Can you get a Skilled Worker visa as a mining or quarry worker or related operative?
No. You cannot get a UK Skilled Worker visa as a mining or quarry worker or related operative (SOC 8132).
You might be able to work in the UK on a different visa. Compare UK work visas.
Based on the UK Immigration Rules and the Skilled Worker visa guide on GOV.UK. This is a summary, not advice about your own situation.
The rules in detail
SOC 2020 code 8132 (Mining and quarry workers and related operatives) is listed as not eligible for the Skilled Worker, Global Business Mobility and Scale-up routes in Table 6 of Appendix Skilled OccupationsT6 · 29 Oct 26.
Source: Appendix Skilled Occupations and eligible occupations and codes, GOV.UK.| Occupation | Mining and quarry workers and related operatives |
|---|---|
| Skilled Worker eligibility | Ineligible |
| Going rate | Not applicable |
| Appendix table(s) | Table 6 |
| Immigration Salary List | No |
| Temporary Shortage List | No |
| SOC 2020 group | 81 Process, plant, machine and construction operatives › 813 Plant and machine operatives |
Job titles under SOC 8132
GOV.UK lists these related job titles:
- Coal miners and quarry workers
- Offshore drilling workers
- Mining and quarry workers and related operatives not elsewhere classified
More job titles from the ONS SOC 2020 index (5)
- Coal miner
- Derrickman (oil wells)
- Diamond driller (well sinking)
- Plant operator (quarry)
- Quarry operative
What the job involves
Quarry workers erect supports in underground workings, set and detonate explosives to loosen rocks and set up and operate drilling equipment to extract coal and other minerals from the ground, and operate machinery to wash, crush or separate stone and ores.
Typical tasks
- Inspects blasting area, drills shot holes, inserts explosives and detonates charges to loosen large pieces of rock, coal or ore
- Assembles drilling and cutting tools, operates controls to start machines and to regulate the speed and pressure of cutting and drilling
- Erects timber or metal supports to shore up tunnel and assists tunnel miner with the excavation of vertical shafts and underground tunnels
- Operates heading, ripping and cutting-loading machines to remove material from working face and monitors conveyor carrying away loose material
- Conveys goods and materials to and from the workface, loads and unloads mine cars and transfers materials from underground and surface conveyors to bunkers, tubs and rail trucks
- Operates agitators/vibrators to separate minerals and ensures that screened, filtered, crushed and separated material is discharged to appropriate chutes or conveyors
- Performs other mining and quarrying tasks not elsewhere classified including digging clay from open pits, operating high-pressure hoses to wash china clay from open pit faces and otherwise assisting miners
Typical entry routes and qualifications
There are no formal academic entry requirements. Training is typically provided on-the-job. NVQs/ SVQs in land drilling operations at level 2 and processing operations (extractive industries) at level 3 are available. There is a minimum age limit of 18 for underground work.
Description: ONS SOC 2020 Volume 1.
Questions about SOC 8132
Can you get a Skilled Worker visa as a mining or quarry worker or related operative?
No. You cannot get a UK Skilled Worker visa as a mining or quarry worker or related operative (SOC 8132). SOC 2020 code 8132 (Mining and quarry workers and related operatives) is listed as not eligible for the Skilled Worker, Global Business Mobility and Scale-up routes in Table 6 of Appendix Skilled Occupations.
What is SOC code 8132?
8132 is the SOC 2020 code for Mining and quarry workers and related operatives. Quarry workers erect supports in underground workings, set and detonate explosives to loosen rocks and set up and operate drilling equipment to extract coal and other minerals from the ground, and operate machinery to wash, crush or separate stone and ores.
What job titles use SOC code 8132?
GOV.UK lists: Coal miners and quarry workers, Offshore drilling workers, Mining and quarry workers and related operatives not elsewhere classified.
Sources
- Skilled Worker visa: eligible occupations and codes (GOV.UK, updated 29 April 2026)
- Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Occupations (GOV.UK, updated 29 October 2026)
- Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Worker (GOV.UK, updated 29 October 2026)
- ONS SOC 2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions of unit groups
Compiled by SWC Editorial Team from the sources above. An information summary, not immigration advice. Report an error on this page.