Sponsor Licence Application Fee: Employers’ Guide

The sponsor licence application fee is a mandatory cost that UK employers must pay when applying for a licence to sponsor skilled workers from overseas. The fee is determined by the size and type of the organisation and is paid as part of the application process to UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI).

Sponsoring skilled overseas workers can provide your business with significant benefits, not least being able to widen the pool of talent from which to recruit the best and brightest from around the world. However, there are various costs associated with the sponsorship process that need to be factored into your overall budget when it comes to recruitment.

The following guide looks at the costs associated with applying for and managing a sponsor licence, including the sponsor licence application fee and the fees for assigning Certificates of Sponsorship to sponsored workers, together with the immigration skills charge, where applicable. We also look at the fees for the optional premium services on offer to employers.

 

How much is the sponsor licence application fee?

 

The sponsor licence fee will depend on the type of licence that you are applying for, as well as the size and charitable status of your UK-based organisation. For sponsor licence fee purposes, there are two types of licence: a ‘Worker’ and ‘Temporary Worker’ licence.

The ‘Worker’ sponsor licence will allow you to recruit migrant workers in various different types of skilled employment in the UK, typically in long-term roles, such as the Skilled Worker route, as well as the Senior or Specialist Worker route under the Global Business Mobility (GBM) umbrella. In contrast, the ‘Temporary Worker’ licence is to sponsor workers in more short-term roles, including the remaining four GBM routes which, for sponsor licence fee purposes, are classed as ‘Temporary Worker’ routes. However you can apply for both types of licence at the same time or apply to add the other type to an existing licence.

When applying for a ‘Temporary Worker’ licence, the sponsor licence fee is £536, regardless of what type of organisation you are. The fee for a ‘Worker’ licence is £536 for small or charitable sponsors and £1,476 for medium or large sponsors. The cost to apply for both types of sponsor licence at the same time also depends on the size and charitable status of your business, so £536 or £1,476 respectively. There is no sponsor licence fee for a small or charitable sponsor to add a ‘Worker’ licence to an existing ‘Temporary Worker’ licence, with a £940 fee for medium or large sponsors. However, there is no fee for an applicant of any size to add a ‘Temporary Worker’ licence to an existing ‘Worker’ licence.

You will usually be classed as a small sponsor if at least two of the following apply:

 

• the annual turnover of your business is £10.2 million or less
• the total assets of your business are worth £5.1 million or less
• your business has 50 employees or fewer.

 

You will be classed as a charitable sponsor if you are:

 

• a registered charity in England, Wales, Scotland or N.Ireland, where you must provide proof from HMRC of your charitable status for tax purposes unless you are on the register
• an excepted or exempt charity
• an ecclesiastical corporation established for charitable purposes.

 

The responsibility to pay the correct type of sponsor licence fee rests entirely with you as the applicant, where you risk your application being rejected if you underpay.

 

Fast-tracked sponsor licence fee

 

Most sponsor licence applications are dealt with by the UK Home Office in a period of less than 8 weeks, under the standard processing service. However, delays will result if a compliance visit to your business premises is considered necessary before reaching a decision on your application.

Under the fast-tracked pre-licence priority service, you may be able to get a decision on your licence application within 10 working days for an additional fee of £500. However, this service does not necessarily guarantee a quicker turnaround time, especially where a compliance visit is needed. It also does not guarantee a positive outcome. It is also worth noting that this service is limited to a small number of applications every working day, where faster decisions are allocated in the order that requests arrive, so on a first come, first served basis. You will be told how to ask for a faster decision after you apply.

 

Certificate of sponsorship fee

 

In addition to the sponsor licence fee, there will be a fee to assign each Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) to a migrant worker on any given route. The CoS will contain a unique reference number which any prospective recruit will need to be able to apply for entry clearance or permission to stay in the UK and to work in the job role set out in their CoS.

The fee to assign each CoS to a migrant worker on any one of the ‘Temporary Worker’ routes will be £25, while the fee to assign an CoS to a worker on one of the ‘Worker’ routes will be £239. The only exception is where an CoS is assigned to an applicant for 12 months or less on the International Sportsperson route, a ‘Worker’ route, where the fee will be just £25. These extra sponsor licence costs will apply for each and every CoS, including where a worker is applying to extend their stay in the UK under the same route.

These fees may, however, increase in 2025 under Home Office plans to increase certain sponsorship fees.

 

Optional sponsor licence premium service fees

 

Having been granted either a ‘Worker’ and/or ‘Temporary Worker’ sponsor licence, you will be given the option to pay for a premium customer service. For medium or large sponsors, the cost for 12 months is £25,000, reduced to £8,000 for small or charitable sponsors, where this service offers an enhanced level of support for organisations employing migrant workers. Each premium customer will have their own dedicated account manager, providing tailored guidance and support to meet the immigration needs of their business.

As a sponsor of ‘Workers’ or ‘Temporary Workers’, you can also pay £200 for the expedited processing of a sponsorship management request. This priority change of circumstances service allows sponsors to fast-track certain administrative changes in relation to their sponsor licence, such as requesting additional CoS allocation or changing any of the key personnel originally nominated in the sponsor licence application. When using this service, you will usually receive a decision on your request within 5 working days where, under standard processing times, requests can take up to 18 weeks to process.

 

How much is the immigration skills charge?

 

The immigration skills charge (ISC) is an additional cost that you may have to pay when assigning CoS to new recruits on the Skilled Worker and the Senior or Specialist Worker routes. Unless this charge is paid, the sponsorship certificate will not be treated as valid, where the migrant worker will not be able to make a visa application until this is paid.

As with the sponsor licence fees, the immigration skills charge will depend on the size or charitable status of your organisation, as well as the length of stay for which your new recruit will be coming to work in the UK. This charge is set at £364 for small or charitable sponsors for the first 12 months, plus £182 for every additional 6 months, and £1,000 for medium or large sponsors for the first 12 months, plus £500 for every additional 6 months.

As the sponsor of Skilled and/or Senior or Specialist Workers you will have to pay the immigration skills charge if prospective migrant workers are applying for a visa from overseas to work in the UK for 6 months or more, or inside the UK for any length of time.

The ISC must be paid by the employer.

 

Recouping immigration fees from sponsored workers

 

As of 31 December 2024, the Home Office has expanded its prohibitions on costs that employers cannot recoup from sponsored workers. Previously, only the Immigration Skills Charge was explicitly non-recoverable. The updated guidance now also forbids employers from reclaiming the following expenses:

 

• Sponsor Licence Application Fees: Employers are prohibited from recouping the fees associated with applying for a sponsor licence, including any administrative costs and premium service fees.
• Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) Fees: The cost of assigning a CoS to a sponsored worker cannot be passed on to the employee.

 

Attempting to recover these costs from sponsored workers can lead to serious consequences, including potential revocation of the sponsor licence. Employers should ensure their policies or contractual agreements relating to clawbacks are legally-compliant. It’s advisable to seek legal advice when seeking to deduct or recoup immigration or visa-related costs from employees.

 

Cost of upgrading a sponsor licence

 

When you are approved for a sponsor licence, you will usually be granted a licence with an A-rating, although your licence may be downgraded to a B-rating if you fail to meet your sponsorship duties during its period of validity. Your duties as a licensed sponsor include keeping appropriate records for your sponsored workers and informing the UK Home Office if any of these workers are not complying with the main conditions of their visa.

If a decision is made by the Home Office to downgrade your sponsor licence, although you will still be able to assign CoS to existing workers looking to extend their permission to stay in the UK, you will not be able to issue new sponsorship certificates until you have made the necessary improvements and upgraded back to an A-rating. To be able to upgrade your licence you will need to follow a Home Office action plan at a cost of £1,476.

The only exception to being granted an A-rating is on the UK Expansion Worker route. If the Authorising Officer (AO) named in your licence application is based outside the UK, you will be given a provisional licence rating and will only be allocated one CoS which must be assigned to the AO to enable them to apply for entry clearance. It is only once your AO has successfully been granted a visa to come to the UK that they can up-rate your licence.

 

Ongoing sponsor licence costs

 

In addition to the sponsor licence fee and other costs associated with the sponsorship process, there are various minimum salary requirements that must also be met to be able to sponsor a migrant worker on certain routes and that must be factored into your budget.

For the Skilled Worker route for example, you can only issue a CoS if you have job roles that meet the route-specific requirements, including a minimum salary requirement. This means that the proposed salary for your new overseas recruit must meet the general salary threshold, or the ‘going rate’ for the selected occupation, which is higher. Each occupation code has its own annual going rate, where you can check the going rates at GOV.UK under Appendix Skilled Occupations.

As a sponsor of migrant workers, you may also elect to take responsibility for the costs to the worker associated with applying for a visa, having been assigned an CoS. These will include a visa application fee, any premium processing fee to pay for a faster decision and an annual healthcare surcharge to enable them to access the NHS during their stay.

The fee to apply for the different types of work visas vary, depending on the applicant’s circumstances, and are in addition to the healthcare surcharge.

In some cases, it may be possible to pay for a faster decision for an additional fee under premium processing service. For example, if the applicant is applying to switch to a work route from the UK, the cost for the priority and super priority service will be an extra £500 and £800 respectively.

 

Need assistance?

 

DavidsonMorris offers a complete employer sponsorship licence application service, with our team of UK immigration specialists highly experienced in all the documentary and evidentiary requirements vital to a prompt and stress-free process when applying for a sponsor licence. We also provide guidance on best practice in managing the licence and avoiding enforcement issues. For guidance on applying for a sponsor licence, contact us.

 

Sponsor licence application fee FAQs

 

What is the sponsor licence application fee?

The sponsor licence application fee is the amount employers must pay when applying for a licence to sponsor skilled workers from overseas. The fee varies based on the size and type of organisation.

 

How much does the sponsor licence application fee cost?

For small businesses and charities, the fee is £536. For medium and large organisations, the fee is £1,476.

 

Are there additional costs involved?

Yes, additional costs may include the Priority Service fee (£500) for expedited processing and mandatory fees for issuing Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) for individual workers.

 

Is the application fee refundable if the licence is refused?

No, the application fee is non-refundable, even if UKVI refuses the licence application. Employers must ensure their application is complete and meets all requirements to minimise the risk of refusal.

 

Can the application fee be paid in instalments?

No, the application fee must be paid in full at the time of submitting the application.

 

What happens after the fee is paid?

Once the fee is paid, UKVI will begin processing the application. Employers must submit all required documents and a signed submission sheet to support their application.

 

Glossary

 

 

Term	Definition
Sponsor Licence	A licence issued by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) that allows UK employers to sponsor skilled workers from overseas.
Sponsor Licence Application Fee	The mandatory fee employers must pay when applying for a sponsor licence, varying based on organisation size and type.
Small Business	An organisation that meets specific criteria, such as having fewer than 50 employees and an annual turnover of less than £10.2 million, qualifying for the lower application fee.
Medium and Large Business	Organisations with 50 or more employees or an annual turnover exceeding £10.2 million, subject to the higher application fee.
Priority Service	An optional service that expedites the processing of sponsor licence applications for an additional fee of £500.
Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS)	A document issued by a sponsor to a foreign worker, allowing them to apply for a UK visa under a specific route.
UKVI	UK Visas and Immigration, the Home Office agency responsible for managing the UK’s visa and immigration system.
Submission Sheet	A document generated during the sponsor licence application process that must be signed and submitted with supporting evidence.
Non-Refundable Fee	A fee that is not returned to the employer if the licence application is refused by UKVI.
Licence Renewal	The process of extending the validity of a sponsor licence after its initial period, requiring the same application fee.
Eligibility Criteria	The conditions employers must meet to apply for or renew a sponsor licence, including proving a genuine need for sponsorship and demonstrating compliance capabilities.
Compliance Obligations	The legal duties of sponsor licence holders, such as record-keeping, reporting changes, and ensuring workers meet visa requirements.
Supporting Documentation	Evidence required to accompany a sponsor licence application, such as proof of business registration and financial records.