Immigration skills charge: what sponsors pay per worker
£1,320 for the first 12 months and £660 per further six months for a medium or large employer; £480 and £240 for small sponsors and charities.
Skills charge, certificate and licence
Cost to the employer
£2,576
| Sponsor licence | £611 |
| Certificate of sponsorship, each | £525 |
| Immigration skills charge, 36 months, each | £1,440 |
| Workers sponsored | 1 |
| Total | £2,576 |
The employer must pay the skills charge and the certificate itself: passing them on to the worker can cost the licence. Worker’s own visa fee and surcharge not included.
Calculated in your browser: nothing you type is sent anywhere. Not legal advice; not affiliated with the Home Office.
Published by Radif Partners · How we calculate · Home Office fees of 8 October 2026, rules checked 13 October 2026
The immigration skills charge is paid by the employer, not the worker, each time it assigns a certificate of sponsorship for a Skilled Worker or a Senior or Specialist Worker. It is due for a worker applying from outside the UK for six months or more, and for any length when the worker applies from inside the UK. A medium or large sponsor pays £1,320 for the first 12 months and £660 for each further six months, so £6,600 for the maximum five years; a small or charitable sponsor pays £480 and £240, up to £2,400. The whole amount is paid at once, when the certificate is assigned, for the period between its start and end dates. There is no charge for the worker's partner or children, for researchers and higher education teachers in nine listed occupation codes, or for students switching to a work visa. The calculator above adds it to the licence and certificate fees for any number of hires.
The charge by length of certificate
| Certificate length | Small or charitable sponsor | Medium or large sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 6 months (charged as 12) | £480 | £1,320 |
| 12 months | £480 | £1,320 |
| 18 months | £720 | £1,980 |
| 24 months | £960 | £2,640 |
| 36 months | £1,440 | £3,960 |
| 48 months | £1,920 | £5,280 |
| 60 months | £2,400 | £6,600 |
The length is the time between the start and end dates written on the certificate of sponsorship. Beyond the first year the charge goes up by half-year steps, so a certificate of 25 months costs the same as one of 30. If the worker is later given a new certificate in another occupation code that extends the visa, the employer pays the charge again for the extra time only; a new certificate that does not extend the visa costs no further charge.
Who does not pay it
No charge is due for sponsored workers in these occupation codes: 2111 chemical scientists, 2112 biological scientists, 2113 biochemists and biomedical scientists, 2114 physical scientists, 2115 social and humanities scientists, 2119 natural and social science professionals not elsewhere classified note: for skilled worker purposes, soc 2020 occupation code 2119 includes researchers in research organisations other than universities., 2161 research and development (r&d) managers, 2162 other researchers, unspecified discipline and 2311 higher education teaching professionals. It is not paid for dependants, nor when a worker switches from a visa that allowed study (a Student visa, for instance) to a Skilled Worker or Senior or Specialist Worker visa, including the later extensions of that new visa. Certain EU nationals temporarily transferred by their employer from an EU business for up to 36 months on the Senior or Specialist Worker route are also exempt, as are some workers assigned a certificate before 6 April 2017.
The exemption follows the code on the certificate, not the qualifications of the person, so a scientist sponsored in a management code pays the charge like anyone else. The occupation code checker shows the code of a job title.
Paying, and when it is refunded
The charge is paid online when the certificate is assigned. If it is missing or wrong, UKVI contacts the sponsor, which then has 10 working days to pay before the worker's application is refused. The employer must pay it itself: asking the worker for it, or recovering it from wages, can cost the licence. It is refunded in full if the visa is refused or withdrawn, or if the worker never starts the job, and in part if the worker is granted less time, leaves early, moves to another sponsor, or if the large rate was paid after the sponsor had told UKVI it had become small. Refunds normally arrive within 90 days. The full cost of hiring, licence included, is on the sponsor licence page.