How Much Does It Cost To Sponsor Someone For A UK Work Visa?

There are a number of fees payable to the Home Office for obtaining a Skilled Worker visa in the UK.

Some of these fees must be paid by the employer, others can be paid by either the employer or the applicant.

The main fees payable are:

• A Certificate of Sponsorship assignment fee
• An Immigration Skills Charge
• The visa fee itself
• The Immigration Health Surcharge
• Possible additional fees for
• Booking a biometric appointments
• Additional services linked to the application, e.g. courier service, scanning of documents
• Priority processing of the application

These fees may vary depending on the length of the visa being applied for, and the type of role being undertaken.

Certificate of Sponsorship assignment fee

A certificate of sponsorship (‘CoS’) must be issued by a sponsor whenever they identify an individual who they wish to employ and sponsor. A Skilled Worker visa application cannot be submitted without a CoS.

The fee for assigning a certificate of sponsorship is £199.

Immigration Skills Charge

In most cases, an employer will have to pay  an additional charge when assigning a CoS to someone applying for a Skilled Worker or Senior or Specialist Worker visa, although there are a few categories of jobs that are exempt.

The fee must be paid if an individual will be coming to the UK for more than 6 months. The cost will depend on how long their visa is valid for, but also on the size of the organisation sponsoring the applicant.

Charities and companies that fall under the small companies regime of the Companies Act 2006, will pay £364 for the first 12 months of the visa, and £182 for each additional 6-month period (paid up front at the time of application.) All other organisations will pay £1,000 for the first 12 months, and £500 for each additional 6-month period.

The Immigration Skills Charge fee cannot be paid, or reimbursed in any way, by the applicant. It must be paid by the employer, or the application can be refused, or the subsequent visa cancelled.

Visa application fee

The visa application fee will depend on the length of the visa being applied for, but also on whether the visa is being applied for outside the UK or inside.

Visas for up to 3 years usually cost £625 when applied for outside the UK, or £719 when applied for in the UK.

Visas for more than 3 years (up to 5 years) usually cost £1,235 when applied for outside the UK, or £1,423 when applied for in the UK.

Applicants who will be filling a role on the Shortage Occupation List will pay a reduced fee, as do applicants for a Health & Care visa.

Immigration Health Surcharge

The immigration health surcharge allows applicants access to NHS services. It is a mandatory payment that applicants must make, whether or not they also have private medical insurance (unless they are applying for a Health and Care visa.)

The charge is £312 for each six–month period of the visa being applied for (paid up front at the time of application.) There is a minimum payment of £624.

Additional fees and optional add-ons for applicants

Many applicants will need to attend a biometric appointment as part of their visa application process. Appointments vary in price – some are free, others may cost up to £270.

Application centres often offer other services at an additional cost, such as assistance with scanning and uploading documents, courier services, an option to keep your passport during processing etc.

The Home Office also offers priority processing options for most types of applications (please note that these are currently not available outside the UK due to resources being diverted to manage the Ukraine visa schemes). Priority and super-priority services vary depending on the type of application and where it is being submitted, and will reduce processing times to different extents. As a rough guide, costs can vary from £200 to £800 per applicant.

In addition to the above costs, if the employer does not have a sponsor licence, they must factor in additional fees for this. A four-year Skilled Worker sponsor licence costs £536 for charities and small companies, and £1,476 for all other organisations.

How can we help?

Gherson’s Corporate Immigration team has extensive experience in all aspects of UK work visas and Sponsor Licences, and would be happy to assist. Please do not hesitate to contact us to discuss your options, send us an e-mail, or, alternatively, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn to stay-up-to-date.

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.

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