SOC 2020 code 6131 · Caring, leisure and other service occupations

Healthcare assistant visa sponsorship UK: on the shortage list until 31 December 2026 (SOC 6131)

Official occupation name: Nursing auxiliaries and assistants

Yes, for now

Can a new applicant be sponsored in this job today?

Yes, for now. Nursing auxiliaries and assistants (SOC 6131) 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. 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
Band 3, England: £24,071; lowest band open to new applicants

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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 6131

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).

Shortage lists

Immigration Salary List

Until 31 December 2026

Covers: all jobs. Note: For Skilled Worker purposes, SOC 2020 occupation code 6131 only applies to roles in environments where registered nurse or other registered healthcare professional roles also exist.

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 6131 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 6131 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
Band	England	Scotland	Wales	Northern Ireland
Band 3lowest band open to new applicants	£24,071	£26,869	£24,433	£22,816
Band 4	£26,530	£29,116	£26,928	£25,147
Band 5	£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 6131

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.

Auxiliary nurse
Health care assistant (hospital service)
Health care support worker
Nursing assistant
Nursing auxiliary
Blood donor carers and phlebotomists
First aid trainers
Maternity care assistants
Occupational therapy assistants
Physiotherapy assistants
Radiography assistants
Speech and language therapy assistants
Sterile services assistants
Theatre assistants (excludes entertainment)
Nursing auxiliaries and assistants 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 6131, 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 613

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 healthcare assistants be sponsored for a UK Skilled Worker visa?

Is SOC 6131 (nursing auxiliaries and assistants) 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 healthcare assistants get a Health and Care Worker visa?

Yes. Code 6131 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 6131. 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.