The True Cost of a UK Sponsor Licence: Fees, Charges and Hidden Expenses

Sponsor Licence Application Fees

The licence application fee is a one-off payment made when you submit your application to the Home Office. The fee depends on the size and nature of your organisation. See updated fees on the Home Office website

You are a small sponsor if at least two of the following apply: annual turnover of £15 million or less, total assets of £7.5 million or less, 50 employees or fewer. Registered charities are treated as small sponsors regardless of size.

The fee is non-refundable if your application is refused, except in limited circumstances where a caseworker error is identified. If your application is refused, you must wait six months before reapplying and pay the fee again.

Certificate of Sponsorship Fees

Once your licence is granted, you pay a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) fee each time you assign a certificate to a sponsored worker. This is charged per worker, not per licence.

Note: These fees increased substantially from the previously published figures of £239 (Worker) and £25 (Temporary Worker). If you have seen lower figures cited elsewhere, they are out of date. The current rates apply to all certificates assigned from April 2024 onwards.

The CoS fee must be paid by the employer. You cannot pass this cost to the sponsored worker. If you do, your licence may be revoked.

If you plan to sponsor five Skilled Workers in a year, the CoS fees alone amount to £2,625 before any other costs are considered.

For more on how certificates work, see our guide on defined vs undefined Certificates of Sponsorship.

The Immigration Skills Charge

The Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) is a levy paid by the employer when assigning a Certificate of Sponsorship to a Skilled Worker or Senior or Specialist Worker. According to the Home Office guidance, It is designed to fund domestic skills training.

The ISC applies when the worker is applying from outside the UK for a visa of six months or more, or from inside the UK for any length of time.

ISC Rates by Organisation Size

The maximum ISC payable for a five-year visa is:

• £2,400 for small or charitable sponsors (5 × £480)
• £6,600 for medium or large sponsors (5 × £1,320)

You pay the full ISC upfront when assigning the certificate. Partial refunds are available if the worker leaves early or their visa is curtailed.

ISC exemptions apply to a defined list of scientific and research occupations, including chemical scientists (SOC 2111), biological scientists (2112), biochemists and biomedical scientists (2113), physical scientists (2114), social and humanities scientists (2115), research and development managers (2161), other researchers (2162), and higher education teaching professionals (2311). If your role falls under one of these codes, no ISC is payable.

Worked Examples

Example 1: Small Organisation — 3-year Skilled Worker Visa

Example 2: Medium or Large Organisation — 3-year Skilled Worker Visa

Optional and Additional Costs

Priority Service Fee

The Home Office offers a priority service for sponsor licence applications, aiming to deliver a decision within 10 working days. The fee is £750, paid in addition to the standard application fee.

This fee increased from £500 in November 2025. The service is not available for all routes — applications for the GBM UK Expansion Worker, GBM Service Supplier, GBM Secondment Worker, Scale-up Worker, Seasonal Worker, Government Authorised Exchange, and International Agreement routes are not eligible.

Availability is limited each working day and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. The fee is non-refundable if your application is refused, or if the delay is caused by missing documents or your failure to respond to a UKVI request.

Legal and Advisory Fees

Most businesses benefit from professional immigration advice, particularly for their first application. Costs vary considerably depending on the firm and the complexity of your case.

These are not government fees and are not mandatory, but a poorly prepared application risks refusal, a six-month cooling-off period, and the loss of your application fee. For many businesses, professional support is a cost-effective safeguard.

Compliance and Administrative Costs

Holding a sponsor licence carries ongoing obligations. These do not involve direct government fees but do represent a real cost to your business

• Staff time: HR or administrative resource dedicated to record-keeping, right-to-work checks, and reporting duties.
• Training: Ensuring your Authorising Officer, Key Contact, and Level 1 User understand their obligations.
• Systems: Software or processes to track visa expiry dates, store required documents, and manage reporting deadlines.
• Compliance visits: Preparing documentation in advance of a UKVI compliance visit.

Failure to maintain compliance can result in a licence downgrade, suspension, or revocation — which carries its own costs, including the inability to assign new certificates and potential civil penalties for illegal working.

For a full breakdown of your ongoing obligations, see our sponsor licence compliance guide.

Visa Application Fees for Sponsored Workers

The sponsored worker typically pays their own visa application fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS). Some employers cover these costs as part of a competitive offer, particularly for senior or hard-to-fill roles.

The Immigration Health Surcharge is currently £1,035 per year per person, including dependants. For a worker on a three-year visa with one dependant, the IHS alone amounts to £6,210. This is a significant cost that candidates often raise during salary negotiations.

Total Cost Scenarios

The following scenarios show the employer-side costs only for sponsoring a single Skilled Worker on a three-year visa, excluding legal fees and the worker's own visa costs.

Scenario 1: Small Organisation

Scenario 2: Medium or Large Organisation

If you add the priority service fee (£750) and a mid-range legal fee (£2,500), a medium or large employer's total outlay for a single three-year Skilled Worker hire can exceed £9,400 before the worker's own visa and IHS costs.

For a broader view of whether sponsorship is the right approach for your business, see our guide on what is a UK Sponsor Licence and why your business needs one.