How Much Does it Cost a UK Sponsor to Hire a Skilled Worker From Overseas?
Immigration solicitors read lots of news stories about migration to the UK being out of control. Journalists aren’t just talking about channel crossings but also planned immigration through Work Permit Visas obtained through the UK points-based immigration system.
Readers of news articles could assume sponsoring overseas workers on Work Permit Visas is too easy for UK employers but, in this article, our immigration solicitors examine the cost to a UK business of sponsoring a skilled worker from overseas.
UK Online and London-Based Immigration Solicitors and Sponsorship Licence Lawyers
For sponsor licence and work visa immigration advice call OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
Sponsorship licences
The path to sponsoring an overseas job applicant on a Skilled Worker Visa starts with a sponsorship licence application. Our Sponsorship Licence lawyers are regularly asked to break down the costs of applying for a sponsor licence. Some costs are easy to identify, such as the sponsor licence application fee. Others depend on your business. For example, you may already have an excellent HR team that will need minimal training on sponsor licence management or only need to make minor adjustments to your policies and procedures.
The sponsor licence application fee depends on the size of your organisation. It is a cost that crops up every 4 years – the length of your sponsor licence. If the application fee is thought of as an annual cost it isn’t too steep. However, the fee does need to be paid upfront at the time of your first sponsorship licence application and then each time your business applies to renew its sponsor licence.
The sponsorship licence application fee is £536 if your business falls within the small businesses category or if you operate a charity of whatever size.
A small company is defined by statute (in the Companies Act). You are deemed to be a small company if you meet 2 of the following criteria:
- The company has a turnover of no more than £10.2 million
- The company has a balance sheet total of no more than £5.1 million
- The company doesn’t have more than 50 employees
If your company doesn’t fall within 2 of those small company criteria you will need to pay the sponsor licence application fee for a large company. The large company application fee is £1,476.
Once you have paid the application fee you don’t need to pay again for 4 years. Some would say that the application fee is modest when compared with UK recruitment costs that often don’t result in vacancies being filled because of the UK skills shortage.
Premium and priority sponsor licence services
Whilst the sponsorship licence application fee may seem affordable, most UK businesses are surprised by the size of the Home Office add-on fees for a premium service. These ‘premium’ fees are paid to the Home Office for quick decisions and Home Office caseworker support. They are extras that most firms elect not to pay for as paying for the premium service does not ensure that your company will get all its applications and requests granted – just that the Home Office will provide caseworker support and a speedier decision.
When you decide to apply for a sponsor licence our specialist Sponsorship Licence lawyers will talk you through the premium services offered by the Home Office and discuss whether the costs are justified for your firm. Many decide that the premium service costs are not justified and that their money is better spent on a professional sponsor licence management service to help their business manage the sponsor licence without any hassle.
The premium and priority sponsor licence costs are:
| Home Office premium and priority services | Cost |
| Premium service – Home Office support for a small company or charity | £8,000 – every 12 months |
| Premium service – Home Office support for a large company | £25,000 – every 12 months |
| Priority service to get a quicker decision on a sponsor licence application | £500 – when you apply for a sponsor licence |
| Quicker processing of a sponsorship management request | £200 – each time you ask for a priority decision |
The certificate of sponsorship
Once you have your sponsorship licence and your business is ready to sponsor your first overseas recruit to come to the UK on a Work Permit Visa the first step is to apply for a certificate of sponsorship from the Home Office using the sponsor management system. The fee for each certificate of sponsorship request is £239. This has recently risen from £199 for each certificate of sponsorship.
Without a certificate of sponsorship, the job applicant can't apply for their Skilled Worker Visa as the certificate (or reference number) contains all the employment information the Home Office official needs to process the work visa application. For example, it contains the job’s standard occupational classification code.
The immigration skills charge
The immigration skills charge is the major fee payable by the sponsoring employer when sponsoring a worker applying for a Skilled Worker Visa. The cost cannot be passed onto the worker when they start their job. For example, an employer can't deduct a proportion of the worker’s salary each month to reimburse them for paying the upfront immigration skills charge.
The amount payable for the immigration skills charge depends on whether your company is classed as large or small or if you are a registered charity or an exempt charity. In addition, the total figure is based on the length of the Skilled Worker Visa. The longer the Work Permit Visa the higher the fee.
If you are a charity or small business the immigration skills charge is £362 for the first 12 months of the visa and £182 for each additional 6 months.
If your business is classed as a large company the immigration skills charge is £1,000 for the first 12 months of the visa and £500 for each additional 6 months.
The full amount of the immigration skills charge (for the length of the requested visa) is payable by the sponsoring employer when they apply for a certificate of sponsorship to sponsor the recruit.
Employers are often concerned about whether the immigration skills charge is reimbursed if an employee does not join the firm or the worker leaves their employment before the end of their sponsorship. Sponsorship Licence lawyers say that you will be entitled to a full reimbursement of the immigration skills charge if the worker does not start work because they change their mind or their visa application is refused. You are entitled to a partial refund for the unused period if the employee leaves their job. For example, if the sponsored employee decides to return to their home country or to take up a new job with another sponsoring employer.
Jobs exempt from the immigration skills charge
Some jobs are exempt from the immigration skills charge. The immigration rules currently say that the following jobs and their standard occupational classification codes are exempt:
| Job exempt from immigration skills charge | Standard occupational classification code |
| Chemical scientist | 2111 |
| Biological scientists and biochemists | 2112 |
| Physical scientists | 2113 |
| Social and humanities scientists | 2114 |
| Natural and social science professionals not elsewhere classified | 2119 |
| Research and development managers | 2150 |
| Higher education teaching professionals | 2311 |
| Clergy | 2444 |
| Sports players | 3441 |
| Sports coaches, instructors or officials | 3442 |
The Skilled Worker Visa costs
In addition to the fees the sponsoring employer is responsible for many sponsoring employers also reimburse the recruit for their Skilled Worker Visa application fee and immigration health surcharge. In some sectors, this type of ‘golden hello’ is necessary as the worker can choose to work elsewhere where the Work Permit Visa fees are lower or payment of the immigration health surcharge is unnecessary because health insurance means the cost of healthcare for a sponsored worker is covered by insurance rather than publicly funded by a government.
In the UK, if a sponsoring employer offers private health insurance or the overseas job recruit has their own private health care insurance, the UK immigration rules still require payment of the immigration health surcharge as part of the visa application process.
For most visa applicants the immigration health surcharge is currently £624 per year. The amount of the immigration health surcharge depends on the visa length as the surcharge needs to be paid in full at the date of the visa application. The government has announced massive increases to various Home Office fees, including the immigration health surcharge. The charge is due to rise to over £1,000 per year.
Skilled Worker Visa application fees
If a Skilled Worker Visa applicant is applying for a Work Permit Visa from outside the UK for a visa lasting for 3 years or less the application fee is £719. The exact amount of the fee depends on the length of the visa, whether the visa application is made from within or outside the UK and if the sponsored job is on the shortage occupation list.
In addition to paying for their own visa application fee and immigration health surcharge, a visa applicant will also need to pay a dependant visa fee and the immigration health surcharge for each dependant family member, such as a partner and their children.
Next steps
If your company is interested in applying for a sponsor licence or needs help with sponsor licence management or assistance with ad hoc sponsor licence advice (for example on reporting and recording duty compliance or certificate of sponsorship allocation) our Sponsorship Licence lawyers can help your business. The business immigration team is led by Hans Sok Appadu and the team of immigration solicitors is committed to providing the best sponsor licence advice for UK business owners.
UK Online and London-Based Immigration Solicitors and Sponsorship Licence Lawyers
For sponsor licence and work permit visa immigration advice call OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
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