Learn how to reach £50k as a UK mechanic in 2026: visa sponsorship rules, hourly pay, eligible job codes, and routes into engineering roles.

 

Earn £50,000/yr as a Skilled Mechanic in the UK (2026): Visa Sponsorship, Salaries, Top Routes

If you’re aiming for £50,000 a year in the UK as a skilled mechanic (and you need visa sponsorship), you’ll want to treat this like a project, not a wish.

Here’s the practical reality:

• “Mechanic” can sit under multiple occupation codes—some are medium-skilled trades (vehicle technicians), others are higher-skilled engineering roles (mechanical engineer, civil engineer, aerospace engineer). The code matters because it controls eligibility and salary rules.
• For many applicants, the Skilled Worker route uses a salary floor of £41,700/year or the occupation’s going rate—whichever is higher (with limited scenarios where “paid less” can still qualify).
• £50k is achievable, but typically through one of these paths:
  1. Senior vehicle technician/master tech in a high-paying niche (EV, diagnostics, HGV, dealership master technician, fleet critical maintenance)
  2. Shift-based maintenance engineer roles (nights/rotating shifts + overtime)
  3. Quality / planning / control engineering roles
  4. Civil / mechanical engineering roles (degree + experience)

To ground expectations: UK median full-time annual earnings (for employees in the same job ≥1 year) were £39,039 in April 2025. So £50k is meaningfully above the middle—good money, but not fantasy.

How visa sponsorship actually works for mechanics (2026)

1) Step one is eligibility: your occupation code

UK sponsorship is built around a 4-digit occupation code. The government list includes:

• 5231 – Vehicle technicians, mechanics and electricians (car/light vehicle, heavy vehicle, motorcycle technicians, MOT testers, roadside assistance, etc.)
• 5234 – Aircraft maintenance and related trades (listed as medium skilled)
• Higher-skilled engineering codes such as:
  • 2122 – Mechanical engineers
  • 2121 – Civil engineers
  • 2482 – Quality assurance and regulatory professionals

2) Step two is: is it “Higher Skilled” or “Medium Skilled”?

• If your code is Higher Skilled, it’s generally eligible under Skilled Worker (assuming you meet salary/English/sponsor rules).
• If your code is Medium Skilled, the government guidance says you can only use Skilled Worker if the role appears on either:
  • the Immigration Salary List, or
  • the Temporary Shortage List (TSL)

This is the key “mechanic” twist in 2026: 5231 (vehicle technicians) is medium-skilled, but it is on the Temporary Shortage List, which keeps it open for sponsorship (subject to the salary rules for that list).

3) Step three is salary: the number that keeps your visa alive

The Skilled Worker route states the minimum salary is usually the highest of £41,700 or the job’s going rate, with limited cases where a lower figure can still qualify (with a stated lower floor often referenced as £33,400 depending on circumstances).

For mechanics under 5231, the going rates table shows:

• 5231 going rate: £35,500/year (about £18.21/hour)
  But because of general Skilled Worker salary rules, many sponsored roles end up needing to clear £41,700 unless the applicant qualifies under a permitted lower-salary option.

The Temporary Shortage List page also lists 5231 with standard and lower rates (useful for “which column applies” depending on your visa history/timing).

The £50,000 mechanic plan (decision-focused, not motivational)

Route A: Stay a vehicle technician—become the kind that gets paid like an engineer

This is the cleanest route if your core identity is “I fix vehicles.”

Where £50k comes from in UK automotive:

• Seniority: master technician / diagnostic technician / workshop controller
• Niche skills: EV & hybrid high-voltage systems, advanced diagnostics, ADAS calibration, dealer brand training, fleet uptime responsibility
• Work pattern: overtime, on-call, shift premiums
• Sector: fleet maintenance contracts, high-end dealerships, commercial vehicles, specialist performance/motorsport

Reality check: the headline “average mechanic” isn’t £50k. The going rate for 5231 is £35,500.
So you don’t “accidentally” land £50k—you position for it.

How to position (what employers pay for):

• Evidence of fault-finding: documented diagnostic process, complex repairs, comeback reduction
• Certifications & training history (brand/dealer training is gold)
• Proof you can work unsupervised and sign off quality
• Ability to handle high volume without shortcuts (fleet and roadside roles reward this)

Visa strategy inside Route A:
If you require sponsorship, focus on employers that already sponsor, and roles where the employer can justify a stronger salary package to meet immigration thresholds.

1) What jobs pay $4,000 a month in the UK?

$4,000/month is roughly £3,100–£3,300/month (exchange rates move, but that’s a sensible ballpark). Over a year, you’re talking roughly £38k–£40k gross.

Jobs commonly found around or above that level in the UK include:

• Experienced vehicle technicians (especially dealer-trained, diagnostics, EV)
• Maintenance engineers (manufacturing/facilities, often with shifts)
• Civil engineers (varies widely by region and seniority)
• Software developers / data roles
• Nursing / allied health (role-dependent and banding-based)
• Skilled trades with overtime (electricians, HVAC/refrigeration, some welding roles)

Context: the UK median full-time annual earnings were £39,039 in April 2025—so $4k/month is close to “around the middle-to-slightly-above” range in many professional roles.

2) How much do mechanics earn per hour in the UK?

For visa benchmarking, the UK going-rates table gives a useful anchor:

• Vehicle technicians, mechanics and electricians (5231): about £18.21/hour (with the annual going rate of £35,500 shown).

Real-world hourly rates can be lower or higher depending on:

• Region (London/South East often higher)
• Sector (fleet/commercial vs small independent)
• Shift patterns / overtime
• Dealership training and responsibility level

Also useful for general context: ONS reported median hourly earnings for full-time employees (excluding overtime) at £19.67/hour in April 2025.

So a mid-career mechanic hovering around £18–£22/hour is plausible; the £50k crowd usually gets there through senior tech status, overtime/shift work, or moving into engineering/quality roles.

3) What jobs pay $5,000 a month in the UK?

$5,000/month is roughly £3,900–£4,200/month, or around £47k–£50k/year gross.

Jobs frequently in that zone (or above) include:

• Mechanical engineers (2122) and related engineering professionals
• Civil engineers (2121) (especially with experience or in higher-paying sectors)
• Quality assurance / regulatory / planning engineers
• Maintenance engineer roles with shift premiums
• Senior automotive roles: master technician, workshop controller, diagnostic lead
• Specialist technical roles in aviation/defence/manufacturing

From the government going-rate table:

• Mechanical engineers (2122): going rate shown as £46,800
• Civil engineers (2121): going rate shown as £50,400
• Quality assurance & regulatory professionals (2482): going rate shown as £48,200

Those figures are exactly why many people who start as technicians eventually pivot into engineering pathways when the goal is consistent £50k+.

4) What is the highest paid car mechanic?

In the UK, the highest-paid “car mechanic” is rarely someone doing only routine servicing. The top earners typically sit in one of these categories:

• Master Technician / Diagnostic Technician (franchise dealership)
• EV/Hybrid High-Voltage Specialist
• Motorsport Technician (or performance tuning/engineering-adjacent work)
• Fleet Critical Maintenance Lead (downtime is expensive—employers pay for reliability)
• Workshop Controller / Technical Manager (hands-on background + leadership)

They’re paid for risk reduction and speed-to-resolution, not just labour hours.

If you want the highest ceiling while staying vehicle-focused, build your profile around:

• diagnostics + electrical fault finding
• brand training pathways
• evidence you can reduce comebacks and mentor others
• comfort with modern systems: ADAS, CAN/LIN, HV safety

5) Aircraft mechanic jobs with visa sponsorship

On the eligible occupations list, you’ll see:

• 5234 – Aircraft maintenance and related trades (medium skilled)

Important nuance: medium-skilled roles need to be on the Immigration Salary List or the Temporary Shortage List to be eligible for Skilled Worker sponsorship.

The Temporary Shortage List (published 22 July 2025) lists many technical roles, but the visible section shows 5231/5232/5233/5235 and does not show 5234 in that run of codes.

So, for aviation, your sponsorship path often looks like one of these:

• Your duties align with a higher-skilled aerospace/engineering code (for example, aerospace engineer roles under 2126 are higher-skilled)
• Or you secure an aircraft maintenance role that is eligible under the rules in force at the time of CoS assignment (always validate the exact code and list status at that moment)

Practical advice: in aviation, job title can mislead—what matters is the job description → occupation code mapping. (GOV.UK)

6) Entry-level mechanical engineering jobs with visa sponsorship (UK)

Mechanical engineering is on the eligible list:

• 2122 – Mechanical engineers (higher skilled)

Going-rate table anchor for 2122:

• £46,800 going rate shown for mechanical engineers

Entry-level sponsorship is possible, but employers usually want at least one of:

• strong degree + internships + project portfolio
• CAD/FEA exposure, manufacturing/process understanding
• evidence you can operate in regulated environments (documentation, safety, quality)

If your goal is £50k, this route is clean because the salary bands naturally sit near that level, especially after 1–3 years.

7) Maintenance Engineer visa sponsorship (UK)

“Maintenance engineer” is often treated as an engineering/technical role, and in the market it frequently pays well, especially with shifts.

Salary reality from market datasets:

• PayScale reports an average maintenance engineer salary around £35,975 (2026 figure on that page), with higher percentiles pushing upward.
• Indeed reports an average around £42,616/year (updated Feb 2026 on that page). (Indeed)

For eligibility and sponsorship planning, match the actual job to the right occupation code (engineering technician vs engineer vs production/process engineer). The going rates differ by code.

If you’re chasing £50k, maintenance engineering is one of the most reliable routes because:

• factories/facilities pay premiums for uptime
• night shifts and overtime are common
• the skills transfer well across sectors (food manufacturing, pharma, logistics hubs, utilities)

8) Technician jobs in the UK with visa sponsorship

Technician roles can be eligible—but code selection is everything. Examples from the eligible occupations list include:

• 3113 – Engineering technicians (medium skilled)
• 3114 – Building and civil engineering technicians (medium skilled)
• 3115 – Quality assurance technicians (medium skilled)

From the Temporary Shortage List, those codes appear as eligible medium-skilled options with published salary figures. (GOV.UK)

If you’re targeting sponsorship, you generally want technician roles that are:

• hard to fill locally (specialised systems, regulated environments)
• attached to critical infrastructure/industrial strategy sectors (the UK has been steering policy this way)

9) Motorcycle mechanic jobs with visa sponsorship

Motorcycle technicians sit inside:

• 5231 – Vehicle technicians, mechanics and electricians (includes motorcycle technicians) (GOV.UK)

And 5231 is explicitly on the Temporary Shortage List, which keeps it in play for sponsorship (subject to salary rules and sponsor requirements).

The £50k question: motorcycle-only work can pay well in specialist environments, but in many areas it’s harder to hit £50k without:

• senior diagnostic role
• supervisory responsibility
• or moving into broader vehicle technician/fleet work

10) Quality Engineer visa sponsorship

Quality roles are a strong “mechanic-to-engineering” bridge.

Eligible list examples:

• 2481 – Quality control and planning engineers
• 2482 – Quality assurance and regulatory professionals

Going-rate anchors:

• 2481: £41,300
• 2482: £48,200

If you’re already a strong technician, moving into quality can be a salary unlock because you’re paid for:

• preventing defects
• compliance evidence
• reducing warranty cost and rework
• audit readiness

That’s high-value work, and it’s easier to justify higher salaries for sponsorship.

11) Engineering jobs in the UK with visa sponsorship (big picture)

Engineering is one of the most consistently sponsorable spaces because many engineering occupation codes are Higher Skilled. Examples from the eligible occupations list:

• 2122 mechanical engineers
• 2121 civil engineers
• 2126 aerospace engineers
• 2125 production and process engineers

And the going rates for these codes commonly sit in the £45k–£58k range depending on discipline.

If your priority is maximum chance of sponsorship + clean path to £50k, engineering roles often outperform pure workshop roles.

12) UK Civil Engineering jobs with visa sponsorship

Civil engineering is explicitly listed as eligible:

• 2121 – Civil engineers (higher skilled)

The going rate shown for civil engineers is:

• £50,400

That’s basically your £50k target built into the route—which is why civil engineering is a popular sponsorship target.

Market pay varies, but for a current market snapshot:

• Indeed shows an average civil engineer salary of £43,087/year, updated Feb 2026 on that page (useful as a “what people report now” benchmark).

If you’re coming from a mechanic background, the bridge here is usually:

• mechanical technician → building services/MEP exposure → engineering degree (or equivalent) → junior engineer → chartership pathway over time

The sponsorship checklist (what employers and caseworkers care about)

If you want to be treated like a serious candidate (and not “someone asking for visa help”), build your application package around the sponsor’s risk points:

1. Correct occupation code + matching job description
2. Salary meets the requirement for that code and your circumstance (often £41,700 or going rate, with limited exceptions)
3. Sponsor is approved (licensed sponsor)
4. English requirement and documents (standard Skilled Worker requirements)
5. Budget clarity for fees (because fees can kill offers)

Typical applicant costs (don’t get surprised)

The government cost page states Skilled Worker applicants usually need to pay:

• application fee (ranges depending on circumstances)
• healthcare surcharge, usually £1,035 per year
• and usually show at least £1,270 in funds unless exempt

Even if an employer covers some costs, you should understand the totals—sponsorship is a budgeting decision for them.

Conclusion: The smartest way to hit £50k as a “mechanic” in the UK (2026)

If you need visa sponsorship and you want £50,000/year, your fastest winning strategy is:

• Option 1 (Automotive route): Use 5231 (vehicle technician) via the Temporary Shortage List, then target roles that can justify higher pay (diagnostics/EV/fleet/shift/overtime) and build a “master tech” profile.
• Option 2 (Engineering route): Pivot into higher-skilled engineering codes where £50k sits naturally in the going rates—civil engineering (2121), mechanical engineering (2122), QA/regulatory (2482).

Either way, treat this as a positioning exercise: correct code, sponsor-friendly story, proof of skill, and a salary level that meets the rules the day the CoS is issued.