Sponsor Licence Application Fee: Employers’ Guide 2026

Section A: What is the sponsor licence application fee?

Sponsorship is a valuable route to accessing global talent, but it requires upfront investment and a commitment to ongoing legal and regulatory duties.

The headline 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).

The sponsor licence fee will also depend on the type of licence that you are applying for. 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.

1. How much is the sponsor licence application fee?

The fee for a Worker sponsor licence is £611 for small or charitable sponsors and £1,682 for medium or large sponsors. The Temporary Worker sponsor licence fee is £611. Where a large sponsor applies for a combined Worker and Temporary Worker licence, the fee is £1,682. Where a medium or large sponsor already holds a Temporary Worker and/or Student licence and applies to add a Worker licence, the fee is £1,071.

2. Which licence fee applies?

The responsibility to pay the correct type of sponsor licence fee rests entirely with you as the applicant, and underpayment can result in the application being rejected as invalid.

To qualify as a small sponsor, an organisation typically needs to satisfy at least two of these conditions: an annual turnover of no more than £15 million, total assets valued at £7.5 million or less, or a workforce of 50 or fewer employees.

For charitable sponsor status, the organisation must be a registered charity in England or Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland, with unregistered Northern Irish charities providing evidence of their charitable tax status from HMRC.

Other qualifying charitable entities include excepted charities, exempt charities, and ecclesiastical corporations set up for charitable objectives.

3. Is the sponsor licence application fee refundable?

The sponsor licence application fee is non-refundable once UKVI has started considering the application. If you withdraw your application before a caseworker begins work on it, you may be able to get the fee refunded.

Refunds are not available if the application is refused for any reason, including applying for the wrong licence type, submitting incomplete documents, or failing the suitability or eligibility tests, for example, compliance history, inadequate HR systems, or previous immigration breaches.

If the application is rejected as invalid before consideration starts, a refund may be made under the Home Office refunds policy, usually less a £30 administrative charge.

Section B: Additional Sponsor licence application fees

Applying for a sponsor licence involves more than just the initial application fee. Employers should also be aware of a range of additional costs that can arise during the licence process and once the licence is granted. These include fees for faster processing, costs linked to assigning Certificates of Sponsorship, and statutory charges such as the Immigration Skills Charge.

1. Fast-tracked sponsor licence application processing

Most sponsor licence applications are usually decided within 8 weeks under the standard service

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 £750. 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 subject to a daily cap, where faster decisions are allocated in the order that requests arrive, so on a first come, first served basis from 9am Monday to Friday. You will be advised how to request a faster decision after you apply.

Processing delays will result if the Home Office requests further information or documents, or a compliance visit to your premises is considered necessary before reaching a decision on your application. This underscores the importance of ensuring the initial application is comprehensive and complete and being inspection-ready when you make the application.

2. 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 worker on any given route. The CoS will contain a unique reference number which the visa applicant 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 a CoS to a worker on any of the ‘Temporary Worker’ routes is £55, including the Global Business Mobility Graduate Trainee, UK Expansion Worker, Service Supplier, Secondment Worker and Scale-up routes.

The fee to assign a CoS on one of the main ‘Worker’ routes is £525, such as Skilled Worker, T2 Minister of Religion, and Global Business Mobility Senior or Specialist Worker.

For the International Sportsperson route, if the CoS is assigned for more than 12 months, the fee is £525, while the fee for assignments of 12 months or less is £55.

3. 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 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.

The charge is paid up front when a Certificate of Sponsorship is assigned, and the rate depends on the size and type of sponsoring organisation.

The Immigration Skills Charge rate for medium and large sponsors is now £1,320 per worker for the first 12 months, with each additional six months incurring a further £660. For small or charitable sponsors, the rate is £480 for the first 12 months, and £240 for each further six-month period.

As the sponsor of Skilled and/or Senior or Specialist Workers you will have to pay the immigration skills charge if prospective workers are applying for a relevant 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.

4. Visa application costs

As a sponsor, you may also elect to take responsibility for the costs to the worker associated with applying for a visa, having been assigned a CoS. These will include a visa application fee, any premium processing fee to pay for a faster decision and an annual health 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 health surcharge.

In some cases, it may be possible to pay for a faster decision for an additional fee under premium visa processing services. 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 £1000 respectively.

5. Scale-up licence endorsement

Employers applying for a Scale-up sponsor licence under the endorsing body pathway must pay a separate endorsement fee of £1,500 to the endorsing body, excluding VAT. This fee is in addition to the Home Office licence application charge and covers the cost of verifying that the business meets the specific eligibility criteria for the Scale-up route.

6. Action plans following downgrades

If a sponsor licence is downgraded from an A-rating to a B-rating, the employer must follow a Home Office action plan to regain compliance. The fee for this plan is £1,579. During the downgrade period, the sponsor may not assign new Certificates of Sponsorship until the improvements are made and the licence rating is restored. This can create operational disruption as well as additional cost.

Section C: Recouping immigration fees from sponsored workers

Employers are increasingly scrutinised by the Home Office when it comes to recovering immigration-related costs from sponsored workers. Sponsorship generates unavoidable expenses, but the rules do not allow employers to assume that these can be passed on to the worker. Failure to comply with these rules can place your sponsor licence at risk, including suspension or revocation.

Current sponsor guidance places strict limits on when, and how, employers can recover immigration-related costs from sponsored workers. In particular, the Home Office may take compliance action where a sponsor recoups, or attempts to recoup, specified sponsorship costs from a worker in circumstances prohibited by the guidance. This includes sponsor licence fees and associated administrative costs in defined situations.

Sponsors should not assume that a cost can be passed on to a worker simply because it relates to the visa process. The Home Office will consider the substance of any arrangement, including whether the worker is effectively bearing a cost that the sponsor is expected to meet, and whether the arrangement places pressure on the worker to remain in employment.

1. Sponsorship costs and Home Office restrictions

Home Office rules make clear that certain sponsorship-related costs are the responsibility of the employer and cannot be recovered from the worker in circumstances prohibited by the sponsor guidance.
These include:

• Sponsor Licence Application Fees: including associated administrative and priority service costs
• Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) Fees: the cost of assigning a CoS to a sponsored worker
• Immigration Skills Charge: payable by the employer when sponsoring workers under applicable routes

The Home Office has made clear that it may take enforcement action, including licence revocation, where sponsors attempt to recover prohibited costs from workers.

2. Other immigration-related costs

Employers may, in some circumstances, agree with workers that they contribute to certain other immigration-related costs. These may include:

• Visa application fees for entry clearance or permission to stay
• The Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS)
• Priority or super priority visa processing fees
• Relocation expenses or legal representation costs

However, any such arrangement must be assessed carefully. The ability to recover these costs is not automatic and will depend on the specific circumstances, the wording of any agreement, and compliance with employment law.

3. Clawback agreements

Some employers opt for a clawback agreement to recover part of their investment if the worker leaves employment earlier than agreed. These arrangements must be approached with caution.

Clawback clauses should:

• Be clearly set out in writing before costs are incurred
• Be proportionate to the actual costs paid by the employer
• Taper over time rather than impose a fixed penalty
• Comply with employment law, including rules on unlawful deductions from wages and National Minimum Wage requirements

Clawback arrangements must not be structured in a way that seeks to recover costs that are prohibited under sponsor guidance or that places undue pressure on the worker to remain in employment.

4. Risks of non-compliance

Attempting to recover prohibited costs from sponsored workers can have serious consequences. These may include:

• Licence suspension or revocation
• Disruption to recruitment and workforce planning
• Employment disputes or tribunal claims where deductions breach employment law
• Increased scrutiny during Home Office compliance audits

Employers should:

• Review internal policies to ensure they reflect current sponsor guidance
• Train HR, recruitment and payroll teams on how immigration-related costs are handled
• Audit contracts and repayment agreements for compliance
• Take legal advice before introducing or enforcing clawback arrangements

In practice, the cost of getting this wrong can far outweigh any short-term financial benefit. A revoked licence can prevent all overseas recruitment and have significant operational consequences.

Section D: Sponsor licence management costs

The 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. It costs £350 for expedited processing of change of circumstances requests. When using this service, you will usually receive a decision on your request within 5 working days, where standard processing can take considerably longer.

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 £1,579.

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.

Summary

Applying for a sponsor licence involves far more than paying the initial application fee. Employers must be ready for a wide range of additional costs that arise throughout the sponsorship process, from Certificates of Sponsorship and the Immigration Skills Charge to premium services and compliance assessments. The Home Office has also tightened rules around recouping costs, prohibiting employers from passing on licence and CoS fees to sponsored workers.

Mismanaging these obligations can have serious financial and operational consequences, including the suspension or revocation of the licence. For employers, the key is careful financial planning and an informed approach to compliance. Building accurate cost forecasting into recruitment budgets ensures there are no surprises, while robust internal policies reduce the risk of enforcement action.

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 and the type of licence being applied for.

How much does the sponsor licence application fee cost?

For small businesses and charities, the Worker Sponsor Licence application fee is £611, and for medium or large sponsors, it is £1,682.

Are there additional costs involved?

Additional costs may include the Priority Service fee for expedited processing and mandatory fees for issuing Certificates of Sponsorship for individual workers.

Is the application fee refundable if the licence is refused?

The fee is non-refundable if refused. A refund may be available only if you withdraw before UKVI starts considering the application.

Can the application fee be paid in instalments?

The application fee must be paid in full at the time of submitting the application, or it will not be processed.

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