A Skilled Worker visa costs from £628 for the application alone, but the true cost — once the Immigration Health Surcharge, Certificate of Sponsorship and Immigration Skills Charge are added — typically runs between roughly £4,000 and £10,000 across the employee and employer combined for a standard three-year sponsorship. The exact figure depends on where you’re applying from, how long your Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) is for, the size of the sponsoring employer, and whether the role sits on the Immigration Salary List. This guide breaks down every fee separately, so you know exactly who pays what before you commit to an application.
All figures below reflect Home Office fees effective from 8 April 2026.
How much does a Skilled Worker visa cost in 2026?
The headline application fee depends on two things: whether you’re applying from outside or inside the UK, and whether your Certificate of Sponsorship covers three years or less, or more than three years.
| Application type | Up to 3 years | More than 3 years |
|---|---|---|
| Outside the UK (entry clearance) | £819 | £1,618 |
| Inside the UK (leave to remain / extension) | £943 | £1,865 |
| Immigration Salary List occupation (either location) | £628 | £1,235 |
If your job is on the Immigration Salary List — the successor to the old Shortage Occupation List — you pay the discounted rate regardless of whether you’re applying from inside or outside the UK. Your sponsor’s HR or immigration team will confirm whether your role qualifies when the Certificate of Sponsorship is assigned.
The application fee is only the starting point. Three further costs apply to almost every Skilled Worker visa application, and it matters which side of the employment relationship pays each one.
Fees the employee pays
- The application fee — see the table above. Paid when you submit your visa application.
- The Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) — £1,035 per year for adults, or £776 per year for under-18s, students, their dependants and Youth Mobility Scheme applicants. This is charged for the full length of your visa in one upfront payment, not annually. A three-year Skilled Worker visa therefore costs £3,105 in IHS alone for an adult applicant (3 × £1,035); a five-year visa costs £5,175.
- Optional priority services — £500 for the priority service (faster decision) or £1,000 for the super priority service, if you need a quicker outcome and it’s available for your route.
Applicants also need to show maintenance funds of £1,270 held for 28 days, unless the sponsor certifies maintenance on the Certificate of Sponsorship — this isn’t a fee paid to the Home Office, but it’s a cost to plan for.
Fees the employer (sponsor) pays
- The sponsor licence fee — a one-off cost to become a licensed sponsor in the first place, not a per-worker charge: £574 for small or charitable organisations, £1,579 for medium or large organisations. The licence is valid for four years.
- The Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) — £525 per worker, paid when the sponsor assigns the CoS that the employee needs to apply.
- The Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) — the largest and most easily underestimated employer cost, charged per sponsored worker for the length of the CoS:
| Sponsor size | First 12 months | Each additional 6-month period |
|---|---|---|
| Small or charitable sponsor | £364 | £182 |
| Medium or large sponsor | £1,000 | £500 |
For a three-year (36-month) Certificate of Sponsorship, that means four additional six-month periods on top of the first year — so a small/charitable sponsor pays £364 + (4 × £182) = £1,092 in total ISC per worker, while a medium/large sponsor pays £1,000 + (4 × £500) = £3,000.
The ISC rose sharply in December 2025 — see our breakdown of the December 2025 Immigration Skills Charge increase if you’re budgeting against last year’s figures, as several employers have been caught out using pre-increase numbers.
Worked cost scenarios — what a real application costs
These scenarios assume a single applicant on a standard three-year Certificate of Sponsorship, applying from outside the UK.
Scenario A — Standard role, small/charitable sponsor
| Payer | Item | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Employee | Application fee | £819 |
| Employee | IHS (3 years) | £3,105 |
| Employee total | £3,924 | |
| Employer | Certificate of Sponsorship | £525 |
| Employer | Immigration Skills Charge | £1,092 |
| Employer total | £1,617 | |
| Combined total | £5,541 | |
Scenario B — Standard role, medium/large sponsor
| Payer | Item | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Employee | Application fee | £819 |
| Employee | IHS (3 years) | £3,105 |
| Employee total | £3,924 | |
| Employer | Certificate of Sponsorship | £525 |
| Employer | Immigration Skills Charge | £3,000 |
| Employer total | £3,525 | |
| Combined total | £7,449 | |
Scenario C — Immigration Salary List role, small/charitable sponsor
| Payer | Item | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Employee | Application fee (discounted) | £628 |
| Employee | IHS (3 years) | £3,105 |
| Employee total | £3,733 | |
| Employer | Certificate of Sponsorship | £525 |
| Employer | Immigration Skills Charge | £1,092 |
| Employer total | £1,617 | |
| Combined total | £5,350 | |
None of these figures include the one-off sponsor licence fee (£574–£1,579), which only applies the first time an organisation becomes a sponsor, or optional priority service fees. Dependants (partners and children) each pay their own application fee and IHS on top of these figures — see our guide on bringing dependants to the UK on a Skilled Worker visa.
What changed on 8 April 2026
The figures in this guide reflect the fee increase that took effect from 8 April 2026, when the Home Office raised most work and settlement visa fees. If you’re comparing quotes or old paperwork that predates this, expect the numbers to be noticeably lower — our full breakdown of the April 2026 fee rise covers exactly what moved and by how much. The Immigration Skills Charge had already risen separately in December 2025, so employers budgeting from anything before that date should treat their figures as out of date on two counts, not one.
Common mistakes when budgeting for a Skilled Worker visa
Applicants and employers most often go wrong by: quoting the application fee alone and forgetting the IHS, which is frequently the larger cost; assuming the ISC is a flat one-off rather than a charge that scales with the length of the CoS; overlooking that dependants each generate their own full set of fees; and not checking whether a role actually qualifies for the Immigration Salary List discount before assuming the standard fee applies. Extending a Skilled Worker visa involves a fresh round of the same fees — our Skilled Worker visa extension guide sets out what to expect at that stage, including how the fee changes if the extension period differs from the original CoS length.
How Adam Bernard Solicitors can help
Our immigration solicitors help both employers and employees plan Skilled Worker visa costs accurately from the outset — including confirming Immigration Salary List eligibility, structuring Certificate of Sponsorship lengths to manage cash flow, and avoiding refusals caused by underfunded maintenance requirements. Book a free consultation or call 0207 100 2525 to talk through your specific situation.
