SOC 2020 code 1231 · Managers, directors and senior officials
Can health care practice managers get a Skilled Worker visa? (SOC 1231)
Can a new applicant be sponsored in this job today?
No, not for a new applicant. Health care practice managers (SOC 1231) is a medium-skilled occupation, and since 22 July 2025 the rules only allow it for people already sponsored in it: granted Skilled Worker permission under the rules before 22 July 2025, and holding it continuously since.
Checked against gov.uk on 23 October 2026. Sources: Appendix Skilled Occupations, Appendix Skilled Worker, Health and Care Worker visa: your job.
What the rules say about code 1231
Appendix Skilled Occupations lists this code in Table 1a, and the gov.uk eligible occupations table labels it “Medium Skilled”.
Tables 1a and 3a are for medium-skilled occupations (RQF levels 3 to 5). Since 22 July 2025, sponsors may only use them for someone granted Skilled Worker permission under the rules in place before 22 July 2025 who has held it continuously since, unless the job is on the Temporary Shortage List or the Immigration Salary List (Appendix Skilled Worker SW 6.1). This code is on neither list.
Appendix Skilled Occupations gives a going rate of £40,400, alongside the £41,700 general threshold, and a lower going rate of £32,600, with a £31,300 floor, for people first granted Skilled Worker permission under the rules before 4 April 2024 who apply before 4 April 2030. Which of these applies depends on the person's own visa history.
Health and Care Worker visa
Gov.uk lists code 1231 for the Health and Care Worker visa only for people extending or updating it who got their certificate of sponsorship before 22 July 2025 and have held a Health and Care Worker or Skilled Worker visa continuously since.
It is also one of the ten “Health and Care ASHE salary jobs” in Appendix Skilled Worker (SW A1.1) when the sponsor is, for example, an NHS trust, a provider registered with the Care Quality Commission, or another listed health or care body. Those jobs are paid against the lower going rate (£32,600 a year for this code), with lower floors.
Health and Care Worker visa: your job · different salary requirements · overview
Job titles in code 1231
Examples from the Immigration Rules and the gov.uk eligible occupations table. They are examples, not the full list: a job belongs in this code because of its duties, whatever it is called.
- Dental practice managers
- Medical practice managers
- Opticians managers
- Veterinary practice managers
- Health care practice managers not elsewhere classified
Who chooses the occupation code
The employer does, not you and not GoRizzume. The sponsor picks the code when it assigns the Certificate of Sponsorship, and Appendix Skilled Worker (SW 6.2) lets the Home Office refuse the application if it has reasonable grounds to believe a less appropriate code was chosen because the right one is not eligible, has a higher going rate, or is not on the Immigration Salary List. The duties decide the code, not the job title.
So treat this page as the rules for code 1231, not a verdict on any particular offer. Ask the employer which code they will use, then check that code. If you are unsure, the CASCOT coding tool suggests codes for a job title, and gov.uk says to make sure the description matches what you will actually do.
Other occupations in minor group 123
Nearby occupations that are open to new applicants
Codes in the same part of the classification that a new applicant can be sponsored in today. They are only relevant if the actual job fits one of them: re-labelling a job does not work (see above).
- 1241 Managers in transport and distributionEligible
- 1243 Managers in logisticsShortage list to 31 December 2026
- 1212 Managers and proprietors in forestry, fishing and related servicesSome jobs only
- 1254 Waste disposal and environmental services managersEligible
- 1255 Managers and directors in the creative industriesEligible
- 1258 Directors in consultancy servicesShortage list to 31 December 2026
Find an employer that can sponsor
Only an employer on the Home Office register of licensed sponsors can sponsor a Skilled Worker visa, and a licence means they can sponsor eligible roles, not that every job comes with sponsorship.
- Search the register of licensed sponsors
- Check one employer's licence, free
- Work out the salary for a specific offer
- Every occupation code and its answer
- Health and medical employers with a licence in London (752)
- Health and medical employers with a licence in Birmingham (95)
- Health and medical employers with a licence in Manchester (83)
- Health and medical employers with a licence in Liverpool (70)
These employers hold licences for the roles they can sponsor. A licence does not make this occupation eligible.
Common questions
Can health care practice managers be sponsored for a UK Skilled Worker visa?
No, not for a new applicant. Health care practice managers (SOC 1231) is a medium-skilled occupation, and since 22 July 2025 the rules only allow it for people already sponsored in it: granted Skilled Worker permission under the rules before 22 July 2025, and holding it continuously since. Checked against gov.uk on 23 October 2026.
What salary do health care practice managers need to extend a Skilled Worker visa?
No salary opens this job to a new applicant. Appendix Skilled Occupations gives a going rate of £40,400, alongside the £41,700 general threshold, and a lower going rate of £32,600, with a £31,300 floor, for people first granted Skilled Worker permission under the rules before 4 April 2024 who apply before 4 April 2030. Which applies depends on the person's own visa history, so check it with the employer or a regulated adviser.
Is SOC 1231 (health care practice managers) on a UK shortage list?
No. It is on neither the Temporary Shortage List nor the Immigration Salary List. Checked against gov.uk on 23 October 2026.
Can health care practice managers get a Health and Care Worker visa?
Only to extend or update. Gov.uk lists code 1231 for people extending or updating a Health and Care Worker visa who got their certificate of sponsorship before 22 July 2025 and have held a Health and Care Worker or Skilled Worker visa continuously since.
Who decides which occupation code goes on a Certificate of Sponsorship?
The employer. The sponsor chooses the code when it assigns the certificate, and the Home Office can refuse the application if it has reason to think a less appropriate code was chosen to get round the eligibility or salary rules. A job title alone does not decide the code: the duties do. Ask the employer which code the offer will use.
Rules checked against gov.uk on 23 October 2026. Occupation codes are SOC 2020. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.