What it costs, in full
The licence fee is the small part. The per-hire charges are where the budget actually goes, and the Immigration Skills Charge on a five-year certificate is usually the largest single line.
Getting licensed
Paid once, when you apply. It is not refunded if you are refused, which is the main financial argument for not filing an application you are unsure about.
Small / charity
Medium / large
Worker licence
Skilled Worker, Senior or Specialist Worker, Minister of Religion, International Sportsperson.
Small / charity
£611Medium / large
£1,682Temporary Worker licence
All Temporary Worker routes. The same fee whatever your size.
Small / charity
£611Medium / large
£611Both licence types together
Applying for a Worker and a Temporary Worker licence at the same time costs no more than the Worker licence alone.
Small / charity
£611Medium / large
£1,682Priority service
Optional. A decision in 10 working days instead of up to 8 weeks. Limited slots released each working day.
Small / charity
£750Medium / large
£750Every sponsored worker
These repeat for each person you sponsor, and none of them can be recovered from the worker — not through a deduction, not through a clawback clause, not at all. Attempting it is one of the fastest routes to a revoked licence.
Small / charity
Medium / large
Certificate of sponsorship — Worker routes
Per certificate. Payable by you, never recoverable from the worker.
Small / charity
£525Medium / large
£525Certificate of sponsorship — Temporary Worker routes
Per certificate. Also covers International Sportsperson where the engagement is 12 months or less.
Small / charity
£55Medium / large
£55Immigration Skills Charge — first 12 months
Per sponsored worker. Paid up front for the full length of the certificate.
Small / charity
£480Medium / large
£1,320Immigration Skills Charge — each further 6 months
A five-year certificate means paying the first 12 months plus eight further blocks of six months.
Small / charity
£240Medium / large
£660Figures checked against GOV.UK in September 2026. Home Office fees change by regulation, sometimes mid-year — confirm the current figure before you budget.
What one hire actually costs over five years
A single small sponsor, hiring one Skilled Worker on a five-year certificate, starting from no licence at all.
One small sponsor, one Skilled Worker, five years
Worker licence application
One-off, however many people you go on to sponsor
Certificate of sponsorship
Per worker
Immigration Skills Charge, first 12 months
Small or charitable rate
Immigration Skills Charge, remaining 4 years
8 further blocks of 6 months at £240
Employer total over five years
£3,536Employer costs only. The worker pays their own visa fee and Immigration Health Surcharge, and you must not recover any of the figures above from them. Priority service, legal fees and any dependants are extra.
Which column applies to you
You are a small sponsor if you meet at least two of these. Registered charities count as small whatever their size. It is worth checking properly — the gap between the two columns on a five-year hire is over £4,000.
Annual turnover of £10.2 million or less
Total assets of £5.1 million or less
50 employees or fewer
Costs that land on the same budget
None of these appear in the Home Office fee tables, and all of them are avoidable.
The action plan after a B-rating
Downgraded sponsors pay for the action plan that restores the A-rating, and cannot assign certificates until it is completed.
Civil penalty for illegal working
Issued per person, and payable whether or not the worker was sponsored. Unpaid penalties block future licence applications.
A refused application
The licence fee is not returned, and a suitability refusal usually triggers a cooling-off period before you can apply again.
Right to work check systems
Identity verification and record-keeping tools, if your current process would not survive a visit.
What we charge on top
Fixed fees, excluding VAT and everything above. Nothing on this website takes a payment — these are published so you can budget without having to ask.
Licence readiness review
A straight answer on whether you would be granted today, and a list of what to fix if not.
Credited against a full application if you go ahead
Full licence application
We prepare and submit the whole application, and handle UKVI from filing to decision.
Excludes the Home Office fee
Licence plus first sponsored hire
The licence, the certificate and the worker's visa application, run as one piece of work.
Excludes Home Office and visa fees
Ongoing compliance
The part employers forget to buy, and the reason most licences get into trouble.
Per month. Rolling — cancel with 30 days' notice
Figures checked against GOV.UK in September 2026. Home Office fees change by regulation, sometimes mid-year — confirm the current figure before you budget.
Want the figure for your actual situation?
Tell us the sector, the size band and how many people you want to sponsor. We will send back the real total, split into Home Office fees and ours.