SOC 2020 code 6135 · Caring, leisure and other service occupations
Care worker visa sponsorship UK: can you still be sponsored? (SOC 6135)
Official occupation name: Care workers and home carers
Can a new applicant be sponsored in this job today?
Not from outside the UK. Since 22 July 2025 the rules only allow care workers (SOC 6135) to be sponsored from inside the UK: someone already sponsored as a care worker or senior care worker, or someone switching from another visa who has worked legally for the sponsor in the role for at least 3 months, applying before 22 July 2028. In England the employer must also be registered with the Care Quality Commission.
- 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 6135
Appendix Skilled Occupations lists this code in Table 1a, and the gov.uk eligible occupations table labels it “Medium Skilled – Subject to listed conditions”.
Care workers (6135) and senior care workers (6136) have their own rule, SW 6.1B. The application must be for permission to stay, which means it is made from inside the UK, and one of these must be true:
- the applicant already has Skilled Worker permission sponsored as a care worker or senior care worker; or
- the applicant has worked legally for the sponsor in one of these jobs for at least 3 months up to the date the certificate of sponsorship was issued, and applies before 22 July 2028.
For a job based in England, the sponsor must be registered with the Care Quality Commission and carrying on a regulated activity. The Immigration Salary List entry for this code says private households and individuals cannot sponsor, other than sole traders sponsoring someone to work for their business.
In plain terms: the rules no longer let an employer bring a care worker from abroad on a new Skilled Worker visa. Someone already in the UK on another visa, who has been working legally for the care provider in the role, may be able to switch before the date above.
This code is not eligible for PhD points, so a doctorate does not lower the salary needed.
Shortage lists
Immigration Salary List
Until 22 July 2028Covers: all jobs, except jobs with a working location in England are only eligible in this SOC 2020 occupation code where the sponsor holds registration with the Care Quality Commission and is currently carrying on a regulated activity. Eligibility for Skilled Worker applicants to be sponsored in this SOC 2020 occupation code is restricted, as set out in SW 6.1B of Appendix Skilled Worker. Private households or individuals (other than sole traders sponsoring someone to work for their business) cannot sponsor Skilled Worker applicants.
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 6135 for the Health and Care Worker visa only when extending, updating or switching to it, not for a first application from abroad. Someone switching from a different visa must have been working legally in the job for their sponsor for at least 3 months.
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 6135
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 support workers
- Home care workers
- Residential care workers
- Care workers and home carers 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 6135, 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
- 6131 Nursing auxiliaries and assistantsShortage list to 31 December 2026
- 6132 Ambulance staff (excluding paramedics)Existing visa holders only
- 6133 Dental nursesExisting visa holders only
- 6134 Houseparents and residential wardensExisting visa holders only
- 6136 Senior care workersIn-UK switches only
- 6137 Care escortsNot eligible
- 6138 Undertakers, mortuary and crematorium assistantsNot eligible
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
- Care providers with a licence in London (501)
- Care providers with a licence in Birmingham (159)
- Care providers with a licence in Leicester (111)
- Care providers with a licence in Nottingham (85)
Common questions
Can care workers be sponsored for a UK Skilled Worker visa?
Not from outside the UK. Since 22 July 2025 the rules only allow care workers (SOC 6135) to be sponsored from inside the UK: someone already sponsored as a care worker or senior care worker, or someone switching from another visa who has worked legally for the sponsor in the role for at least 3 months, applying before 22 July 2028. In England the employer must also be registered with the Care Quality Commission. Checked against gov.uk on 23 October 2026.
What salary do care workers 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 6135 (care workers and home carers) on a UK shortage list?
It is on the Immigration Salary List (all jobs, except jobs with a working location in England are only eligible in this SOC 2020 occupation code where the sponsor holds registration with the Care Quality Commission and is currently carrying on a regulated activity) in every UK nation, until 22 July 2028. Checked against gov.uk on 23 October 2026.
Can care workers get a Health and Care Worker visa?
Only from inside the UK. Gov.uk lists code 6135 as eligible for extending, updating or switching to a Health and Care Worker visa, and someone switching from a different visa must have worked legally for their sponsor in the job for at least 3 months.
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.