UK Temporary Shortage List 2027: Complete Guide for Workers

The UK Temporary Shortage List 2027 will decide whether thousands of medium-skilled workers can still get sponsored jobs in Britain once the current interim list comes to an end. For anyone hoping to work in the UK without a university degree, this is one of the most important immigration changes to follow.

The current interim list covers 52 occupation codes and is set out in Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Worker, paragraph SW 6.1A. It only counts for certificates of sponsorship issued before 31 December 2026. After that date, the interim list ends, and what replaces it depends on a decision the government has not yet made.

What Is the UK Temporary Shortage List 2027?

The Temporary Shortage List (TSL) lets certain medium-skilled occupations at RQF Levels 3 to 5 qualify for Skilled Worker visa sponsorship. These are jobs roughly at A-level to foundation-degree level, below the degree-level threshold that now applies to most Skilled Worker roles. Without the list, many of these jobs would not be open to workers from outside the UK.

Since July 2025, the Skilled Worker baseline has been degree level, or RQF 6, which closed the route to most below-degree jobs overnight. The UK Temporary Shortage List 2027 is therefore not a small technical detail. Along with the Immigration Salary List, it is one of only two below-degree Skilled Worker options for applicants from outside the UK.

The list is meant to be a bridge, not a permanent door. It gives employers in key sectors time to train more workers in the UK while still filling genuine shortages from overseas. Each occupation must be backed by a Jobs Plan, a workforce strategy showing how the sector will make better use of the domestic workforce and reduce reliance on migration over time.

Why the Interim List Ends on 31 December 2026

The interim list was always a stopgap, put in place while the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) carried out a full review of which medium-skilled occupations should keep sponsored access. That review is now complete, but the interim list itself has a fixed end date, and it only counts for certificates of sponsorship issued before 31 December 2026.

This deadline matters because a certificate of sponsorship is the document a licensed employer issues before a worker can apply for the visa. If your certificate is issued on or before 31 December 2026 and your occupation is on the interim list, the current rules apply. If it is issued after that date, you will need to meet whatever rules replace the interim list, which have not been published yet.

The gap between the interim list ending and a new list being confirmed is the biggest source of uncertainty right now. The MAC has made its recommendations, but the MAC recommends and ministers decide. Until the Home Office responds and changes the Immigration Rules, the 28 occupations on the UK Temporary Shortage List 2027 as recommended are provisional, and sponsors must keep using the current interim list.

The MAC Stage 2 Report: 28 Occupations Recommended

The MAC published its Stage 2 report on the UK Temporary Shortage List 2027 on 23 July 2026. It is the second part of a review commissioned by the Home Secretary, answering the key question: which medium-skilled occupations should keep access to the Skilled Worker route, and for how long? The answer was much narrower than many employers had hoped.

The MAC considered 82 occupations at Stage 2 and received Jobs Plans for only 46 of them. It recommended 28 occupations for the new list and rejected 18. No occupation was recommended for the full three-year period, because no Jobs Plan was considered strong enough. Every recommended occupation gets 18 months only, expected to run from 1 January 2027 to 30 June 2028.

The scale of the change is clear from the visa numbers. For the UK Temporary Shortage List 2027, the MAC estimates that the 82 shortlisted occupations account for about 10,000 visas a year, while the 28 occupations it recommends account for about 4,000. If the recommendations are accepted, overseas recruitment in these medium-skilled roles would fall sharply, with the biggest drops in office-based jobs that need relatively generic skills.

The 18-month limit is deliberate: a probation period, not a settled arrangement. The MAC expects to review updated Jobs Plans when the 18 months expire, and future recommendations are likely to place even greater weight on the quality of those plans and on evidence that sectors are reducing reliance on migration.

Which Occupations Are In — and Which Are Out

The UK Temporary Shortage List 2027, as recommended, is concentrated in three areas: data and digital infrastructure, engineering and manufacturing technician roles, and construction and manufacturing trades. These are the sectors the MAC judged crucial to the Industrial Strategy or critical infrastructure, with evidence of shortage and a credible plan to train workers at home.

Recommended occupations include:

• Data analysts (SOC 3544)
• Database administrators and web content technicians (SOC 3133)
• Telecoms and related network installers and repairers (SOC 5242)
• Electrical and electronics technicians (SOC 3112)
• Engineering technicians (SOC 3113)
• Electricians and electrical fitters (SOC 5241)
• Bricklayers, carpenters and joiners, roofers and plasterers
• Sheet metal workers, chemical and related process operatives (SOC 8113), welders, plumbers, and painters and decorators

Cut from the UK Temporary Shortage List 2027 were HR, legal support, marketing, sales and creative occupations. These are office-based roles where the MAC found the evidence of shortage weaker, or the Jobs Plans less convincing. If your job falls in one of these areas, the recommended list offers no route, even if your occupation is on the current interim list today.

The occupation code matters as much as the job title. Two similar-sounding jobs can sit under different codes, and only the code decides whether the role qualifies. Before you plan around the new list, ask your employer for the four-digit SOC code and check it against the MAC report. A job title alone is not enough.

The £41,700 Salary Rule Explained

The TSL salary rule is £41,700 a year or the occupation’s going rate, whichever is higher, with no discount. That is the same standard salary threshold that applies to most Skilled Worker jobs, and it applies in full to TSL occupations. There is no reduced rate for being on the shortage list.

Under the UK Temporary Shortage List 2027, the going rate is the salary level set for each occupation code, and it can be higher than £41,700 for some roles. Your employer must pay whichever figure is higher: the general threshold or the going rate for your occupation. If the pay on offer falls below either figure, the application will not meet the salary requirement, even if the job itself is on the list.

This matters for budgeting and for job offers. A role that looks eligible on the occupation list can still fail on salary, so check both tests before you apply. Ask your sponsor to confirm the going rate for your code and put the salary in writing in the job offer. The GOV.UK Skilled Worker visa pages set out the salary rules and the going rates table.

What the UK Temporary Shortage List 2027 Means for Applicants

If your occupation is among the 28 recommended, the outlook is better than for most medium-skilled workers, but nothing is guaranteed. The UK Temporary Shortage List 2027 is still a recommendation, and the government has not said whether it accepts the MAC’s advice. Until the Home Office responds, do not treat the 28 occupations as confirmed law, and do not resign from a current job on the strength of the recommendation alone.

If your occupation is not among the 28, you will need another route: a degree-level Skilled Worker role, a job on the Immigration Salary List, or a different visa altogether. Some workers may also look at short-term options while they retrain, and our guide to the UK Seasonal Worker visa explains one seasonal route and its limits.

Students and recent graduates should also note a related change. The Graduate visa lasts 2 years if you apply on or before 31 December 2026, and 18 months if you apply from 1 January 2027, while doctoral graduates keep 3 years. Our guide to the UK Graduate visa explains the new rule and what it means after study.

For the longer term, think about settlement as well as the next visa. The rules for living in the UK permanently are separate from the shortage list, and they can change while you are here. Our guide to UK settlement sets out the current position and why long-term planning matters.

How to Prepare Before the Deadline

Start by confirming your occupation code and your sponsor. Ask your employer for the SOC code, check whether the employer holds a sponsor licence, and confirm the salary meets both the £41,700 threshold and the going rate for the role. If any of these three tests fails, the application will fail.

Next, work to the 31 December 2026 deadline. If your occupation is on the current interim list and your sponsor can issue a certificate of sponsorship before that date, current rules apply. Talk to your sponsor now about timing, because certificates take preparation and the end of the year is busy for many employers. Do not leave this until December.

Finally, keep checking the official position. The Home Office response to the UK Temporary Shortage List 2027 report will decide which occupations make the final list and from which date. Check the GOV.UK pages for the MAC report and the Skilled Worker visa regularly, and be wary of social media posts that present the 28 occupations as final.

Frequently Asked Questions