus pay, whether or not it is guaranteed
• employer pension and employer national insurance contributions
• allowances, such as accommodation or cost of living allowances
• in-kind benefits, such as equity shares, health insurance, school or university fees, company cars or food
• one-off payments, such as “golden hellos”
• payments relating to immigration costs, such as the fee or Immigration Health Charge
• payments to cover business expenses

If you are sponsored to work more than 48 hours a week, only the salary for the first 48 hours a week counts towards the thresholds, subject to SW 14.3A (SW 14.3).

Going rates in Tables 1 to 2a of Appendix Skilled Occupations are based on a 37.5-hour week. They are pro-rated for the weekly hours the sponsor states (SW 14.4).

How do the points fit together?

You need all four of these:

1. The 20 sponsorship points (SW 5.1 to SW 5.7).
2. The 20 points for a job at the right skill level (SW 6.1 to SW 6.5). This depends on the SOC 2020 code. See how to find your SOC code.
3. The 10 English language points (SW 7.1 to SW 7.3).
4. The 20 points from one tradeable points option (SW 4.2).

The first three are mandatory (SW 4.1). The fourth is set by SW 4.2. The tradeable points and the skill level points both depend on the sponsorship points (SW 4.4 and SW 6.5).