How Much Does It Cost To Sponsor A Tier 2 Migrant?

26 Jun 2019, 12 mins ago

If you are considering sponsoring a Tier 2 migrant, it is important to be aware of the fees associated with making such an application.

If you do not already have a sponsor licence in place for your company (for more information on sponsor licences renewal here) you will need to consider the Home Office sponsor licence application fee which is either £536 (for small companies/charitable sponsors with 50 employees or fewer and annual turnover of £10.2 million or less) or £1,476 for medium/large companies (over 50 employees and more than £10.2 million turnover pa).

Along with the Home Office fee it is worth keeping in mind the costs of an audit of your files to ensure compliance with Home Office regulations.

Gherson has extensive experience of reviewing client files to ensure compliance with the relevant rules and regulations. Please contact us for an independent quote.

Once your sponsor licence has been approved, or indeed if you already have an active sponsor licence in place, you will need to check whether your company will be required to meet the Resident Labour Market Test, to ensure that you have considered whether there are any settled resident workers or EU nationals able to take up the role advertised. If there are no settled workers or EU nationals able to take on the job in the UK, you may be able to sponsor a Tier 2 migrant and therefore the following fees may apply*.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Every Tier 2 migrant must be assigned a valid Certificate of Sponsorship – commonly referred to as a ‘CoS’. Each certificate costs £199. This fee is the same whether the certificate is assigned for a 1 or 5 year period.

Home Office application fee

Each applicant will be subject to a Home Office application fee which will be dependent on the type of visa they are applying for. The amount due will also be dependent on the length of the visa being applied for and whether the application is being made within the UK or from outside. These fees range from £464 – £1,408. If the application is refused, it is unlikely this fee will be refunded.

Immigration Health Surcharge (‘IHS’)

A fee of £400 per applicant per year will be payable when the application is submitted. For example, if an applicant is applying for a three year visa, they will be required to pay an IHS fee of £1,200.

This fee is a surcharge levied by the Home Office for the migrant’s use of the National Health Service (‘NHS’) during their time in the UK. If refused, this fee should be refunded, although there can be a processing delay.

Immigration Skills Charge

The Immigration Skills Charge was introduced on 6 April 2017 and is used to address skills gaps in the UK workforce. This Charge is due each time a CoS (see above) is issued.

The fee requested depends on the size and type of the sponsor and the length of employment stated on the CoS issued. If the company is classed as a small or charitable sponsor (as defined in regulation 2) the fee is £364 for any stated period of employment up to 12 months plus £182 for each subsequent 6 month period stated on the CoS.

In all other cases, the fee is £1,000 for any stated period of employment up to 12 months plus £500 for each subsequent 6 month period stated on the CoS. If a large company sponsored a migrant for 3 years, therefore, the fee would be £3,000.

The above fee summary is for guidance only and is subject to change. If you are looking to sponsor a migrant worker and require an accurate quote relating to your specific circumstances, please contact the corporate Team at Gherson.

*Home Office fees are subject to change.

The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please don’t hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.

©Gherson 2019