The Cost of Hiring Overseas Workers in the UK
Hiring overseas workers involves significant costs beyond the worker's salary. This guide breaks down every fee employers face when sponsoring a foreign worker on the Skilled Worker visa, from the sponsor licence to the immigration skills charge.
- Section
- Employers & Sponsors
- Reading time
- 9 min
- Last checked
- 2 September 2026
- Source
- The published Immigration Rules and GOV.UK guidance, linked throughout this guide.
- Rowan does not
- Look at your own case, tell you which route to choose, or say what the Home Office will decide. This guide shows the published rules and where to read them.
In short
- Sponsor licence: £611 (small or charitable) or £1,682 (medium or large), paid once — licences no longer expire.
- Certificate of sponsorship: £525 per worker on a Worker licence.
- Immigration skills charge: £480 or £1,320 for the first 12 months, then £240 or £660 for each further 6 months.
- None of the employer's own fees can be passed to a Skilled Worker.
- Many employers also cover the worker's visa fee and Immigration Health Surcharge as part of the package.
Employers hiring overseas workers face several costs: the sponsor licence (£611 to £1,682, paid once), the certificate of sponsorship (£525 per worker), the immigration skills charge (£480 or £1,320 for the first 12 months, then £240 or £660 for each further 6 months), plus potentially the worker's visa fee and Immigration Health Surcharge. A 5-year Skilled Worker sponsorship costs the employer £3,536 as a small or charitable sponsor and £8,807 as a medium or large one, rising to around £15,600 if the employer also covers the worker's costs.
Sponsor Licence
Before hiring any overseas worker, an employer must hold a valid sponsor licence. The licence fee depends on the size of the organisation:
- Small or charitable sponsors: £611
- Medium or large sponsors: £1,682
An organisation is usually a small sponsor if at least 2 of these apply: annual turnover of £15 million or less, total assets of £7.5 million or less, or 50 employees or fewer. Charities pay the small sponsor fee whatever their size.
The fee is paid once and the licence covers every worker sponsored under it. Since 6 April 2024 a licence does not expire and there is no renewal fee — see sponsor licence renewal. See the GOV.UK sponsor licence page for details.
Certificate of Sponsorship
Each worker needs a certificate of sponsorship. The fee is £525 per certificate on a Worker licence, which covers the Skilled Worker route, and £55 on a Temporary Worker licence. It does not vary with the size of the organisation, and it cannot be passed to a Skilled Worker.
Immigration Skills Charge
The immigration skills charge is the largest ongoing employer cost:
- Small or charitable: £480 for the first 12 months, then £240 for each further 6 months
- Medium or large: £1,320 for the first 12 months, then £660 for each further 6 months
This is paid upfront in one payment for the whole period on the certificate of sponsorship. For a 5-year Skilled Worker visa that is £6,600 per worker at the medium and large rate, or £2,400 at the small and charitable rate. Those are also the maximums, because sponsorship cannot run for more than 5 years.
Worker-Side Costs
While these are technically the worker's responsibility, many employers cover them:
- Visa application fee: Varies by route and duration. See our Skilled Worker cost guide.
- Immigration Health Surcharge: £1,035 per year. Often paid by the employer as part of the package.
- English language test: If the worker needs to take one.
Ongoing Compliance Costs
Beyond direct fees, employers must invest in compliance:
- HR time for sponsor duties and record-keeping
- Right to work checks for all employees
- Reporting changes in the worker's circumstances to the Home Office
- Immigration solicitor fees for complex cases
Cost of Settlement
After 5 years, a sponsored worker may apply for ILR. The ILR application fee is paid by the worker, not the employer. After ILR, the worker no longer needs sponsorship, which ends the employer's ongoing costs for that individual.
For the current salary requirements employers must meet, see the immigration salary list and our ILR salary threshold guide.
Is It Worth Hiring Overseas?
Despite the costs, many employers find that hiring overseas workers is essential for filling skills gaps, particularly in healthcare, technology, and engineering. The total cost should be weighed against the cost of unfilled vacancies, the quality of candidates available, and the long-term value the worker brings to the business.
For the latest fee information, check the GOV.UK visa fees transparency data.
You may also find our UK Visa Fees: Complete Guide and Immigration Health Surcharge helpful.
Questions and answers
How much does it cost an employer to hire an overseas worker?
The total cost depends on the visa route and the size of the employer. Major costs are the sponsor licence fee (£611 to £1,682, paid once), the certificate of sponsorship (£525), and the immigration skills charge (£480 or £1,320 for the first 12 months, then £240 or £660 for each further 6 months). For a 5-year sponsorship the employer's own costs come to £3,536 for a small or charitable sponsor and £8,807 for a medium or large one, before any of the worker's costs the employer chooses to cover.
Does the employer have to pay the worker's visa fee?
Employers are not required to pay the worker's visa application fee or Immigration Health Surcharge. Many choose to cover some or all of these costs as part of their recruitment package. The employer's own costs are different: since 31 December 2024 the sponsor licence fee, its administrative costs and the certificate of sponsorship fee cannot be passed to a Skilled Worker, and the immigration skills charge never could be.
What is the immigration skills charge?
The immigration skills charge is a fee paid by employers for each sponsored worker. It is not a flat yearly amount: a small or charitable organisation pays £480 for the first 12 months and £240 for each further 6 months, and a medium or large one pays £1,320 then £660. It is paid upfront in one payment for the full visa duration, and sponsorship is capped at 5 years, so the most payable for one worker is £2,400 or £6,600.
Are there any exemptions from employer costs?
Some exemptions exist. GOV.UK lists nine occupation codes that are exempt from the immigration skills charge, covering scientists, researchers, research and development managers and higher education teaching professionals. There is also no charge for a worker's dependants or for a worker switching from a Student visa inside the UK and then extending on the new visa. Small and charitable sponsors pay reduced rates throughout. Check the current rules on GOV.UK.
This guide is general information about published immigration rules. It is not advice about an individual application under s.82 Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, and Rowan is not regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority. Immigration rules change several times a year. For advice on a particular situation, contact an adviser authorised by the Immigration Advice Authority or an immigration solicitor. Always check GOV.UK for the authoritative current rules.