Method
How we check visa fit
Every job on SponsorJobs is at a Home Office-licensed sponsor. A licence means the employer can sponsor, not that every role qualifies. So we read each advert and check the role against the Skilled Worker rules.
What the labels on a job mean
Each job shows one label. It combines two things: what the advert says about sponsorship, and our own check of the role's skill level and pay. The advert's words win. Our check shows as the symbol: a filled circle () means the role passes it, a half circle () borderline, an empty circle () below the visa rules. It is our reading of the advert, not a guarantee.
| Label | What it means |
|---|---|
| Sponsorship offered | The advert offers sponsorship It states visa sponsorship is available for this role. The exact sentence is on the job page. We only show it when we have the exact sentence from the advert. It is the employer's statement, not a guarantee, and our own check of skill level and pay can still differ, so read the salary. |
| May sponsor | The advert says it may sponsor Filled circle. Our check: skill level and pay meet the Skilled Worker rules. Half circle. Our check: skill level or pay is near the threshold, so it depends on the offer. The advert keeps the door open; it does not promise sponsorship for this role. If our check finds the role below the visa rules, the label is In-UK only instead. |
| Sponsorable | Sponsorable from abroad Our check: skill level and pay meet the Skilled Worker rules for a new visa (or a health / education exception). The role is at RQF level 6 or above (degree level) and the pay isn't below £41,700, or it's a health or education job on a national pay scale (floor £25,000). |
| Borderline | Borderline for a visa Middle skill level or pay near the threshold. It may qualify, for example through a shortage list or a new-entrant rate. Middle skill level (RQF 3–5), or pay between £33,400 and £41,700. Some people still qualify, for example through the Temporary Shortage List or the new-entrant rate for under-26s and recent graduates. |
| In-UK only | If you're already in the UK Below the skill or pay level for a new Skilled Worker visa from abroad. It may still work for someone already on a UK visa. The advert offers sponsorship only to candidates already living in the UK, for example switching from a Student or Graduate visa. Below RQF 3, pay under £33,400, or a care worker role. A new Skilled Worker visa from abroad isn't possible, but someone already in the UK may be able to switch, for example under transitional rules. |
| No label, roles nobody can be sponsored for | Zero-hours or bank work, self-employed or commission-only roles. Pay has to be guaranteed and the job has to be a real employee role. |
| No label, not enough to say | The advert doesn't tell us enough to say. |
If the advert offers sponsorship for this role, we trust the employer on pay and role type. Entry-level roles below RQF 3 stay closed even then: the Skilled Worker route can't sponsor them. A general line such as "applications from people who need sponsorship are welcome" isn't an offer for the role. The "Visa fit" filter on the jobs page uses the same labels.
How we read an advert
A language model reads every advert when it arrives and answers a fixed set of questions: the skill level, the pay, whether hours are guaranteed, whether it's an employee role, and what it says about sponsorship. Rules then turn those answers into the label. The model only answers when it is confident. When it can't tell the skill level of a senior role, we mark it borderline; for junior roles we say nothing. It is automated, so it can be wrong. Please read the full advert.
How Recommended is ordered
The default order on the jobs page ranks each job, not each company, by:
| Visa fit | Sponsorable counts most, then borderline. In-UK only comes last. |
|---|---|
| Skill level | Degree-level roles rank above middle-skill ones, and those above entry-level ones. |
| What the advert says | Adverts that offer sponsorship, or say they may, get a boost. |
| Freshness | New adverts first. After 30 days an advert drops to the end. |
| Recruitment agencies | Listed lower. The sponsor licence is the agency's, and the job is usually at a client that may not sponsor. Day-rate contracts are listed lower too. |
| Detail | A full description and a company logo help a little. |
Each employer appears once before any appears twice, and the first pages mix different fields. How many jobs an employer posts doesn't count. Nothing is hidden: "Latest" and search show every job. If you're signed in and told us you're coming from abroad, the default list skips jobs that can't be sponsored from abroad.
Occupation code and going rate
For jobs that are sponsorable or borderline, we read the job title, its field and the start of the advert and give it a 4-digit occupation code from the ONS Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 2020). Most titles match the ONS coding index directly; for the rest a language model picks from the few codes that fit the field. We then look the code up in the Home Office tables:
- Going rate: the minimum pay for that occupation, based on a 37.5-hour week (Appendix Skilled Occupations, updated 11 November 2025).
- Visa salary: the higher of the going rate and £41,700. On the Immigration Salary List it's the higher of the going rate and £33,400. New entrants (under 26, recent graduates and some others) need £33,400 and 70% of the going rate.
- Below degree level: only occupations on the Temporary Shortage List (certificates issued before 31 December 2026) or the Immigration Salary List are open to new applicants. Otherwise only people already on a Skilled Worker visa since before 22 July 2025 can be sponsored.
- Pay for this job: where the advert states pay, we compare it with the visa salary and with UK full-time pay for the occupation (ONS ASHE 2025). We don't compare part-time pay.
On a job card, "Visa salary £X" is what the job has to pay. ✓ means the stated pay meets it, ◐ the new-entrant rate only, ✗ below it; no mark means the advert gives no pay we can compare. The employer, not us, chooses the code on the Certificate of Sponsorship, and a different code can mean a different going rate. When we tested ourselves against hand-checked titles, the code led to the right going rate about 9 times in 10. When a director-level code (going rate £70K or more) isn't backed by the job title, we show only the general threshold of £41,700. Data: ONS and GOV.UK, Open Government Licence v3.0.
The rules we check against
Skilled Worker rules on GOV.UK, last checked on 27 September 2026: a new visa needs RQF level 6 or above and at least £41,700 (or the occupation's going rate, if higher). The new-entrant rate is £33,400. Health and education jobs on national pay scales need at least £25,000. Care worker roles closed to new applicants from abroad in July 2025. English: new applicants need level B2, see the English requirement guide. Read the salary rules and the Skilled Worker appendix.