How much does it cost to sponsor someone for a work visa in the United Kingdom?

 It is not cheap to sponsor a foreign worker. Visa application costs and taxes can cost thousands of pounds. Since the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union, the expenses of sponsorship have also applied to firms seeking to hire EU workers under the Points-Based Immigration System.

Some fees are charged directly on the company, while others are levied directly on the worker seeking for the visa. Many employers cover them completely rather than requiring the employee to pay large sums out of their own pocket.

This page explains the various fees associated with a normal work visa application. It equates to slightly about £7,000 in the precise case study we employ. All of the figures mentioned can be found on.

The price of a sponsor licence

When an organisation applies for a sponsor licence, the Home Office imposes one of the following fees:

If the organisation is a charity or a small company, the donation is £536; for large sponsors, the donation is £1,476.

The official guidance on sponsor licence applications explains how the size and charitable status are determined. To determine size, in general, the definitions in Chapter 1 of the Companies Act 2006 are used:

In a fiscal year, a corporation qualifies as tiny if it meets two of the following criteria:

• turnover of no more than £10.2 million • balance sheet total of no more than £5.1 million (amounts reported as assets on the company's balance sheet)

• the number of employees does not exceed 50 (averaged over the fiscal year).

Sponsor licences have a four-year expiration date. It is the same price to renew it.

Sponsoring a Skilled Worker Cost

Skilled Worker visas are the most common type of work visa in the United Kingdom. I've listed the various fees associated with a Skilled Worker application below. Some of the costs are subject to exclusions (for example, those who are switching, international students, etc.) However, these are the most important ones that will apply to the majority of workers.

Sponsorship certificate

Approved sponsors offer a certificate of sponsorship, or CoS, to workers they desire to hire. The worker then applies for their Skilled Worker visa using the CoS.

Each sponsorship certificate costs £199 to provide.

Immigration Skills Tax

This is essentially a fee imposed on enterprises that hire foreign workers.

The Immigration Skills Charge is £364 for the first year and £182 for each additional six months for a small or charitable sponsor. Sponsoring someone for five years would therefore cost £1,820.

The fee for a medium or big sponsor is £1,000 for the first year and £500 for each subsequent six months. It would cost £5,000 to sponsor someone for five years.

Application fee for a visa

Then there's the big one: the visa application fee. If you apply for a Skilled Worker visa from outside the UK, you will be charged:

Visa for up to three years in a non-shortage occupation costs £610; visa for up to three years in a shortage occupation costs £464

£1,220 for a visa for more than three years in a non-shortage occupation.

£928 for a visa for more than a year in a scarce occupation.

The precise charge varies depending on a number of factors, including a £55 discount for citizens of various European nations. More information can be found here.

Surcharge for Immigration Health Care

The Immigration Health Surcharge is a visa levy that is in addition to the application price mentioned above. Each year of the visa costs £624. As a result, the Immigration Health Surcharge adds £3,120 to the cost of a five-year visa, £1,872 to the cost of a three-year visa, and £624 to the cost of a one-year visa.

It is nominally up to the worker to pay, much like the application cost.

Optional extras

There are also potential administration fees for things like faster visa processing, keeping your passport throughout the procedure, having a courier drop it off to you, sitting in a luxury lounge while waiting for the visa to be processed, and so on. (Many of these will not apply to EU citizens because they will apply for an e-visa.)

High-quality service

In addition, the Home Office provides a premium service to sponsors. A variety of extras are promised for a charge of £25,000 per year for a medium/large firm or £8,000 for a small business – you can read about these here.

Who foots the bill?

The preceding information is solely for the worker. Family members travelling with them to the UK must additionally pay the visa application fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge.

Before proceeding with sponsorship, I would always advise employers to check with the individual to see whether they have relatives and to form an agreement on who will bear what fees at the outset.

For example, the sponsor could agree that the worker will pay their own application fee and Immigration Health Surcharge. It is important to note that sponsors cannot legally pass on the Immigration Skill Charge to individuals. The sponsor also pays the licence fee.