SOC 2020 code 3213 · Associate professional occupations
Can medical and dental technicians get a Skilled Worker visa? (SOC 3213)
Can a new applicant be sponsored in this job today?
No, not for a new applicant. Medical and dental technicians (SOC 3213) 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 3213
Appendix Skilled Occupations lists this code in Table 3a, 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.
Health and Care Worker visa
Gov.uk lists code 3213 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.
Health and Care Worker visa: your job · different salary requirements · overview
Pay scale
The going rate for code 3213 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.
| Band | England | Scotland | Wales | Northern 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 3213
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.
- Cardiographer
- Dental hygienist
- Dental technician
- Medical technical officer
- Ocularist
- Orthopaedic technician
- Radiography assistant practitioner
- Cardiac technicians
- Hearing aid dispensers
- Hearing screeners
- Nursing associates
- Orthotic and prosthetic technicians
- Medical and dental technicians 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 3213, 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)
These employers hold licences for the roles they can sponsor. A licence does not make this occupation eligible.
Common questions
Can medical and dental technicians be sponsored for a UK Skilled Worker visa?
No, not for a new applicant. Medical and dental technicians (SOC 3213) 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.
Is SOC 3213 (medical and dental technicians) 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 medical and dental technicians get a Health and Care Worker visa?
Only to extend or update. Gov.uk lists code 3213 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.