Understanding the UK Points-Based System

Under the UK points-based system, a visa applicant must score a minimum number of points — usually 70 — to be eligible. Points are awarded for meeting specific criteria. These criteria fall into two categories:

• Mandatory points — Points that cannot be traded or substituted. For the Skilled Worker Visa, the mandatory elements are: a job offer from an approved sponsor (20 points), a job at the required skill level (20 points), and English language ability (10 points). These 50 points are non-negotiable.
• Tradeable points — The remaining 20 points can be scored in different ways, providing some flexibility. For the Skilled Worker Visa, tradeable points can be met by: meeting the general salary threshold (20 points), or a combination of a lower salary with a role in a shortage occupation or a PhD relevant to the role.

The tradeable element means that an applicant with a job offer below the standard salary threshold might still qualify if the role is on the Immigration Salary List (formerly the Shortage Occupation List), or if they hold a PhD in a relevant subject. However, the salary must still meet an absolute minimum — the "going rate floor."

The following routes operate under the points-based system:

• Skilled Worker — The main route for employment. Requires a job at RQF3+ skill level (roughly A-level equivalent), an approved sponsor, and salary at or above the relevant threshold.
• Health and Care Worker — A sub-route of Skilled Worker for eligible health and social care roles with reduced fees.
• Student — For those studying a full-time degree or other qualifying course at a licensed student sponsor institution.
• Graduate — Available to international students after completing a UK degree, providing 2 years (3 for PhD) of work permission without a sponsor.
• Senior or Specialist Worker (previously ICT) — For multinational company employees transferring to the UK branch.
• International Sportsperson — For elite sportspeople and coaches.
• Minister of Religion — For leaders in a religious community.

Routes outside the PBS include: the Spouse/Partner Visa, Ancestry Visa, Global Talent Visa, Innovator Founder Visa, and the various humanitarian routes.

Salary thresholds under the Skilled Worker route are reviewed annually. The general threshold is now £41,700 gross per year (up from £26,200 in 2024). However, specific occupation going rates may be higher or lower than this figure — the applicable threshold is the higher of the general threshold and the going rate for the specific occupation.

New entrant rates (for those at the start of their career, recent graduates, or those switching from a student visa) allow a salary of 70% of the standard going rate, with a floor of £33,400. This recognises that new entrants typically earn less than experienced workers in the same role.

Tradeable points allow some further reductions — for roles on the Immigration Salary List, a 20% discount on the general threshold is permitted (but the going rate must still be met). For PhD-relevant roles, a 20% discount on the general threshold applies (again subject to the going rate floor). These discounts cannot be combined.

One of the distinctive features of the points-based system is that most PBS refusals — Skilled Worker, Student, Graduate, Health and Care Worker, Scale-up, and similar routes — carry a right to administrative review rather than a right of appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber). This reflects the PBS design principle that the system should be objective and verifiable, with decisions made on clear documentary evidence against precise numerical thresholds, such that a re-examination of the same evidence (rather than a fresh hearing) should be sufficient to correct genuine errors.

Administrative review can be sought where the applicant believes the original decision maker made a caseworking error: for example, failing to credit a tradeable point for a shortage occupation role, miscalculating the salary against the going rate, applying the wrong occupation code, or failing to consider a document that was clearly submitted with the application. Administrative review is not a forum for arguing that the rules themselves are unfair, or for submitting new evidence about different facts. The reviewer considers only what was before the original decision maker. The fee is £80 for in-country reviews (free overseas) and the time limit is 14 days (in-country) or 28 days (overseas) from the decision date.

For complex PBS cases — particularly those involving multiple tradeable points combinations, unusual occupation code classifications, or genuinely borderline salary calculations — obtaining pre-application advice from an OISC-regulated adviser is significantly more cost-effective than dealing with a refusal and administrative review after the fact. The OISC maintains a public register of regulated immigration advisers, searchable by postcode and specialism. Level 3 OISC advisers and immigration solicitors on the Law Society's immigration accreditation scheme are authorised to handle the most complex cases. For cases involving judicial review of PBS decisions — which arises where administrative review has failed and there are arguable legal grounds — an immigration solicitor with judicial review experience is essential, as this is specialist Upper Tribunal litigation that requires precise legal drafting and a thorough understanding of the PBS rules.