SOC 2020 code 2253 · Professional occupations

Dentist visa sponsorship UK: Health and Care Worker visa and pay (SOC 2253)

Official occupation name: Dental practitioners

Yes

Can a new applicant be sponsored in this job today?

Yes. Dental practitioners (SOC 2253) 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.

Minimum: £25,000; or the pay-scale rate, if higher

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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 2253

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 2253 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 2253 is a national pay scale, set out in Appendix Skilled Occupations (source: Pay and Conditions Circular (M&D) 5/2024 R). 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.

England

Dental foundation training and equivalent: £38,472 (35-hour week)
Dental core training (hospital dental services) and equivalent: £49,909 (40-hour week)
Dental specialty training and equivalent: £61,825 (40-hour week)
Band A posts (for example, Community practitioner) and equivalent: £50,512 (37.5-hour week)
Band B posts (for example, Senior dental officer) and equivalent: £78,573 (37.5-hour week)
Band C posts (for example, Specialist / managerial posts) and equivalent: £94,007 (37.5-hour week)
Consultant and equivalent: £105,504 (40-hour week)
These going rates are per year and based on the weekly working hours stated above. They must be pro-rated for other working patterns, based on the weekly working hours stated by the applicant’s sponsor.

Scotland

Dental foundation training (Hospital dental services) known as Vocational Training in Scotland: £39,603 (based on a 35-hour week)
Dental core training and equivalent: £50,538
Band A posts (for example, Community practitioner) and equivalent: £52,035
Band B posts (for example, Senior dental officer) and equivalent: £80,942
Band C posts (for example, Specialist / managerial posts) and equivalent: £96,841
These going rates are per year and (unless otherwise stated) based on a 40-hour working week. They must be pro-rated for other working patterns, based on the weekly working hours stated by the applicant’s sponsor.

Wales

Dental foundation training (Hospital dental services) and equivalent: £38,292
Dental core training and equivalent: £41,269
Band A posts (for example, Community practitioner) and equivalent: £50,789
Band B posts (for example, Senior dental officer) and equivalent: £79,003
Band C posts (for example, Specialist / managerial posts) and equivalent: £94,525
Consultant and equivalent: £106,000 (37.5 hour week)
These going rates are per year and based on a 40 hour working week unless noted. They must be pro-rated for other working patterns, based on the weekly working hours stated by the applicant’s sponsor.

Northern Ireland

Dental foundation year two training (Hospital dental services) and equivalent: £36,371
Dental specialty training and equivalent: £38,780 (40-hour week)
Community Dental Officer and equivalent: £47,655 (37.5-hour week)
Senior community dental officer) and equivalent: £74,129 (37.5-hour week)
Specialist Community Dentist: £88,686 (37.5-hour week)
Assistant Community Clinical Director: £88,686 (37.5-hour week)
Community Clinical Director: £88,686 (37.5-hour week)
Administrative dentists: Dental Officer: £43,738 (37- hour week)
Senior Dental Officer: £62,500 (37-hour week),
Assistant clinical Director: £83,051 (37-hour week)
Clinical Director: £83,051 (37-hour week)
Consultant Northern Ireland: £94,127 (40-hour week)
These going rates are per year and based on the weekly working hours stated above. They must be pro-rated for other working patterns, based on the weekly working hours stated by the applicant’s sponsor.

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

Job titles in code 2253

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 surgeon
Dentist
Orthodontist
Periodontist
Dentists and dental surgeons
Endodontists
Dental practitioners 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 2253, 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 225

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.

Common questions

Can dentists be sponsored for a UK Skilled Worker visa?

Is SOC 2253 (dental practitioners) 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 dentists get a Health and Care Worker visa?

Yes. Code 2253 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 2253. 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.