Temporary Shortage List Ends on 31 December 2026: What Employers and Sponsored Workers Must Do Before Then

Key Takeaways

• No certificate of sponsorship issued on or after 31 December 2026 can rely on the Temporary Shortage List. Paragraph SW 6.1A of Appendix Skilled Worker only counts a listed job where the application uses a certificate of sponsorship (CoS) issued before 31 December 2026, so 30 December 2026 is the last day a sponsor can issue one. The CoS issue date decides it, not the date you apply or the date the Home Office decides.
• Almost every Immigration Salary List entry stops on the same date. Appendix Immigration Salary List gives a removal date of 31 December 2026 for every entry except care workers (6135) and senior care workers (6136), which run to 22 July 2028. Below-degree jobs on the list stop being eligible for new certificates unless the worker has transitional protection; degree-level jobs stay eligible but lose the £33,400 salary threshold and the lower visa fee.
• Workers already in the UK are hit at their next application, not on 31 December. Your current permission is not cut short when the list closes, but an extension or a change of employer needs a new CoS, and from 31 December 2026 a new CoS cannot make a below-degree TSL or ISL job eligible unless you have transitional protection.
• A worker first sponsored in a below-degree TSL or ISL job after 22 July 2025 can still secure up to five more years, but only on a CoS issued by 30 December 2026. The application must be made within 3 months of the CoS being issued (SW 1.2(d)) and the CoS start date must be no more than 3 months after the application (SW 5.1(c)), so the sponsor must not date it from the day after the current visa ends.
• For the same group, changing employer into a TSL or ISL job closes on 30 December 2026. The new employer has to issue a CoS, and from 31 December 2026 the lists cannot support it, even after a redundancy. A planned move needs a CoS issued by 30 December 2026 and an application by 30 March 2027.
• Workers first granted under the rules in place before 22 July 2025 are protected. SW 6.1(d) keeps Table 1a, 2aa and 3a jobs eligible for anyone with continuous Skilled Worker permission since that grant, so they can extend and change employer after 31 December 2026; the ISL salary discount survives only for the same job with the same sponsor (SW 11.2).
• Below-degree TSL and ISL jobs give workers sponsored after 22 July 2025 no right to bring a partner or children. SW 29.1A and SW 32A.2 limit dependants to jobs in Tables 1 to 3, with narrow exceptions such as a child born in the UK, and a dependant's permission usually ends on the same date as the main worker's.
• The MAC's 28 occupations for January 2027 to June 2028 are a recommendation, not law. The Migration Advisory Committee published them on 23 July 2026; on 20 October 2026 there is no government response and no Statement of Changes since HC 584 of 3 September 2026, and current TSL jobs such as human resources officers (3571) and book-keepers (4122) are not among the 28.
• Employers should identify exposed workers now and issue every CoS they need by mid-December. A Defined CoS request is normally decided within one working day, but 25 and 28 December are bank holidays, so we recommend an internal deadline of 11 December 2026 and a budget for the £525 CoS fee and the immigration skills charge.
• WorkPermitCloud maps your sponsored workforce against the 31 December 2026 deadline and prepares each extension, move or new hire. Our Skilled Worker visa service sets the CoS dates so a December certificate can actually be used, and prepares the applications inside the 3-month window.

Introduction

If you sponsor someone in a job below degree level, or you hold a Skilled Worker visa in one, 31 December 2026 is the most important date of the year. From that day, a certificate of sponsorship (CoS) can no longer rely on the Temporary Shortage List (TSL), and almost every entry on the Immigration Salary List (ISL) goes with it. Care workers and senior care workers are the only exception, with a later date of 22 July 2028.

This post settles three questions. What exactly stops, and from which date. Who it reaches, including people already working in the UK who will need to extend their visa or change employer. And what employers and workers should do in the ten weeks left. If you need the list of occupations itself, our Temporary Shortage List breakdown sets it out in full.

The rules in this post are confirmed law. They come from Appendix Skilled Worker (page updated 8 October 2026), Appendix Immigration Salary List and the Home Office guidance for sponsors and caseworkers, all checked on 20 October 2026. The Migration Advisory Committee's July 2026 list of 28 occupations for 2027 and 2028 is a recommendation only: the government has not accepted it and no rule change gives effect to it. We label it that way every time it appears.

We do not predict what the government will decide. The safe working assumption today is that the cut-off applies exactly as written, so anything you need from the current lists has to be in place by 30 December 2026.

What Stops on 31 December 2026

From 31 December 2026, no new CoS can make a below-degree job eligible through the Temporary Shortage List, or through the Immigration Salary List except for care roles.

The rule sits in paragraph SW 6.1A of Appendix Skilled Worker. An occupation counts as being on the Temporary Shortage List only if it appears in the list and the application is made with a CoS that the sponsor issued to the worker before 31 December 2026. Appendix Immigration Salary List works the same way: an occupation is included only where the application uses a CoS issued before the removal date shown against it, and that date is 31 December 2026 for every entry except 6135 and 6136.

Four practical points follow from that wording.

• The CoS issue date is what counts. Not the date you submit the visa application and not the date the Home Office decides it. The Skilled Worker caseworker guidance (version 20.0, published 3 August 2026) tells caseworkers that if a job has been removed from the TSL, or its expiry date has passed, before the CoS was assigned, no application can be made.
• "Before 31 December" makes 30 December 2026 the last day. A CoS issued on 31 December itself is too late. The Rules say "issued" and the sponsor guidance says "assigned"; in the Sponsor Management System (SMS) they are the same act.
• An application made in 2027 on a CoS issued by 30 December 2026 can still rely on the list, provided it is made within 3 months of the CoS being issued (90 days where the CoS is linked to a Sponsorship Reference Number), under SW 1.2(d).
• The date can move. The Home Office's Sponsor a Skilled Worker guidance (paragraph SK4.13) describes the entries as time-limited and conditional and says the government reserves the right to bring the date forward, for example if there is evidence of non-compliance in a sector. No earlier date has been announced.

The dates that matter, and the status of each, are below.

Who Is Affected

Whether the deadline touches you depends on three things: the four-digit occupation code on the CoS, which table of Appendix Skilled Occupations lists that code, and when you were first granted Skilled Worker permission. Degree-level jobs (RQF 6 and above) sit in Tables 1, 2 and 3. Jobs below degree level (RQF 3 to 5) sit in Tables 1a, 2aa, 2a and 3a, and are eligible only through one of the lists or a transitional rule.

Prison service officers (3314) have a separate in-country rule with its own CoS dates. It is not part of the Temporary Shortage List and we do not cover it here; take advice if it applies to you.

Extensions and Changes of Employer, Worked Through

Why Your Next Application Is the Problem

Nothing happens to permission you already hold on 31 December 2026. GOV.UK confirms that you do not need to apply again if you stay in the same job and that job is taken off the Immigration Salary List. The lists are only tested when an application is made, so a TSL job leaving the list does not shorten an existing grant either.

The difficulty arrives at your next application. To extend a Skilled Worker visa you need a new CoS from your employer, and to change employer (or move to a different occupation code with the same employer) you need a new CoS from the sponsor you are moving to. Each new CoS is tested against the lists as they stood on the date it was issued. For a worker first sponsored in a below-degree job after 22 July 2025, a CoS issued from 31 December 2026 has nothing to stand on, so the application would fail on skill level unless the rules change.

The Timing Rules That Decide Whether a December CoS Works

Whose Permission Can Still Be Extended, and Whose Cannot

Put together, those rules give a clear answer. A worker first sponsored in a below-degree TSL or ISL job after 22 July 2025 can still extend in that job if the sponsor issues the extension CoS by 30 December 2026 and the worker applies within 3 months of it being issued. That holds whether the current visa ends in 2027, 2028 or later, because the Rules do not stop you extending early. The new grant replaces the old one and runs to 14 days after the end date on the new CoS, so a five-year CoS can secure up to five more years.

There are two catches. The first is the start date. The sponsor guidance, Part 2 (paragraph S3.11) recommends that an extension CoS starts the day after the worker's current permission ends. That is a recommendation, not a rule, and for this group following it would be fatal: a worker whose visa ends in September 2027 could not apply until three months before that start date, by which time a CoS issued in December 2026 would have lapsed. The sponsor should instead enter a start date no more than 3 months after the date the worker will apply. The second catch is salary. The new CoS must meet today's thresholds: £41,700 and the full going rate for a TSL job unless another points option applies, or £33,400 and the full going rate for an ISL job.

Who cannot extend in the same job: anyone in this group whose sponsor has not issued the CoS by 30 December 2026, and anyone who misses the 3-month window to apply on it. Unless the rules change, their options when their current permission ends are a different, eligible job or a different route.

Who is not affected: workers granted Skilled Worker permission under the rules in place before 22 July 2025 who have held continuous Skilled Worker permission since. SW 6.1(d) keeps jobs in Tables 1a, 2aa and 3a open to them with no end date, so they can extend and change employer after 31 December 2026. GOV.UK describes this group as people who got their first CoS before 22 July 2025.

Changing Employer

A move works in the same way, with one difference: the CoS comes from the new employer, which must hold a sponsor licence and a CoS to assign. On today's rules, a worker in the post-22 July 2025 group cannot move into another below-degree TSL or ISL job once 30 December 2026 has passed, and that includes a move forced by redundancy. If a move is likely in the next year or two, the only way to keep this kind of job open is to make it on a CoS issued by 30 December 2026.

Six Worked Examples

What an Early Extension Costs

Extending early means paying again sooner than you otherwise would. On the GOV.UK fee pages checked on 20 October 2026, the worker pays an in-country application fee of £943 for up to three years or £1,865 for more than three years (£628 or £1,235 if the job is on the ISL when the CoS is issued), plus the Immigration Health Surcharge, usually £1,035 for each year of permission. The sponsor pays the £525 CoS fee and the immigration skills charge: £1,320 for the first 12 months and £660 for each further six months for a medium or large sponsor, or £480 and £240 for a small or charitable sponsor. A sponsor must not pass the CoS fee or the skills charge on to the worker. Our IHS and visa fee calculator works out the worker's side for any length of CoS.

What Happens to Partners and Children

Below-degree TSL and ISL jobs do not let workers sponsored after 22 July 2025 bring a partner or children. Paragraphs SW 29.1A and SW 32A.2 of Appendix Skilled Worker require the main worker to be sponsored in a job in Table 1, 2 or 3 of Appendix Skilled Occupations, unless a transitional rule or a narrow exception applies, and the caseworker guidance confirms these restrictions have applied since 22 July 2025.

The exceptions, as GOV.UK's partner and children page sets them out, are: a worker continuously employed in a below-degree job on a Skilled Worker visa since before 22 July 2025; a child born in the UK; and, for applications made inside the UK, a child whose only living responsible parent is the worker, or whose other parent is also sponsored in a medium-skilled job. Care workers and senior care workers have their own, stricter version tied to 11 March 2024, covered in our guide on whether care workers can bring their family.

For the protected pre-22 July 2025 group, dependants can still join or extend, and the 31 December 2026 date does not change that. For everyone else, the practical question is what happens if the main worker cannot extend. A dependant's permission usually ends on the same date as the main worker's, and it is not extended automatically when the worker extends: each family member applies separately, either with the worker or at any time before their own permission expires. If the main worker has no extension to apply for, a UK-born child or other dependant cannot stay on as a Skilled Worker dependant and needs a route of their own. If you do extend early on a December CoS, budget for your dependants' applications too, because each one pays the fee and the surcharge.

The Immigration Salary List Removal on the Same Day

The Immigration Salary List does two jobs. It makes some below-degree occupations eligible at all, and it gives every listed job a lower general salary threshold and a lower visa fee. Both stop for new CoS on 31 December 2026, except for care roles. Our earlier guide to Immigration Salary List removal dates sets out how the list developed.

The ISL discount is worth a lot. Under points option D a worker in an ISL job needs £33,400 and the full going rate, instead of the standard £41,700 and the going rate under option A. Workers first granted under the rules before 4 April 2024 use option I, £25,000 instead of £31,300. The visa fee is £628 for up to three years or £1,235 for longer, wherever the application is made. The Temporary Shortage List never carried a salary or fee discount, so TSL-only jobs lose eligibility on 31 December 2026 but no discount. Our Skilled Worker eligibility and salary guidance explains how the points options work.

What the MAC Recommended, and What Must Happen Before It Is Law

On 23 July 2026 the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) published its Temporary Shortage List Stage 2 report. It recommended that 28 occupations receive 18 months of access to the list and that none receive full access until the next full review, which it expects in about three years. The report says that if the Home Office accepts its recommendations, it would expect the 28 occupations to have access from January 2027 to the end of June 2028.

This is a recommendation, not law. On 20 October 2026 there is no government response on GOV.UK, and the most recent Statement of Changes is HC 584 of 3 September 2026 (our HC 584 explainer covers what it did change). Appendix Skilled Worker still ends the list on 31 December 2026.

The proposed list is not today's list. It brings in trades that are currently only on the ISL (bricklayers, roofers, carpenters and joiners) or on neither list (plasterers, sheet metal workers), and it leaves out several current TSL jobs, including managers in logistics (1243), human resources officers (3571), book-keepers and payroll managers (4122) and marketing associate professionals (3554). Our post on the MAC’s 28 recommended occupations lists them all.

For any of it to become law, three things have to happen. The government publishes a response accepting all or part of it. A Statement of Changes amending SW 6.1A is laid before Parliament (each one appears in the Statement of Changes collection). And the change reaches its commencement date, with whatever transitional rules it sets. Until then, plan on the rules as they stand.

One more proposal sits in the background. The government has consulted on an earned settlement model with a longer standard qualifying period for settlement; it is a proposal, not law, and our earned settlement update tracks it.

If a Statement of Changes Arrives Before 31 December

If the government extends or replaces the list before 31 December 2026, the Statement of Changes will say which applications the new rule covers, often by reference to the date the CoS was issued. A CoS issued by 30 December 2026 works under the rules in force now, so do not hold back a CoS you need in the hope that a change will be laid.

Action List for Employers

• By 31 October 2026: list every role you sponsor, or plan to sponsor, whose occupation code is on the TSL or the ISL, and record each worker's code, first grant date and current permission end date. Our free HR compliance audit is a good starting point if your sponsor records are scattered.
• By 13 November 2026: sort the workers into three groups: protected (granted before 22 July 2025 with continuous permission), degree-level ISL roles (losing a discount only) and exposed (below degree level, granted after 22 July 2025). Decide with each exposed worker whether to issue an extension CoS now.
• By 20 November 2026: check that your Undefined CoS allocation covers every extension and in-country switch you plan, and request more through the SMS if it does not. For overseas hires, prepare each Defined CoS request.
• Before issuing any CoS: confirm the salary meets today's rules (£41,700 and the full going rate for a TSL job unless another points option applies; £33,400 and the full going rate for an ISL job), pro-rated for the hours on the CoS, and that the duties match the occupation code.
• By 11 December 2026 (our recommended internal deadline): issue every CoS you need. For an extension, set a start date no more than 3 months after the worker's planned application date, not the day after their current visa ends.
• Wednesday 30 December 2026: the last possible day. A straightforward Defined CoS request is normally decided within one working day, but 25 and 28 December are bank holidays and any query from UKVI could push you past the deadline.
• Until 30 March 2027: make sure each worker applies within 3 months of their CoS being issued, and record the date they do.
• Throughout: keep a copy of each CoS, the salary evidence and your reasons for the occupation code, and report changes through the SMS within 10 working days, as the sponsor guidance requires.

Action List for Sponsored Workers

• This week: find the four-digit occupation code on your CoS and check which list or table it is in. If it is in Table 1, 2 or 3 of Appendix Skilled Occupations, the deadline does not affect your eligibility. Our sponsored job eligibility checker can help you work it out.
• This week: check when you were first granted Skilled Worker permission. If it was under the rules in place before 22 July 2025 and you have held Skilled Worker permission continuously since, you are protected.
• By early November 2026: if you are in the exposed group, ask your employer about an extension CoS now, even if your visa runs into 2027 or 2028, and agree the start date and length with them.
• If you plan to change employer: the new employer's CoS must be issued by 30 December 2026, so start that conversation now.
• Within 3 months of the CoS being issued, and before your current visa expires: apply. Do not travel outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man until you get a decision. Our guide to extending a Skilled Worker visa covers the documents and timelines.
• If no extension is possible: look at a degree-level job in Table 1, 2 or 3 (with its own salary rules), a family route if your partner is British or settled, or another route that fits your circumstances, and take advice well before your permission ends.

The Position on 20 October 2026

This table separates what is law from what is only proposed or still unknown.

How Can WorkPermitCloud Help?

WorkPermitCloud is an IAA-regulated immigration adviser (F202100311) that helps UK employers and sponsored workers secure Skilled Worker extensions, changes of employer and new hires before the Temporary Shortage List deadline of 31 December 2026. Through our Skilled Worker visa service we review each affected worker's occupation code, first grant date and permission end date, tell you who is protected and who is exposed, and set the CoS start and end dates so a December certificate can actually be used.

If you are the worker, our Skilled Worker visa application team prepares and submits your extension or change of employment application inside the 3-month window. If you are an employer who needs a licence or more CoS before the deadline, our sponsor licence service handles the licence and allocation requests.

Conclusion

The Temporary Shortage List and almost all of the Immigration Salary List end for new certificates on 31 December 2026, which makes 30 December 2026 the real deadline. For new hires in below-degree jobs, from overseas or inside the UK, it is the last day a sponsor can issue a usable CoS. For workers first sponsored in those jobs after 22 July 2025, it is also the last day to lock in an extension or a change of employer, and a December certificate can still secure up to five years if its start date is set correctly.

The MAC's 28 occupations may give some jobs another 18 months, but on 20 October 2026 that is a recommendation the government has not acted on. Plan on the rules as written: identify the exposed workers now, agree the CoS with each of them, and issue it well before Christmas.

Glossary