Does the Shortage Occupation List still exist?

No. The Shortage Occupation List was abolished and replaced by the Immigration Salary List (ISL) on 4 April 2024. If a page or agency still refers to the "Shortage Occupation List" for a current UK visa application, it is out of date — the live mechanism is the ISL, and the Government has said it intends to introduce a time-limited Temporary Shortage List alongside it (planned to run until 31 December 2026, and not yet in force as of July 2026).

What does being on the Immigration Salary List actually do?

Roles on the ISL benefit from a lower general salary floor than the standard Skilled Worker threshold — you can be sponsored at a reduced minimum salary. Unlike the old Shortage Occupation List, the ISL does not give a discount on the "going rate" for the job. It is a narrower list than its predecessor, and the Government reviews it on advice from the Migration Advisory Committee.

Do doctors and nurses need to be on the list?

Generally no. Doctors, nurses, midwives, paramedics, pharmacists and many allied health professionals qualify for the Health and Care Worker visa on their national pay scale, so they do not rely on the Immigration Salary List. The list matters more at the margins — for roles that sit near the general salary threshold, or where an employer wants to sponsor at the reduced floor of at least £25,000.

Which healthcare roles are on the Immigration Salary List?

The healthcare and social-care sector is the largest category on the list, and it has historically included a range of nursing and allied-health roles. The exact occupations change when the list is reviewed, so we deliberately do not reproduce a frozen list here — check the live "Skilled Worker visa: immigration salary list" publication on GOV.UK for the current occupations and the salary that applies in your part of the UK.

What is the Temporary Shortage List?

The Temporary Shortage List (TSL) is a planned, time-limited list that the Government has said will sit alongside the Immigration Salary List until 31 December 2026, allowing sponsorship for certain roles below the main skill threshold on a temporary basis. As of July 2026 it is a policy proposal that is not yet in force, so treat any specific TSL job list with caution and confirm the current rules on GOV.UK.

The Shortage Occupation List for healthcare — now the Immigration Salary List

The rules changed. The UK Shortage Occupation List was replaced by the Immigration Salary List on 4 April 2024, and a lot of guidance online is out of date. Here is a plain-English, fully-sourced explanation of what the list does now, which healthcare roles qualify, and — the part most guides miss — why most NHS clinical jobs do not depend on it at all.

Which healthcare roles are on the UK Shortage Occupation List?

There is no longer a Shortage Occupation List — it was replaced by the Immigration Salary List (ISL) on 4 April 2024. The ISL gives a lower general salary floor for a shorter list of jobs. Importantly, most NHS clinical roles — doctors, nurses, midwives, many allied health professionals — do not depend on the ISL at all, because they already qualify through the Health and Care Worker visa on national pay scales. As of July 2026, always check the live ISL on GOV.UK.

Source:GOV.UK — Skilled Worker visa: immigration salary list·as of July 2026updated reviewed quarterly (last: 3 July 2026)

What changed, and when

From Shortage Occupation List to Immigration Salary List (source: GOV.UK)
	Old: Shortage Occupation List	Now: Immigration Salary List
Status	Abolished	Live since 4 April 2024
Salary benefit	Lower threshold + 20% going-rate discount	Lower general salary floor only (no going-rate discount)
Breadth	Broader list	Narrower list
Reviewed by	Migration Advisory Committee	Migration Advisory Committee
Coming alongside	—	Temporary Shortage List (planned to 31 December 2026; not yet in force)

Contains public sector information published by UK Home Office and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: GOV.UK — Skilled Worker visa: immigration salary list (July 2026).

Contains public sector information published by UK Home Office and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: GOV.UK — Health and Care Worker visa: your job (July 2026).

The point most guides miss: clinicians usually do not need the list

If you are a doctor, nurse, midwife, paramedic, pharmacist or many kinds of allied health professional, your route into the UK is normally the Health and Care Worker visa, where you are paid on a recognised national pay scale. That means the Immigration Salary List is largely irrelevant to you — it is not a gate you have to pass. The list matters mainly for roles that sit close to the general salary threshold, or where an employer wants to sponsor at the reduced floor. Do not let an out-of-date "is my job on the shortage list?" checklist put you off a route you already qualify for.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Shortage Occupation List still exist?: No. The Shortage Occupation List was abolished and replaced by the Immigration Salary List (ISL) on 4 April 2024. If a page or agency still refers to the "Shortage Occupation List" for a current UK visa application, it is out of date — the live mechanism is the ISL, and the Government has said it intends to introduce a time-limited Temporary Shortage List alongside it (planned to run until 31 December 2026, and not yet in force as of July 2026).
What does being on the Immigration Salary List actually do?: Roles on the ISL benefit from a lower general salary floor than the standard Skilled Worker threshold — you can be sponsored at a reduced minimum salary. Unlike the old Shortage Occupation List, the ISL does not give a discount on the "going rate" for the job. It is a narrower list than its predecessor, and the Government reviews it on advice from the Migration Advisory Committee.
Do doctors and nurses need to be on the list?: Generally no. Doctors, nurses, midwives, paramedics, pharmacists and many allied health professionals qualify for the Health and Care Worker visa on their national pay scale, so they do not rely on the Immigration Salary List. The list matters more at the margins — for roles that sit near the general salary threshold, or where an employer wants to sponsor at the reduced floor of at least £25,000.
Which healthcare roles are on the Immigration Salary List?: The healthcare and social-care sector is the largest category on the list, and it has historically included a range of nursing and allied-health roles. The exact occupations change when the list is reviewed, so we deliberately do not reproduce a frozen list here — check the live "Skilled Worker visa: immigration salary list" publication on GOV.UK for the current occupations and the salary that applies in your part of the UK.
What is the Temporary Shortage List?: The Temporary Shortage List (TSL) is a planned, time-limited list that the Government has said will sit alongside the Immigration Salary List until 31 December 2026, allowing sponsorship for certain roles below the main skill threshold on a temporary basis. As of July 2026 it is a policy proposal that is not yet in force, so treat any specific TSL job list with caution and confirm the current rules on GOV.UK.

Check the route that actually applies to you

For most clinicians the Health and Care Worker visa — not the salary list — is the real path. Read the visa explainer and our honest pros-and-cons guides.

Health & Care Worker visa explained Is it worth moving to the UK?

Country pathway pages

Editorial data review: figures on this page are drawn directly from the official public source cited here and were cross-checked against that source at publication; derived values (percentages, medians, index scores) are computed from those published figures using the stated methodology — nothing is estimated or invented. Last reviewed: 3 July 2026. This page is general information, not medical advice.