The Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) is a levy every UK sponsor pays to the Home Office for each Skilled Worker or Senior or Specialist Worker it sponsors. It is paid upfront when the Certificate of Sponsorship is assigned, calculated on the length of the certificate, and — unlike the visa fee or the health surcharge — it can never be recovered from the worker.
Rates verified against GOV.UK in September 2026. The 32% increase trailed in the May 2025 Immigration White Paper is now in force. Use the calculator below to cost a single hire or a whole recruitment plan.
Reviewed by the Morgan Smith Immigration team — IAA-regulated UK immigration specialists. Last reviewed 2026-09-18.
TL;DR
The Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) is paid by the sponsoring employer, not the worker, each time it assigns a Certificate of Sponsorship to a Skilled Worker or Senior or Specialist Worker. It costs £480 (small or charitable sponsor) or £1,320 (medium or large sponsor) for the first 12 months, then £240 or £660 for each additional 6 months, up to £2,400 or £6,600 for a 5-year certificate. Asking the worker to pay it can lead to licence revocation.
£480 / £1,320
First 12 months, small vs medium/large sponsor
£240 / £660
Each additional 6 months
£6,600
Maximum per worker (5-year certificate, large sponsor)
What is the Immigration Skills Charge?
The Immigration Skills Charge is a charge on employers, introduced in April 2017, that applies each time a licensed sponsor assigns a Certificate of Sponsorship to a worker on the Skilled Worker route or the Global Business Mobility Senior or Specialist Worker route. It is payable when the worker is applying from outside the UK for six months or more, or from inside the UK for any length of time.
It is calculated on the length of the certificate, not the length of employment. The first 12 months cost £480 for a small or charitable sponsor and £1,320 for a medium or large one; every additional 6 months adds £240 or £660. A three-year certificate therefore costs £1,440 or £3,960, and the maximum for a five-year certificate is £2,400 or £6,600. The rates rose by 32% under the May 2025 Immigration White Paper and those higher rates are the ones now in force.
The charge is paid in full, in the Sponsorship Management System, at the moment the certificate is assigned. It sits alongside, and separate from, the £525 Certificate of Sponsorship fee, the worker’s visa application fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge, and it is the one cost the sponsor must always bear itself.
For finance and HR teams the point is budgeting: on a three-year Skilled Worker hire, a medium or large employer pays £3,960 in Immigration Skills Charge before the visa fee or health surcharge are counted. Multiply that across a recruitment plan and it is frequently the largest single Home Office cost of sponsorship. The exemptions below, particularly for research roles and for workers switching from a Student visa, are worth checking on every hire.
The Charge in Four Questions
Why the Immigration Skills Charge exists, when it falls due, who collects it and how it is worked out.
Why does it exist?
The charge was introduced in April 2017 to encourage employers to invest in training the resident workforce, with the revenue directed to skills funding. It is deliberately a cost on the employer, which is why the rules forbid passing it to the worker.
When is it paid?
At the moment a Certificate of Sponsorship is assigned in the Sponsorship Management System, in full, for the entire certificate period. There is no invoice and no instalment option: the certificate is not issued until the charge is taken.
Who is it paid to?
The Home Office, through the Sponsorship Management System, as part of the certificate assignment. It is separate from the £525 certificate fee, the worker’s visa fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge, all of which are paid at different points by different parties.
How is it calculated?
Sponsor size sets the rate; certificate length sets the multiplier. The first 12 months are a fixed amount, and each further 6 months adds a fixed increment, to a maximum at 5 years. Dependants and exempt occupations are excluded entirely.
Who Has to Pay the Immigration Skills Charge?
The sponsor pays, per worker, per Certificate of Sponsorship. A defined list of workers and roles is exempt.
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Which Sponsors Pay
Any licensed sponsor assigning a Certificate of Sponsorship on the Skilled Worker route or the Senior or Specialist Worker route. The lower rate applies if you are a charity or a small sponsor — meaning at least two of: annual turnover of £15 million or less, total assets of £7.5 million or less, and 50 employees or fewer. Everyone else pays the medium or large rate.
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Which Workers Trigger It
A worker applying from outside the UK for six months or more, or applying from inside the UK for any period — including extensions and changes of employer. Each new Certificate of Sponsorship carries its own charge for the period it covers. Dependants never attract the charge.
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Who Is Exempt
No charge is due for workers in the exempt occupation codes: 2111, 2112, 2113, 2114, 2115 and 2119 (chemical, biological, biomedical, physical, social and other natural and social science professionals), 2161 and 2162 (research and development managers and other researchers) and 2311 (higher education teaching professionals). Also exempt: workers switching from a Student visa, Senior or Specialist Worker EU nationals on transfers of 36 months or less with a certificate assigned on or after 1 January 2023, certificates assigned before 6 April 2017, and internal job changes that do not extend the visa.
Immigration Skills Charge Rates
Set by sponsor size and certificate length. The rate follows the size recorded on your licence.
Rates set by the Home Office and subject to change. Last reviewed: September 2026.
| Item | Cost (2026) |
|---|---|
| First 12 months — small or charitable sponsor | £480 |
| First 12 months — medium or large sponsor | £1,320 |
| Each additional 6 months — small or charitable | £240 |
| Each additional 6 months — medium or large | £660 |
| 5-year maximum — small or charitable | £2,400 |
| 5-year maximum — medium or large | £6,600 |
Immigration Skills Charge Calculator
Choose your sponsor size, the certificate length and how many workers. The breakdown updates as you change each field.
Estimated Immigration Skills Charge
£3,960
£3,960 per worker for a 3 years certificate.
| Element | Rate band | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| First 12 months | medium or large | £1,320 per worker | £1,320 |
| Additional 6-month blocks (4) | medium or large | £660 per block per worker | £2,640 |
| Total payable by the sponsor | £3,960 |
Estimate based on the rates published on GOV.UK. The Sponsorship Management System calculates the exact charge when the certificate is assigned. Certificates for periods that are not a multiple of 6 months are charged by the Home Office’s own calculation — we confirm the figure before you assign.
Worked Examples
Four common scenarios at the 2026 rates. Select any example to load it into the calculator above.
Small business, 3-year Skilled Worker
£1,440
3 years certificate
First 12 months £480, then four further 6-month blocks at £240 each.
Load in calculatorMedium or large employer, 3-year Skilled Worker
£3,960
3 years certificate
First 12 months £1,320, then four further 6-month blocks at £660 each.
Load in calculatorMedium or large employer, 5-year certificate
£6,600
5 years certificate
The maximum a single certificate can attract.
Load in calculatorCharity, 12-month certificate
£480
1 year certificate
A single first-year block at the charitable rate.
Load in calculatorQuick Reference: Charge by Certificate Length
Per worker, per certificate. Multiply by the number of workers you are sponsoring.
| Certificate length | Small or charitable | Medium or large |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year | £480 | £1,320 |
| 1 year 6 months | £720 | £1,980 |
| 2 years | £960 | £2,640 |
| 2 years 6 months | £1,200 | £3,300 |
| 3 years | £1,440 | £3,960 |
| 3 years 6 months | £1,680 | £4,620 |
| 4 years | £1,920 | £5,280 |
| 4 years 6 months | £2,160 | £5,940 |
| 5 years | £2,400 | £6,600 |
Figures as published by the Home Office. Source: GOV.UK — Immigration Skills Charge.
Sponsor Obligations at a Glance
What the charge allows a sponsor to do, and the rules that put a licence at risk if broken.
✓ Sponsors Can
- Budget the charge precisely in advance — it is a fixed amount set by the length of the certificate and your sponsor size
- Pay the lower rate if you are a charity or meet two of the three small-sponsor tests
- Assign a shorter certificate where the role genuinely allows it and pay only for the period covered
- Claim a full refund if the visa is refused or withdrawn, or the worker never starts
- Claim a partial refund if the worker is granted less time than the certificate, or leaves early
✗ Sponsors Cannot
- Ask the worker to pay the charge, or recover it from them by any route — the Home Office may revoke your licence
- Pay in instalments — the full amount for the whole certificate is due when it is assigned
- Assign the certificate without paying — the Sponsorship Management System will not issue it
- Treat the charge as covering dependants — they are exempt, so nothing is due for them
- Rely on a refund arriving quickly — GOV.UK says refunds typically take up to 90 days
How the Immigration Skills Charge Is Paid
Five steps, all inside the Sponsorship Management System when a certificate is assigned.
Confirm Whether the Charge Applies
Check the route, whether the role is in an exempt occupation code, and whether the worker is switching from a Student visa. Many science, research and academic roles owe nothing.
Confirm Your Sponsor Size
Charities and small sponsors (two of: turnover £15m or less, assets £7.5m or less, 50 employees or fewer) pay the lower rate. Get this right on the licence, because the rate follows it.
Set the Certificate Length Deliberately
The charge is calculated on the certificate period, so a certificate longer than the role needs is money spent for nothing.
Assign the Certificate and Pay
The charge is taken in the Sponsorship Management System when the Certificate of Sponsorship is assigned. Payment is in full, alongside the £525 certificate fee.
Track Refund Triggers
If the visa is refused or withdrawn, the worker never starts, is granted less time, or leaves early, a refund is due. GOV.UK says refunds typically arrive within 90 days.
Immigration Skills Charge Refunds
Refunds go to the sponsor, because the sponsor paid. Track the triggers, or the money stays with the Home Office.
Full refund
The whole charge is refunded if the worker's visa application is refused or withdrawn, or if the worker is granted the visa but never starts work for you. The refund goes to the sponsor, since the sponsor paid it.
Partial refund
Part of the charge is refunded if the Home Office grants the worker less time than the certificate covered, or if the worker leaves your employment before the certificate period ends — for example on resignation or a move to a new sponsor.
No refund
Nothing is refunded where the certificate simply expires unused before the worker applies, or where the visa is granted and the worker completes the sponsorship period. Refunds are typically paid within 90 days.
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Sources
Legal information on this page is based on guidance from GOV.UK, the UK Home Office / UK Visas and Immigration, legislation.gov.uk, and Free Movement. Rules change frequently — speak to our team to confirm current requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions from HR teams, finance teams and sponsor licence holders.
What is the Immigration Skills Charge (ISC)?
It is a Home Office charge paid by a licensed sponsor each time it assigns a Certificate of Sponsorship to a worker on the Skilled Worker route or the Senior or Specialist Worker route. It funds skills training in the UK and is calculated on the length of the certificate.
How much is the Immigration Skills Charge in 2026?
£480 for the first 12 months and £240 for each additional 6 months if you are a small or charitable sponsor; £1,320 and £660 if you are a medium or large sponsor. A three-year certificate is therefore £1,440 or £3,960, and the five-year maximum is £2,400 or £6,600.
Who pays the Immigration Skills Charge — the employer or the worker?
The employer, always. GOV.UK states that a sponsor's licence may be revoked if it asks the sponsored worker to pay the charge or any costs linked to the licence application. It cannot be deducted from salary or clawed back on departure.
When is the Immigration Skills Charge paid?
When the Certificate of Sponsorship is assigned in the Sponsorship Management System. It is paid in full for the whole certificate period at that point, not in instalments.
Am I a small sponsor for the Immigration Skills Charge?
You pay the lower rate if you are a charity or if at least two of the following apply: annual turnover of £15 million or less, total assets of £7.5 million or less, and 50 employees or fewer. Otherwise you pay the medium or large rate.
Which jobs are exempt from the Immigration Skills Charge?
Occupation codes 2111, 2112, 2113, 2114, 2115 and 2119 (chemical, biological, biomedical, physical, social and other scientists), 2161 and 2162 (research and development managers and other researchers) and 2311 (higher education teaching professionals). Workers switching from a Student visa are also exempt.
Is the Immigration Skills Charge payable for dependants?
No. The charge applies to the sponsored worker only. A partner or child applying as a dependant does not attract a charge.
Do I pay the charge again on an extension or a change of employer?
Yes. Each new Certificate of Sponsorship carries its own charge for the period it covers, whether it is an extension with the same employer or a move to a new sponsor. Internal changes of job that do not extend the visa are exempt.
Can I get an Immigration Skills Charge refund?
Yes. A full refund is due if the visa is refused or withdrawn, or the worker does not start. A partial refund is due if the worker is granted less time than the certificate covered, or leaves before the end of it. Refunds are made to the sponsor and typically take up to 90 days.
Did the Immigration Skills Charge increase in 2025 or 2026?
Yes. The May 2025 Immigration White Paper announced a 32% rise — the first since 2017 — and the rates now published on GOV.UK reflect it: £364 became £480 and £1,000 became £1,320 for the first 12 months.
Further Information
Related routes and cost guides for sponsors.
Applications, compliance and licence management for UK organisations.
The main sponsored route the charge applies to.
Senior or Specialist Worker transfers, including the EU-national exemption.
The other upfront charge — paid by the worker, calculated on the visa length.
Full 2026 fee tables for every route and sponsor charge.
Keeping the licence, and the lower rate, in good standing.
Need Help Budgeting Sponsorship Costs?
Our advisers cost the whole sponsorship — skills charge, certificate fee, visa fee and health surcharge — so there are no surprises after the offer letter.