The immigration skills charge is the largest recurring cost of sponsoring a worker — and it went up by about a third. Knowing the real number tells you a lot about which employers will and will not sponsor.
The 2026 rates
| Sponsor size | First 12 months | Each further 6 months | Cost of a 5-year sponsorship |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small or charitable | £480 | £240 | £2,400 |
| Medium or large | £1,320 | £660 | £6,600 |
Rates verified against GOV.UK on 2026-08-10, following the increase announced in the July 2025 reforms.
An organisation counts as small if it meets two of: turnover of £10.2 million or less, assets of £5.1 million or less, or 50 employees or fewer. Registered charities pay the small rate regardless of size.
How it is calculated
The charge is based on the length of employment stated on the Certificate of Sponsorship, paid up front and in full when the CoS is assigned. A large sponsor hiring someone for three years pays £1,320 + £660 + £660 + £660 = £3,960 on day one.
If the worker leaves early, or the visa is refused, the sponsor can reclaim a proportionate refund.
This is never your bill
The skills charge, the sponsor licence fee and the CoS fee are the employer's by law, and cannot be passed to the worker — not as a deduction, not as a “training bond”, not as a clawback if you resign. If an employer asks you to cover any of it, that is a licence-threatening breach. See our guide to finding a sponsor safely.
Who is exempt
- Workers sponsored on the Global Business Mobility — Graduate Trainee route.
- People switching from a Student or Graduate visa to Skilled Worker inside the UK.
- Certain PhD-level occupations, including many science and higher education roles.
- Sponsorship for less than six months.
- Most Temporary Worker routes, such as Charity Worker, Creative Worker and Religious Worker.
That exemption for Student and Graduate visa switchers is worth knowing: it removes thousands of pounds from the employer's cost of hiring you, and is a genuinely useful thing to mention in a conversation about sponsorship.
Why this matters to job seekers
Add it up from the employer's side for a five-year hire at a large company: £1,579 licence + £525 CoS + £6,600 skills charge ≈ £8,700, before any legal fees. That is why:
- large, established sponsors advertise sponsorship openly — it is already budgeted;
- small firms and charities sponsor more than people expect — they pay a third of the rate;
- employers are far more willing when you are switching from a Student or Graduate visa.
You can see which employers hold licences, and their size and rating, on the sponsor list. For your own costs, use the visa cost calculator.