The UK government has published its Skilled Worker visa Temporary Shortage List, naming 70 medium-skilled job roles that remain open to foreign workers, in guidance from UK Visas and Immigration reported this week (18–19 October 2026). The roles cover trades, technicians, IT support, finance, logistics and the creative sector — jobs that would otherwise fall below the Skilled Worker’s usual degree-level threshold. There is, however, a hard deadline attached: for any of these roles to qualify, the employer must issue the worker’s Certificate of Sponsorship before 31 December 2026, after which the list expires and no new sponsorships can be issued for them unless the government extends the scheme.
What happened
Since the UK raised the Skilled Worker skill threshold, most roles below degree level can no longer be sponsored. The Temporary Shortage List is the exception: a fixed set of occupations the government accepts are in genuine shortage, which stay sponsor-eligible for a limited time. The published list of 70 roles includes managers in logistics, laboratory technicians, electrical, engineering and building technicians, quality assurance technicians, CAD technicians, IT operations and user support technicians, database administrators, data analysts, legal associate professionals, insurance underwriters, financial and accounting technicians, welding trades, pipe fitters, electricians, plumbers, vehicle technicians, steel erectors, floorers and wall tilers, painters and decorators and construction supervisors, alongside creative roles such as dancers, photographers and designers.
Under the guidance, a worker whose job appears on the list can apply for entry clearance from abroad, switch into the Skilled Worker route from another visa inside the UK, or extend existing Skilled Worker permission. Eight conditions govern eligibility, covering the sponsorship deadline, the occupation code, and how salary is assessed.
Who this affects
Technicians, tradespeople and mid-skilled professionals abroad
This is the group with the most to gain — and the least time. If your occupation is on the list, a UK employer can still sponsor you even though your role sits below the route’s normal skill level. That route closes for new sponsorships at the end of 2026, so an application that drifts into January is not a late application; it is no application at all.
Workers already in the UK
If you are in Britain on another visa route, a listed role lets you switch into Skilled Worker permission. If you already hold Skilled Worker permission in a listed occupation, you can extend it — but the same 31 December 2026 sponsorship deadline applies.
Care workers
Care workers under occupation codes 6135 and 6136 face an extra condition: you must have been legally employed by your sponsoring organisation under one of those codes for at least three months before your Certificate of Sponsorship is issued, and your application must be submitted before 22 July 2028. Workers who already hold Skilled Worker permission under those codes are exempt from that condition.
What job seekers should do now
- Check your exact occupation code. Eligibility turns on the SOC 2020 occupation code, not the job title an employer uses in an advert. Confirm your role appears on the Temporary Shortage List under an eligible code — the government provides the CASCOT occupation coding tool for this — before you spend time or money on an application.
- Understand the salary test. You must meet one of five salary benchmarks — £41,700, £37,500, £33,400, £31,300 or £28,200 depending on your route and circumstances — and also satisfy the going rate for your specific occupation code. Note the calculation rule: if you work more than 48 hours a week, only earnings within the first 48 hours count towards the threshold, so a 60-hour week at £15 an hour is assessed as £37,440 a year, not £46,800.
- Know which rate applies to you. Workers whose first Certificate of Sponsorship was issued after 4 April 2024 are assessed at the standard rate; those sponsored before that date who have held Skilled Worker permission continuously since then qualify for the lower rate.
- Move now, not in December. Your sponsor must issue your Certificate of Sponsorship before 31 December 2026. Finding a licensed sponsor, agreeing terms and completing the paperwork takes weeks, so start with current openings on our Jobs in UK page, or search every vacancy on the Find Jobs page, and treat any employer who asks you to pay for a Certificate of Sponsorship as a warning sign — sponsorship costs are the employer’s, not yours.
Why this deadline is different
Shortage lists usually change gradually, with roles added and removed over time. This one simply ends. The 70 roles were kept eligible as a temporary bridge, and the published guidance is clear that after 31 December 2026 no new sponsorship certificates can be issued for them unless ministers decide to extend the scheme. For foreign workers in that technician and trades band, the next ten weeks are the window.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Temporary Shortage List the same as the old Shortage Occupation List?
No. It is a separate, time-limited list of medium-skilled roles that stay eligible for Skilled Worker sponsorship despite sitting below the route’s usual degree-level threshold. It expires after 31 December 2026 unless extended.
Can I apply from outside the UK?
Yes. Workers whose jobs appear on the list can apply for entry clearance from abroad, switch routes inside the UK, or extend existing Skilled Worker permission, provided all the conditions are met.
What salary do I need?
You must meet one of five benchmarks — £41,700, £37,500, £33,400, £31,300 or £28,200, depending on your route and circumstances — and the going rate for your occupation code. Only earnings from your first 48 hours per week count towards the threshold.
What happens if my Certificate of Sponsorship is issued on 2 January 2027?
It would be too late for a Temporary Shortage List role. The certificate must be issued before 31 December 2026 for the listed role to qualify, unless the government extends the scheme.
Sources: Nigeria Communications Week, “UK Opens Temporary Visas for Welders, Dancers, Others”, published 18 October 2026: https://nigeriacommunicationsweek.com.ng/2026/10/18/uk-opens-temporary-visas-for-welders-dancers-others — YEN.com.gh, “UK Publishes 70 Jobs With Shortage of Workers for Foreigners to Apply”, published 19 October 2026: https://yen.com.gh/people/314027-uk-publishes-70-jobs-shortage-workers-foreigners-apply/ — GhanaMMA, “UK Publishes 8 Requirements Foreigners Must Meet To Apply for 70 Jobs Facing a Worker Shortage”, published 19 October 2026: https://www.ghanamma.com/2026/10/19/uk-publishes-8-requirements-foreigners-must-meet-to-apply-for-70-jobs-facing-a-worker-shortage/
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