Sponsor licence costs · Immigration Skills Charge

The Immigration Skills Charge, in plain English — and what it actually costs your business.

Direct answer

The Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) is a per-worker fee UK sponsors pay to the Home Office when they assign a Certificate of Sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route and most other work routes. Small or charitable sponsors pay £480 for the first 12 months and £240 for each additional 6 months. Medium and large sponsors pay £1,320 for the first 12 months and £660 for each additional 6 months. The charge is paid in full upfront at CoS assignment and cannot be passed on to the worker — doing so can lead to your sponsor licence being revoked.

Who this applies to: UK employers planning to sponsor a worker under the Skilled Worker route, the Senior or Specialist Worker route (Global Business Mobility), or any other work route where the Immigration Skills Charge applies.

Regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority

Who pays the ISC

Which employers pay the Immigration Skills Charge.

If your business sponsors a worker under the Skilled Worker route, you almost always pay the Immigration Skills Charge. The size of your business decides the rate you pay — not the salary or seniority of the role.

→UK employers sponsoring workers under the Skilled Worker route

→UK employers sponsoring under the Senior or Specialist Worker route (Global Business Mobility) — subject to specific exemption conditions

→Sponsors of any size — the small-sponsor rate is automatic if you meet the size test

→Charities — automatically pay the small/charitable rate regardless of headcount or turnover

→Most SME employers fall squarely inside the charge

2026 rates

Current Immigration Skills Charge rates.

Small or charitable sponsor — first 12 months

Applies if you meet at least two of: annual turnover ≤ £15m, total assets ≤ £7.5m, ≤ 50 employees. Charities qualify automatically.

£480

Small or charitable sponsor — each additional 6 months

Added to the first-year fee for any sponsorship period beyond 12 months.

£240

Medium or large sponsor — first 12 months

All sponsors that do not meet the small-sponsor test or qualify as a registered charity.

£1,320

Medium or large sponsor — each additional 6 months

Added to the first-year fee for any sponsorship period beyond 12 months.

£660

Figures as published by the Home Office at the time this page was last reviewed. Always verify the current figure on gov.uk before assigning a Certificate of Sponsorship.

Worked example

Example: medium-sized UK employer hiring one Skilled Worker for 3 years.

First 12 months

Charged at the medium/large rate at CoS assignment.

£1,320

Months 13–18

First additional 6-month block.

£660

Months 19–24

Second additional 6-month block.

£660

Months 25–30

Third additional 6-month block.

£660

Months 31–36

Fourth additional 6-month block.

£660

Total ISC due upfront at CoS assignment

Paid in full when the CoS is assigned — not annually in arrears.

£3,960

A small or charitable sponsor would pay £480 + (4 × £240) = £1,440 for the same 3-year sponsorship period. A medium/large sponsor on a 5-year CoS would pay £1,320 + (8 × £660) = £6,600 upfront.

The non-negotiable rules

When it is paid, who pays — and why you cannot recover it from the worker.

The Immigration Skills Charge is paid by the sponsor at the moment a Certificate of Sponsorship is assigned through the Sponsor Management System. It is paid in full, upfront, for the entire sponsorship period — not annually in arrears.

→Paid by the sponsoring employer at CoS assignment, not when the worker arrives

→Paid in full upfront for the entire sponsorship period

→Cannot be deducted from the worker's salary

→Cannot be recovered through repayment-on-leaving or clawback clauses

→Home Office position is explicit: a sponsor licence can be revoked for asking the worker to pay the ISC or any other linked application costs

Exemptions and refunds

When the ISC is not payable — and when you can claim it back.

A small number of routes and circumstances are exempt from the Immigration Skills Charge. We recommend you take advice before assuming an exemption applies to your hire — exemption rules are tightly defined and have been updated several times.

→PhD-level occupations in research and science (SOC codes 2111–2119, 2161, 2162) and higher education teaching professionals (SOC 2311)

→Workers assigned a Certificate of Sponsorship before 6 April 2017

→Dependants of sponsored workers (partners and children)

→Some study-to-work switches on extension applications

→Global Business Mobility Senior or Specialist Worker route — subject to specific conditions on CoS date, nationality and assignment duration

→Refunds are paid in full where the worker's visa is refused, the application is withdrawn, or the worker never enters the UK to start work

→Partial refunds apply where the worker receives a shorter visa, changes sponsor, or leaves the sponsorship early

What goes wrong

The five Immigration Skills Charge mistakes we see most often.

→Budgeting only the licence application fee and forgetting the ISC entirely — then discovering at CoS assignment the per-worker cost is much higher than expected

→Assuming the ISC is paid annually in arrears, when it is actually paid in full upfront at CoS assignment

→Assigning a CoS for longer than the role really needs, locking the business into a higher upfront ISC than necessary

→Trying to recover the ISC from the worker through salary deductions or clawback clauses — a compliance breach that can put the entire sponsor licence at risk

→Forgetting that the small-sponsor rate is automatic for charities — and overpaying because the size test was not checked at application

How Harveys helps

What we do for employers planning their first sponsored hire.

The Immigration Skills Charge is one line in a much bigger sponsorship budget. We help UK SME employers build the full picture before they commit — and stay on the right side of compliance once a licence is in place.

→Sponsor Licence Readiness Review — full cost picture before you apply, from £395 + VAT

→Sponsor Licence Application — fixed-fee preparation and submission, from £1,750 + VAT

→Audit-Ready Sponsor Compliance retainer — ongoing CoS, ISC, reporting and compliance support, from £295/month + VAT

→CoS / SMS Desk — per-assignment support for sponsors who only need transactional help

→All work delivered under IAA Level 1 regulation — Regulation No. F202537009

Common questions

Questions employers ask us.

Small or charitable sponsors pay £480 for the first 12 months of sponsorship and £240 for each additional 6 months. Medium and large sponsors pay £1,320 for the first 12 months and £660 for each additional 6 months. The full amount is paid upfront at Certificate of Sponsorship assignment.

The employer pays it in full. The Home Office's published guidance is explicit: the sponsor must pay the Immigration Skills Charge and cannot ask the worker to pay it. Trying to recover the charge from the worker — through salary deductions, clawback clauses, or any other route — can lead to the sponsor licence being revoked.

At the point you assign the Certificate of Sponsorship through the Sponsor Management System. You pay the full charge for the entire sponsorship period at that moment, not annually in arrears.

You qualify as a small sponsor if you meet at least two of three tests: annual turnover of £15m or less, total assets of £7.5m or less, or 50 employees or fewer. Registered charities qualify automatically, regardless of size. All other employers pay the medium/large rate.

Yes, but they are narrow. The most common exemptions cover PhD-level science and higher education roles (specific SOC codes), Certificates of Sponsorship issued before 6 April 2017, dependants, certain study-to-work switches on extension, and some Senior or Specialist Worker assignments under Global Business Mobility. We recommend you take advice before assuming an exemption applies to your hire.

Refunds are possible in defined circumstances. You receive a full refund if the worker's visa is refused or withdrawn, or the worker never enters the UK to start work. You receive a partial refund where the worker is granted a shorter visa than the period charged for, changes sponsor, or leaves sponsorship early. Refunds are processed by the Home Office on its own timescale.

Related services & resources

IAA

Regulated immigration advice

Harveys Legal is regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority.

Firm Reg No. F202537009. Verify on the IAA register before engagement.

Before you assign your next CoS, talk to us.

Get the full sponsorship cost picture — licence fee, ISC, CoS, professional fees, and timeline — in one consultation. We work with UK SME employers, fixed-fee, and we will tell you plainly if you do not need a licence at all. Harveys Legal supports immigration applications, sponsor compliance preparation and related legal processes. Final decisions remain with the Home Office or relevant decision-maker.

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Harveys Legal supports immigration applications, sponsor compliance preparation and related legal processes. Final decisions remain with the Home Office or the relevant decision-maker.