SOC 2020 code 2236 · Professional occupations

Children’s nurse visa sponsorship UK: Health and Care Worker visa and pay (SOC 2236)

Official occupation name: Registered children’s nurses

Yes

Can a new applicant be sponsored in this job today?

Yes. Registered children’s nurses (SOC 2236) is on the list of eligible occupations in the Immigration Rules, so an employer with a sponsor licence can sponsor a new applicant in it. Its going rate is a national pay scale, so the job must pay at least £25,000 and the pay-scale rate for the role, whichever is higher. In roles paid on the NHS Agenda for Change scale, the rules only open band 5 and above to a new applicant.

Minimum
£25,000
or the pay-scale rate, if higher
Band 5, England
£29,970
lowest band open to new applicants

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 2236

Appendix Skilled Occupations lists this code in Table 3, and the gov.uk eligible occupations table labels it “Higher Skilled”.

Table 3 is for health and education occupations skilled to RQF level 6 or above whose going rates come from national pay scales. They use points option K: the job must pay at least £25,000 and the pay-scale rate for the role.

Health and Care Worker visa

Gov.uk lists code 2236 as eligible for the Health and Care Worker visa, including for a first application. That visa needs a job offer from the NHS, an organisation providing medical services to the NHS, or an organisation providing adult social care. Gov.uk says people on it, and their partner or children, do not pay the healthcare surcharge.

Health and Care Worker visa: your job · different salary requirements · overview

Pay scale

The going rate for code 2236 is a national pay scale, set out in Appendix Skilled Occupations (source: NHS Agenda for Change: England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland). The job must pay at least £25,000 and the rate for the role, whichever is higher, and the rate is pro-rated to the contracted hours.

Going rates in Table 4 are per year and based on a 37.5-hour week (in Scotland, a 37-hour week). Band 1 and band 2 jobs are not eligible to be sponsored. Except for “6131 Nursing auxiliaries and assistants”, sponsors may ONLY sponsor Skilled Worker applicants in band 3 and band 4 jobs if the applicant was granted permission as a Skilled Worker under the rules in place before 22 July 2025, and they have had continuous permission as a Skilled Worker since then. Band 1 to band 4 jobs are not eligible for the Global Business Mobility or Scale-up routes.

NHS Agenda for Change going rates by band and nation
BandEnglandScotlandWalesNorthern Ireland
Band 3£24,071£26,869£24,433£22,816
Band 4£26,530£29,116£26,928£25,147
Band 5lowest band open to new applicants£29,970£31,892£30,420£28,407
Band 6£37,338£39,912£37,898£35,392
Band 7£46,148£48,788£46,840£43,742
Band 8a£53,755£60,126£54,550£50,952
Band 8b£62,215£70,986£63,150£58,972
Band 8c£74,290£83,837£75,405£70,417
Band 8d£88,168£99,534£89,491£83,571
Band 9£105,385£117,732£106,967£99,891

Figures as published in Appendix Skilled Occupations, checked on 23 October 2026.

Job titles in code 2236

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.

  • Community children’s nurse
  • Neonatal nurse
  • Paediatric nurse
  • School nurse

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 2236, 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 223

Find an employer that can sponsor

Common questions

Can children’s nurses be sponsored for a UK Skilled Worker visa?

Yes. Registered children’s nurses (SOC 2236) is on the list of eligible occupations in the Immigration Rules, so an employer with a sponsor licence can sponsor a new applicant in it. Its going rate is a national pay scale, so the job must pay at least £25,000 and the pay-scale rate for the role, whichever is higher. In roles paid on the NHS Agenda for Change scale, the rules only open band 5 and above to a new applicant. Checked against gov.uk on 23 October 2026.

Is SOC 2236 (registered children’s nurses) 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 children’s nurses get a Health and Care Worker visa?

Yes. Code 2236 is on the gov.uk list of jobs eligible for the Health and Care Worker visa, which needs a job offer from the NHS, an organisation providing medical services to the NHS, or an organisation providing adult social care. Gov.uk says people on that visa, and their partner or children, do not pay the healthcare surcharge.

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.

This is information, not immigration advice. It sets out what the published Home Office rules say about occupation code 2236. It cannot see your history or your offer, and real cases turn on details it does not model. Confirm on gov.uk, ask the employer which code they will use, and take advice from an adviser regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority before making a decision that matters.

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.