Table Of Contents
- When do sponsors not need to pay the Immigration Skill Charge
- Other important exemptions from paying the charge
- What sponsors need to know about the UK’s increased Immigration Skill Charges
- Definition of a small or charitable sponsor
- How to pay the Immigration Skill Charges
- Summary
Most UK employers/sponsors are generally required to pay the ISC (Immigration Skills Charge), which is a mandatory fee when sponsoring foreign workers under the UK Skilled Worker visa or the UK GBM (Global Business Mobility) – Senior or Specialist Worker visa (previously ICT (Intra-Company Transfer) visa). Please note that in certain circumstances, you may not need to pay the charge when sponsoring someone on the Global Business Mobility Senior or Specialist Worker route. For example, if the worker was assigned a CoS (Certificate of Sponsorship) on or after 1 January 2023.
The sponsors have to pay this additional charge up front when assigning a CoS (Certificate of Sponsorship), and the ISC rate depends on the type and size of sponsoring company/organisation.
A sponsor must pay the ISC for sponsoring a worker who is applying for a visa from:
• Overseas to work in the UK for 6 months or more
• Within the UK for any length of time
When do sponsors not need to pay the Immigration Skill Charge?
You do not have to pay the immigration skill charges when sponsoring an individual with one of the following occupation codes:
• chemical scientists (2111)
• biological scientists (2112)
• biochemists and biomedical scientists (2113)
• physical scientists (2114)
• social and humanities scientists (2115)
• natural and social science professionals not elsewhere classified (2119)
• research and development managers (2161)
• other researchers, unspecified discipline (2162)
• higher education teaching professionals (2311)
You might also not be required to pay the charge if you are sponsoring a migrant worker who got their CoS before 6 April 2017.
There is no need to pay the skill charge for any of the worker’s dependants, for example, their spouse/partner or child.
Other important exemptions from paying the charge
Even on the UK Skilled Worker visa route, you may not have to pay the charge if:
• the worker is switching to a work visa from a visa that allows them to study, for example, a student visa
• the person you are sponsoring changes jobs
• the job is in certain PhD/research occupation codes,
• sponsorship from outside the UK is for less than 6 months in limited cases, • or specific exempt occupation codes apply.
What sponsors need to know about the UK’s increased Immigration Skill Charges?
The ISC (Immigration Skills Charge) has been increased by 32% for the Skilled Worker visa, where a sponsored worker is assigned a CoS on or after 16 December 2025.
The new ISC rates are as follows:
• First 12 months for medium and large sponsors: £1,320 (up from £1,000)
• Each additional 6 months for medium and large sponsors – £660 (up from £500)
• First 12 months for small and charitable sponsors: £480 per year (up from £364)
• Each additional 6 months for small and charitable sponsors – £240 (up from £182)
For more than 54 months, but no more than 60 months, large sponsors now pay £6,600 (up from £5,000) and small and charitable sponsors pay £2400 (up from £1,820) in skills charges alone.
UKVI will contact you if you do not pay the immigration skills charge or pay the wrong amount. You will then have 10 working days to pay the charge – if you do not, the UKVI will refuse your worker’s visa application.
Importantly, if you have assigned a CoS before 16 December 2025, you will continue to pay the lower rates, even if an applicant submits the visa application after this date.
Definition of a small or charitable sponsor
You are usually a small sponsor if at least 2 of the following is true:
• Your annual turnover is no more than £15 million
• Your total assets are worth no more than £7.5 million
• You have no more than 50 employees
On the other hand, you are a charitable sponsor if you are:
• A registered charity in England or Wales
• A registered charity in Scotland
• A registered charity in Northern Ireland
• An excepted charity (a type of charity in the UK that is charitable in law but does not need to register with the Charity Commission if its income stays below a certain threshold)
• An exempt charity (an organisation exempt from registration but recognised as charitable under UK law)
• an ecclesiastical corporation established for charitable purposes (It refers to a religious organisation or church body that has a separate legal identity and exists mainly for charitable religious purposes).
Even after the change in the ISC effective from 16 December 2025, you will still not have to pay the immigration skill charge if you are sponsoring a person with one of the following occupation codes:
(i)2111 (chemical scientists);
(ii)2112 (biological scientists);
(iii)2113 (biochemists and biomedical scientists);
(iv)2114 (physical scientists);
(v)2115 (social and humanities scientists);
(vi)2119 (natural and social science professionals not elsewhere classified);
(vii)2161 (research and development managers);
(viii)2162 (other researchers, unspecified discipline);
(ix)2311 (higher education teaching professionals);
How to pay the Immigration Skill Charges?
You pay the charge online through the SMS (Sponsor Management System) when you assign a CoS to the worker.
You must pay the charge yourself. You are generally prohibited from passing the ISC cost onto the workers. If you ask the sponsored worker to pay the fee or any costs linked to your application, the Home Office may revoke your sponsor license.
Summary
Businesses in the UK have a lot to plan as there have been lots of changes introduced regarding the Skilled Worker visa in 2025-2026. This includes a 32% rise in Immigration Skill Charges.
UK employers that depend on sponsoring workers from outside the UK system as a core part of their workforce planning will need to act quickly to manage exposure to the rise in total cost of sponsoring a worker while ensuring workforce stability and global talent mobility.
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