How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Skilled Migrant Worker in 2026?

How much does it cost to hire a skilled migrant worker in the UK?

The short answer: for a small sponsor hiring one worker on a 3-year Skilled Worker visa, expect to pay around £2,336 in Home Office fees alone. This includes the sponsor licence application fee (£611), Certificate of Sponsorship (£525), and Immigration Skills Charge (£1,200).

For the Health & Care Worker route, that drops to £1,136 because the ISC is exempt. These figures do not include legal fees, priority fees, visa application fees, or the Immigration Health Surcharge.

Now let's break it down.

Sponsor licence application fee

Before you can sponsor anyone, you need a sponsor licence from the Home Office. This is a one-off cost.

• Small or charitable sponsors: £611

• Medium or large sponsors: £1,682

You count as a small sponsor if at least two of these apply: your annual turnover is £15 million or less, your total assets are worth £7.5 million or less, or you have 50 employees or fewer.

Good news for existing licence holders. Since April 2024, the Home Office removed the need to renew your licence every four years. Your licence stays valid unless you surrender it or it gets revoked.

If you need a quicker decision, you can pay £750 for priority processing. This aims for a decision within 10 working days.

Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS)

For each worker you sponsor, you must assign a Certificate of Sponsorship. This is an electronic record, not a paper document.

The fee is £525 per worker.

You pay this each time you assign a CoS. If a worker changes roles, extends their visa, or switches routes, you will likely need a new CoS and pay the fee again.

One important rule: you cannot ask the worker to pay this fee. The Home Office is clear on this. Doing so puts your licence at risk. For more on CoS rules, read our guide on understanding minor and significant errors in sponsorship CoS.

Immigration Skills Charge (ISC)

This is the big one. The ISC is paid by the employer when you assign a CoS to a Skilled Worker or Senior or Specialist Worker.

Small or charitable sponsors pay £480 for the first 12 months, then £240 for each additional 6 months. The most you would pay for a 5-year visa is £2,400.

Medium or large sponsors pay £1,320 for the first 12 months, then £660 for each additional 6 months. The most for a 5-year visa is £6,600.

But here is the key difference between the two routes. If you are sponsoring someone on a Health & Care Worker visa, you do not pay the ISC at all. You are fully exempt. For a large sponsor hiring one worker for 5 years, that is a saving of £6,600.

Health & Care Worker route

The sponsor licence application fee and CoS fee are the same for both routes. The real saving on the Health & Care route comes from the ISC exemption.

Here is what a small sponsor would pay in employer-side Home Office fees to hire one worker for 3 years:

Skilled Worker route: Licence £611 + CoS £525 + ISC £1,200 = £2,336

Health & Care Worker route: Licence £611 + CoS £525 + ISC exempt = £1,136

On the worker's side, the differences are also significant. A Skilled Worker visa application starts at £819 from outside the UK. A Health & Care Worker visa starts at £324. Health & Care Worker visa holders and their dependants are also exempt from the Immigration Health Surcharge, which currently costs £1,035 per year per adult. These costs are separate from the employer fees listed above.

Priority services

Need a faster decision? Two optional paid services are available for both routes. These are in addition to the fees above.

• Visa priority (decision in 5 working days): £500

• Sponsor licence priority (decision in 10 working days): £750

Getting it right the first time

All the figures in this post are Home Office fees only. They do not include legal fees, priority fees, visa application fees, or the Immigration Health Surcharge.

But here is what many employers miss. The cost of a refused application goes beyond the fees you lose. It means a delayed hire, a gap in your team, and starting the whole process again.

Getting the right advice from the start can save you more than it costs.

At NARA Solicitors, we help employers with sponsor licence applications, compliance audits, and visa applications. We keep it simple, clear, and honest.

Book a consultation with NARA Solicitors today.