SOC 2020 code 3212 · Associate professional occupations
Pharmacy technician visa sponsorship UK: on the shortage list until 31 December 2026 (SOC 3212)
Official occupation name: Pharmaceutical technicians
Can a new applicant be sponsored in this job today?
Yes, for now. Pharmaceutical technicians (SOC 3212) is a medium-skilled occupation, and since 22 July 2025 the rules only open those to new applicants while they are on a shortage list. This one is on the Immigration Salary List, which covers certificates of sponsorship issued before 31 December 2026. The job must pay at least £33,400 a year.
- Salary needed (salary list)
- £33,400
- a year at 37.5 hours a week
- Health and Care ASHE salary job
- £25,000
- with an NHS body or regulated care provider
The going rate for this code and the reduced minimum for jobs on the Immigration Salary List are both £33,400. Going rates are set for a 37.5-hour week (£17.13 an hour for this code) and are pro-rated to the hours on your contract. The flat minimums are not reduced for part-time hours, so a part-time job can meet its pro-rated going rate and still fall short.
Checked against gov.uk on 23 October 2026. Sources: Appendix Skilled Occupations, Appendix Skilled Worker, Appendix Immigration Salary List, Health and Care Worker visa: your job.
What the rules say about code 3212
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 not eligible for PhD points, so a doctorate does not lower the salary needed.
Shortage lists
Immigration Salary List
Until 31 December 2026Covers: all jobs.
Listed in every UK nation. A job on the list needs at least £33,400 and the going rate, rather than £41,700, and gov.uk says the visa fee is lower. The certificate of sponsorship must be issued before the removal date. Appendix Immigration Salary List.
Health and Care Worker visa
Gov.uk lists code 3212 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.
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 (£25,000 a year for this code), with lower floors.
| Option | Rule | At least |
|---|---|---|
| F | £31,300 and the lower going rate | £31,300 |
| I | On the Immigration Salary List: £25,000 and the lower going rate | £25,000 |
| J | New entrant: £25,000 and 70% of the lower going rate | £25,000 |
Health and Care Worker visa: your job · different salary requirements · overview
Job titles in code 3212
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.
- Pharmaceutical technicians
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 3212, 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 321
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)
Common questions
Can pharmacy technicians be sponsored for a UK Skilled Worker visa?
Yes, for now. Pharmaceutical technicians (SOC 3212) is a medium-skilled occupation, and since 22 July 2025 the rules only open those to new applicants while they are on a shortage list. This one is on the Immigration Salary List, which covers certificates of sponsorship issued before 31 December 2026. The job must pay at least £33,400 a year. Checked against gov.uk on 23 October 2026.
What salary do pharmacy technicians need for a Skilled Worker visa?
At least £33,400 a year for a 37.5-hour week. The going rate for this code and the reduced minimum for jobs on the Immigration Salary List are both £33,400. If the job counts as a Health and Care ASHE salary job (for example with an NHS body or a provider registered with the Care Quality Commission), the rules use a lower going rate and floor: £25,000.
Is SOC 3212 (pharmaceutical technicians) on a UK shortage list?
It is on the Immigration Salary List (all jobs) in every UK nation, until 31 December 2026. Checked against gov.uk on 23 October 2026.
Can pharmacy technicians get a Health and Care Worker visa?
Yes. Code 3212 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.
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.