SOC 2020 code 3211 · Associate professional occupations
Whether this occupation can be sponsored for a Skilled Worker visa, its going rate, the job titles filed under the code, and the licensed sponsors advertising these jobs.
Existing workers only
Since 22 July 2025, Dispensing opticians (SOC 3211) can only be sponsored for people who were granted Skilled Worker permission under the rules in place before that date and have held it continuously since.
Annual salaries for a 37.5-hour week, from Appendix Skilled Occupations (updated 3 Aug 2026).
The going rate in Appendix Skilled Occupations is £33,400 a year for a 37.5-hour week. It applies to people who can still be sponsored in this occupation.
Sources: Appendix Skilled Occupations, Skilled Worker salary rules, when you can be paid less.
The ONS coding index files 6 job titles under this code. A note in brackets is the setting the title applies to: the same title can sit under another code elsewhere. The code on a certificate of sponsorship follows the job’s duties, so check them with CASCOT or the employer.
Since October 2025 we read 1 advert that we placed in this code from the job title, 1 of them still open, from 1 employer on the register of licensed sponsors.
Open adverts checked against the employer, occupation and salary rules for a new visa:
Barking Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust · Rush Green, Romford · £30,630 to £32,346 a year · Not for a new visa
From Appendix Skilled Occupations and the Temporary Shortage List (GOV.UK), the ONS SOC 2020 coding index, and job adverts we read and match to the Home Office register. We place an advert in a code from its title, so some adverts may be in the wrong code. Whether a person can be sponsored also depends on their own circumstances. This page is information, not immigration advice. Profile built 7 Oct 2026.
Since 22 July 2025, Dispensing opticians (SOC 3211) can only be sponsored for people who were granted Skilled Worker permission under the rules in place before that date and have held it continuously since.
The going rate in Appendix Skilled Occupations is £33,400 a year for a 37.5-hour week. It applies to people who can still be sponsored in this occupation.
The ONS coding index files 6 job titles under 3211, including contact lens fitter, contact lens optician, dispenser, dispensing optician, ophthalmic technician, optical dispenser. The employer chooses the code on the certificate of sponsorship from the job's duties, not its title.
Since October 2025 we read 1 adverts that we placed in SOC 3211, from 1 employers on the register. The most came from Barking Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (1).