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SOC code 2114 covers physical scientists — physicists, geologists, geophysicists, meteorologists, oceanographers, and astronomers — who apply experimental and mathematical methods to study matter, energy, and the physical environment. For UK employers, it's a graduate-level occupation on the Skilled Worker eligible occupations list, sitting at RQF level 6 or above.
Why the broad title matters for sponsorship
Because SOC 2114 groups several distinct professions under one code, the exact job title and duties you use on the certificate of sponsorship need to match a real, existing role at your organisation — not a generic label borrowed from the SOC index. Immigration caseworkers and compliance auditors both look for a job description with genuine research, testing, or analytical duties, rather than an administrative or technician role dressed up to meet the skill threshold.
ATAS clearance for sensitive research subjects
Some physical science disciplines — particularly certain areas of physics, materials science, and other subjects with dual-use or defence-relevant applications — fall under the UK's Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS). Where a role or an accompanying course of study touches a listed subject, the individual generally needs to obtain an ATAS certificate before a related visa application can succeed. ATAS is most often associated with student routes, but sponsors recruiting into research-heavy physical science posts — especially where the role is linked to a university, a research institute, or a defence-adjacent employer — should check the current ATAS subject list and confirm whether it applies to the specific research area, rather than assuming a role is exempt simply because it's paid employment rather than a funded studentship.
Salary: general threshold plus the going rate for the specific role
A Skilled Worker sponsored as a physical scientist must be paid at least the general salary floor and the specific going rate that applies to SOC 2114 for their working hours, whichever is higher — figures that change periodically, so always confirm the current numbers directly rather than relying on a remembered figure. See Annaizu's guide to the 2026 salary floor and the related going rates breakdown before issuing an offer. Where the role genuinely requires a PhD relevant to the job, or the worker counts as a new entrant, a reduced threshold may apply under the Home Office's published rules — but this discount has to be justified by the actual job, not applied by default.
The new entrant reduced rate in particular is usually available only for a limited window early in someone's career — for example immediately after completing a relevant PhD, or within a set number of years of finishing a first degree — rather than something a sponsor can keep applying indefinitely as a worker's career and pay progress. Reassess which rate genuinely applies at each renewal or extension rather than carrying the original assumption forward unchecked.
Fieldwork, offshore work, and multiple research sites
Physical scientists don't always work from one lab or office. Geologists and geophysicists may spend weeks on fieldwork or offshore surveys; meteorologists and oceanographers may be based partly at remote monitoring stations; astronomers may travel to observatory sites abroad for observing runs. None of this is a problem for sponsorship in principle, but the certificate of sponsorship and supporting records need to reflect the real working pattern, including any work location that differs from the address on file. A Home Office compliance visit that finds a desk-based job description sitting alongside months of undocumented fieldwork is likely to ask why the two don't match. Where fieldwork or a secondment involves being based at a partner organisation's site for an extended period, it's also worth checking whether that arrangement still counts as working for the sponsor, or edges toward the kind of third-party arrangement sponsorship isn't designed for.
What to keep on file
Beyond the standard right-to-work check, sponsors of scientific and technical staff should retain the qualification evidence that supports the skill level claimed, the recruitment or genuine-vacancy paperwork, and salary records that track any pay reviews across the sponsorship. For roles with a fieldwork or offshore element, add a log of dates and locations actually worked to that file — it's the easiest way to show, months or years later, that the pattern described at sponsorship still matches reality. Centralising all of this in a single, auditable system — see Annaizu's secure document management approach — makes it far easier to respond quickly if UKVI requests evidence. The Home Office sets out these duties in its sponsor duties and compliance guidance.
Does a physical scientist role need to be listed as a shortage occupation?
No. SOC 2114 is eligible under the standard Skilled Worker route in its own right; it doesn't need to appear on any supplementary list to be sponsorable, provided the skill level, salary, and genuine-vacancy tests are met.
Can a research assistant be sponsored under this code?
Only if the actual duties match the skill level of SOC 2114. A role that is largely administrative support to scientists, rather than carrying out scientific analysis itself, is more likely to sit at a lower, non-sponsorable SOC code — exactly the kind of mismatch a Home Office compliance visit checks for.
Does ATAS apply to every physical scientist we sponsor?
No. It depends on the specific research subject and, in many cases, the nature of any accompanying study route rather than employment alone. Check the current ATAS subject list and the individual's actual research area rather than assuming either way.
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