Sponsoring a Skilled Worker in 2026: Total Employer Costs and the Immigration Skills Charge

To sponsor a Skilled Worker in 2026, a UK employer pays three mandatory Home Office costs: a sponsor licence (£611 or £1,682), a certificate of sponsorship (£525 per worker) and the Immigration Skills Charge (£1,320 for the first year for medium or large sponsors, £480 for small or charitable ones). For one worker sponsored for 5 years, that comes to about £8,807 for a large employer or £3,536 for a small one, based on GOV.UK figures as of October 2026.

Key points

• Sponsor licence: £1,682 (medium or large) or £611 (small or charitable), paid once.
• Certificate of sponsorship (CoS): £525 for each Skilled Worker.
• Immigration Skills Charge (ISC): £1,320 for the first 12 months, then £660 per extra 6 months (medium or large); £480 then £240 (small or charitable).
• The employer must pay the licence, CoS and ISC. Passing them to the worker can lead to licence revocation.
• Visa fees and the health surcharge are the worker’s costs, though many employers choose to cover them.

This post is about the employer’s costs. For the worker’s application fees, see our UK visa fees table.

1. Sponsor licence fee

Licence type	Small or charitable	Medium or large
Worker	£611	£1,682
Temporary Worker	£611	£611
Worker and Temporary Worker	£611	£1,682
Add a Worker licence to an existing Temporary Worker licence	No fee	£1,071

Source: GOV.UK apply for your licence.

Are you a small sponsor?

You are usually small if at least two of these apply:

• annual turnover of £15 million or less
• total assets of £7.5 million or less
• 50 or fewer employees

Charities registered in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland also pay the small or charitable rate.

Timing

Most licence applications are decided in under 8 weeks, and UKVI may visit your premises. A priority service costs £750 and aims for a decision within 10 working days, but places are limited each day.

A standard licence now usually stays valid as long as you keep meeting the requirements. Scale-up and UK Expansion Worker licences are different and last 4 years.

2. Certificate of sponsorship

Each Skilled Worker needs a CoS, which costs £525. You assign a new CoS when the worker first applies and again for each extension or change of job that needs a new application. Source: fees table.

3. Immigration Skills Charge (ISC)

The ISC is paid when you assign the CoS, in one payment covering the whole period of sponsorship.

Sponsor size	First 12 months	Each extra 6 months	Maximum for 5 years
Medium or large	£1,320	£660	£6,600
Small or charitable	£480	£240	£2,400

If the sponsorship is longer than 6 months but under a year, you pay for a full 12 months.

These rates are about 32% higher than the previous ones. The increase was proposed in the May 2025 Immigration White Paper. Law firm commentary reports that it applies to certificates assigned from 16 December 2025; GOV.UK does not show the start date on its ISC page.

Who is exempt from the ISC?

According to GOV.UK:

• certain occupation codes, including science professionals, research and development managers, other researchers and higher education teaching professionals
• dependants (partners and children are never charged)
• people switching from a Student visa to a Skilled Worker visa, including when they later extend on that visa
• certain Global Business Mobility transfers from EU countries
• some workers whose first CoS was assigned before 6 April 2017

Refunds

• Full refund if the visa is refused or withdrawn, or the worker gets the visa but does not start working for you.
• Partial refund if the worker gets less time than you sponsored, moves to another sponsor after starting, or leaves early.
• Refunds are usually paid within 90 days.

If UKVI finds you have not paid, or paid the wrong amount, you have 10 working days to fix it, or the worker’s application will be refused.

Worked example: total employer cost over 5 years

This example sponsors one worker from outside the UK on a 5-year CoS in a role that meets the salary threshold of £41,700 or the going rate, whichever is higher. It uses October 2026 fees.

Mandatory costs (employer must pay)

Cost	Medium or large sponsor	Small or charitable sponsor
Sponsor licence	£1,682	£611
Certificate of sponsorship	£525	£525
Immigration Skills Charge (5 years)	£6,600	£2,400
Total	£8,807	£3,536

The licence fee is a one-off cost. If you sponsor more workers, each extra worker adds £525 plus the ISC.

Optional costs many employers choose to cover

Cost (worker’s own application)	Amount
Visa fee, outside UK, over 3 years	£1,618
Immigration Health Surcharge, 5 years (5 × £1,035)	£5,175
Total for the worker alone	£6,793

Partners and children pay their own visa fees and surcharge. If you cover the full cost for a worker on a 5-year visa, the total for a medium or large sponsor is about £15,600 before legal fees, relocation and recruitment costs.

Shorter certificates and extensions

If you sponsor for 3 years and then extend for 2, the ISC adds up to the same £6,600 for a medium or large sponsor (£3,960 then £2,640). But you pay a second £525 CoS, and the worker pays an in-country extension fee. A single longer certificate can therefore cost less overall.

Hidden costs and compliance

• Salary. The general threshold is £41,700 a year or the going rate, whichever is higher, with some reduced thresholds (for example £33,400 in certain cases outside healthcare and education). See our Skilled Worker visa guide.
• Skill level. Since 22 July 2025, roles must generally be at degree level (RQF 6) unless they are on the Temporary Shortage List or Immigration Salary List.
• HR systems and record-keeping. Sponsors must keep records and report changes. Losing a licence can mean all sponsored workers lose their status.
• Professional advice. Many employers use a solicitor or regulated adviser for the licence application.

What to do next

1. Confirm the role is eligible and pays enough before applying for a licence.
2. Work out your sponsor size to know whether you pay the small or large rates.
3. Budget for the licence, £525 per CoS and the ISC for the full sponsorship period.
4. Decide your policy on paying workers’ visa fees and the surcharge, and put it in writing.
5. Check the UK country hub and /updates/ for changes, especially the Temporary Shortage List decision due before the end of 2026.

This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Figures are from GOV.UK as of October 2026.