UK visa sponsorship for employers

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Immigration skills charge

You might have to pay an additional charge when you assign a certificate of sponsorship to someone applying for a Skilled Worker or Senior or Specialist Worker visa. This is called the ‘immigration skills charge’.

You must pay the immigration skills charge if they’re applying for a visa from:

  • outside the UK to work in the UK for 6 months or more
  • inside the UK for any length of time

When you do not need to pay

You will not have to pay the charge if you’re sponsoring someone with one of the following occupation codes:

  • chemical scientists (2111)
  • biological scientists (2112)
  • biochemists and biomedical scientists (2113)
  • physical scientists (2114)
  • social and humanities scientists (2115)
  • natural and social science professionals not elsewhere classified (2119)
  • research and development managers (2161)
  • other researchers, unspecified discipline (2162)
  • higher education teaching professionals (2311)

You also might not have to pay the charge if you’re sponsoring a worker who was assigned a certificate before 6 April 2017 - there’s more information in the immigration skills charge guidance for sponsors.

You will not need to pay the charge for any of the worker’s dependants, for example their partner or child.

If you’re sponsoring someone to switch to a work visa from a visa that allows them to study

You will not have to pay the charge if they switch to either a Skilled Worker or Senior or Specialist Worker visa and then extend their stay on the new visa.

If you’re sponsoring someone on the Global Business Mobility Senior or Specialist Worker route

You will not have to pay the charge if all of the following apply to the worker you’re sponsoring:

  • they were assigned a certificate of sponsorship on or after 1 January 2023
  • they are a national of an EU country or hold a Latvian non-citizen’s passport
  • they normally work in the EU for your EU business but have been temporarily transferred to work in the UK
  • the end date of the temporary transfer, as specified on the certificate of sponsorship, is no more than 36 months after the start date

If the person you’re sponsoring changes jobs

If you’ve assigned a certificate of sponsorship to someone in your organisation who then moves to a new job in your organisation, you’ll need to assign them a new certificate. They will use this to apply for a new visa.

You only need to do this if the new job has a different occupation code.

You must pay the immigration skills charge for the full length of their visa. If the new certificate of sponsorship allows the worker more time on their visa, you’ll need to pay for this extra time.

You do not need to pay the additional immigration skills charge if the new certificate of sponsorship does not extend the time on your sponsored worker’s visa.

Example

A worker has a visa from 1 January 2021 to 1 January 2023. You pay the immigration skills charge for that 2 year period. The worker gets a new job in your organisation and you assign them a new certificate of sponsorship that extends their visa to 1 July 2023.

In this example, you would need to pay an additional immigration skills charge to cover the extra 6 months (1 January 2023 to 1 July 2023).

How to pay

You pay the immigration skills charge when you assign a certificate of sponsorship to the worker.

How much it costs

The amount you need to pay is based on:

  • the size of your organisation
  • how long the worker will work for you, using the start and end dates on their sponsorship certificate
Period Small or charitable sponsors Medium or large sponsors
First 12 months £364 £1,000
Each additional 6 months £182 £500

How to tell if you’re a small or charitable sponsor

You’re usually a small sponsor if at least 2 of the following apply:

  • your annual turnover is £10.2 million or less
  • your total assets are worth £5.1 million or less
  • you have 50 employees or fewer

You’re a charitable sponsor if you’re:

If you’re not sure which category your business fits into contact the Business Helpdesk:

Business Helpdesk
[email protected]

How much to pay based on how long the worker will work for you

If the worker will be in the UK for longer than 6 months but less than a year, you must pay for at least 12 months.

You must pay the full charge in one go.

The longest you can sponsor a worker for is 5 years, so the most you’ll have to pay is:

  • £1,820 (5 x £364) if you’re a small or charitable sponsor
  • £5,000 (5 x £1,000) if you’re a medium or large sponsor

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) will contact you if you do not pay the charge or pay the wrong amount. You’ll have 10 working days to pay the charge - the worker’s visa application will be refused if you do not.

Refunds

You’ll get a full refund if the worker’s visa application is:

  • refused or withdrawn
  • successful, but they do not come to work for you

You’ll get a partial refund if the worker:

  • gets less time on their visa than you sponsored them for
  • starts working for you but then changes to another sponsor
  • leaves their job before the end date on their certificate of sponsorship

You’ll also get a partial refund if you paid the medium or large sponsor fee when assigning the certificate, but had already notified UKVI that you’re now a small or charitable sponsor.

How long it takes

You usually get a refund within 90 days of:

  • telling UKVI that the worker did not come to work for you
  • the expiration date on the worker’s certificate of sponsorship, if they did not use it to apply for a visa
  • the date the worker’s visa application is refused or withdrawn
  • the date you assigned the certificate of sponsorship, if you had already notified UKVI that you became a small or charitable sponsor

If the worker’s visa application is refused, they can ask for the decision to be reviewed. This is known as an ‘administrative review’.

If they do not ask for an administrative review, you’ll get a refund within 90 days of the deadline for applying for one.

You’ll get a refund within 90 days of the administrative review being dismissed if the worker applied for one and were unsuccessful.

Contact UKVI if your refund is not paid within 90 days.

View a printable version of the whole guide

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