For a small or charitable UK employer that needs a new Worker sponsor licence and is sponsoring one Skilled Worker from overseas for three years, the core sponsor-side Home Office costs can total £2,576. That consists of the £611 sponsor licence fee, a £525 Certificate of Sponsorship and £1,440 Immigration Skills Charge.
If you also include the worker’s standard three-year Skilled Worker application fee from outside the UK (£819) and three years of Immigration Health Surcharge at £1,035 a year, the combined Home Office charges are around £6,500. This example does not apply to every applicant: Health and Care applicants, Immigration Salary List roles and some other circumstances have different fees or exemptions.
What the April rises actually did
From 8 April 2026, the Worker sponsor licence fee increased from £574 to £611 for small or charitable sponsors and from £1,579 to £1,682 for medium or large sponsors. The Skilled Worker Certificate of Sponsorship fee remained £525, while the optional priority service for sponsor licence applications remained £750. See the Home Office fee table for 8 April 2026.
The larger cost increase came earlier. From 16 December 2025, the Immigration Skills Charge rose from £364 to £480 a year for small or charitable sponsors and from £1,000 to £1,320 for medium or large sponsors. Our guide to Certificates of Sponsorship for UK employers explains the wider CoS process.
The fees sponsors need to budget for
| Sponsor cost | Small or charitable sponsor | Medium or large sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| Worker sponsor licence | £611 | £1,682 |
| Priority licence processing, if available | £750 | £750 |
| Skilled Worker Certificate of Sponsorship | £525 | £525 |
| Immigration Skills Charge, first 12 months | £480 | £1,320 |
| Immigration Skills Charge, each additional 6 months | £240 | £660 |
Sponsors must not pass the relevant sponsor licence fee, Skilled Worker CoS fee or Immigration Skills Charge on to sponsored workers. Home Office guidance states that attempting to recoup these charges can normally lead to sponsor licence revocation.
A three-year example
For a small sponsor obtaining a licence and sponsoring one Skilled Worker for three years:
- Sponsor licence: £611
- Certificate of Sponsorship: £525
- Immigration Skills Charge: £1,440
- Total sponsor-side Home Office cost: £2,576
For a medium or large sponsor, the equivalent total is £6,167, including £3,960 of Immigration Skills Charge.
If the business already holds the appropriate sponsor licence, the licence application fee should not be counted again for every worker.
Other routes can change the calculation
There is no separate immigration route formally called a “self-sponsorship visa”. A business owner may, depending on the circumstances, establish or work through a UK business that holds a Skilled Worker sponsor licence. Our self sponsorship visa UK route guide explains the structure.
Workers moving from the Graduate route should also check the Graduate visa to Skilled Worker switch. A Graduate visa holder does not receive the Immigration Skills Charge exemption available to someone who still has qualifying Student permission.
Sponsorship may not be necessary where another route is available. An eligible Commonwealth citizen with the required grandparent connection may qualify for a UK Ancestry visa application, which does not require employer sponsorship.
People already established in the UK may instead be approaching eligibility for indefinite leave to remain, the 10 year long residence route or British citizenship by naturalisation, depending on their immigration history and circumstances.
If you want your 2026 recruitment budget checked against the current rules before committing to a hire, Hedgley Immigration provides UK immigration advice for employers. Call 07704 909490 or email sean@hedgleyimmigration.co.uk.
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