The Immigration Skills Charge is one of those Home Office costs that tends to appear at exactly the point an employer thinks it has finally worked out how much sponsorship is going to cost.
You have paid for the Sponsor Licence. There is a Certificate of Sponsorship fee. The worker has their visa application costs. Then somebody mentions the Immigration Skills Charge, usually shortened to ISC.
For some employers, it is a few hundred pounds.
For others, particularly larger businesses sponsoring workers for several years, it can run into thousands of pounds for a single employee.
A medium or large sponsor sponsoring one worker for five years can currently pay £6,600 in Immigration Skills Charge alone.
Sponsor ten workers on the same basis and that becomes £66,000.
At that point, it stops feeling like a minor administrative fee.
The good news is that the charge does not apply in every case.
There are important exemptions, particularly for workers switching directly from certain study routes, workers in specified research and higher education occupations, some short overseas applications and particular existing sponsorship situations.
There are also refund provisions where an employee leaves early, changes sponsor, never starts work or receives less immigration permission than the period originally sponsored.
This means the question should never simply be:
How much is the Immigration Skills Charge?
The better questions are:
Does it apply to this worker at all?
If it does, how much should the business pay?
And if circumstances later change, is any of it refundable?
Let’s go through it properly.
What is the Immigration Skills Charge?
The Immigration Skills Charge is a fee paid by certain employers when sponsoring workers under particular immigration routes.
For most businesses, it comes up when sponsoring somebody as a:
- Skilled Worker; or
- Senior or Specialist Worker under Global Business Mobility.
The charge is connected to the Certificate of Sponsorship.
Where it applies, the sponsor pays it when assigning the CoS.
It is therefore an employer-side sponsorship cost.
It is not the worker’s visa application fee.
It is not the Immigration Health Surcharge.
And it is not the Certificate of Sponsorship fee.
Those are all separate costs.
This distinction matters because employers sometimes calculate:
Sponsor Licence + visa fee = sponsorship cost.
Unfortunately, immigration maths has a few more rows than that.
Who pays the Immigration Skills Charge?
The sponsor pays it.
More importantly:
The sponsor must not pass the Immigration Skills Charge on to the sponsored worker.
Current Sponsor Guidance expressly prohibits sponsors from passing on or attempting to recover any part of the ISC from their sponsored workers.
The consequences can be serious.
The Home Office says that where it discovers a sponsor has passed on or attempted to recoup the ISC from a sponsored worker, it will normally revoke the Sponsor Licence.
That is a significant compliance point.
This is not simply a question of whether the employee is happy to repay the money.
Even if the worker signs an agreement saying:
“I agree to repay all sponsorship costs if I leave within three years”
the Immigration Skills Charge should not be included in costs that the employer seeks to recover from them.
A signed contract does not override the Sponsor Guidance.
When does an employer normally pay the Immigration Skills Charge?
Unless an exemption applies, the ISC is generally payable when the employer assigns a Certificate of Sponsorship to a Skilled Worker or Senior or Specialist Worker where the person is:
- applying from outside the UK for permission of six months or more; or
- applying from inside the UK for permission of any duration.
For an ordinary Skilled Worker being sponsored for three or five years, this means the ISC will usually need considering at the CoS stage.
The Sponsor Management System will calculate the relevant charge based on factors including the organisation’s size and the length of employment entered on the Certificate of Sponsorship.
The full amount is normally paid upfront.
How much is the Immigration Skills Charge in 2026?
The rates changed from 16 December 2025.
The current rates are:
| Sponsorship period | Small or charitable sponsor | Medium or large sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| First 12 months | £480 | £1,320 |
| Each additional 6 months | £240 | £660 |
This means the cost increases according to the length of sponsorship.
Small or charitable sponsor examples
| Length of sponsorship | ISC |
|---|---|
| 1 year | £480 |
| 2 years | £960 |
| 3 years | £1,440 |
| 4 years | £1,920 |
| 5 years | £2,400 |
Medium or large sponsor examples
| Length of sponsorship | ISC |
|---|---|
| 1 year | £1,320 |
| 2 years | £2,640 |
| 3 years | £3,960 |
| 4 years | £5,280 |
| 5 years | £6,600 |
That difference is significant.
For three years of sponsorship:
Small sponsor: £1,440
Large sponsor: £3,960
The same employee.
The same role.
The same three-year period.
A difference of £2,520 purely because of the employer’s size or status.
Why was I charged £1,440 for a three-year worker?
This is one of the most common questions employers have after assigning a CoS.
If you are a small or charitable sponsor and sponsor a worker for three years, the calculation is:
First year:
£480
Second year:
£480
Third year:
£480
Total:
£1,440
Alternatively, the Home Office expresses the calculation as £480 for the first 12 months plus £240 for each additional six-month period.
Either way, three complete years produces £1,440.
It is not an additional unexpected surcharge on top of the ISC.
That is the three-year ISC.
How is the Immigration Skills Charge calculated?
The calculation is based mainly on:
the size or type of sponsor
and
the period of employment stated on the CoS.
The Home Office looks at the work start date and end date entered on the Certificate of Sponsorship.
For the first 12 months, the full annual amount is charged.
After that, additional periods are charged in six-month blocks.
This means sponsorship periods that are not exact years can still attract additional six-month charges.
For example, a small sponsor sponsoring somebody for:
18 months
£480 + £240 = £720
30 months
£480 + £240 + £240 + £240 = £1,200
The length of the CoS therefore has a direct financial effect.
What happens if the worker is sponsored for less than one year?
If the worker is applying from outside the UK for less than six months, the ISC exemption can apply.
Where the charge does apply and the sponsorship period is longer than six months but less than 12 months, the minimum charge is generally the first 12-month amount.
So a business should not assume:
“Nine months is three quarters of a year, so we pay three quarters of the ISC.”
The charging structure does not work that way.
The first relevant period attracts the full initial annual amount.
What is the maximum Immigration Skills Charge?
Because a worker can generally be sponsored for a maximum period of five years on one CoS under the relevant charging calculation, the current maximum ISC on an individual sponsorship is:
Small or charitable sponsor
£2,400
Medium or large sponsor
£6,600
Again, that is per worker.
If a larger business sponsors five employees for five years:
5 × £6,600 = £33,000
That is before considering CoS fees, visa costs or any other sponsorship expenditure.
This is why employers planning significant sponsored recruitment should budget properly before assigning certificates.
What counts as a small sponsor?
For ISC purposes, the Home Office currently says an organisation is usually treated as small where at least two of the following apply:
- annual turnover is £15 million or less;
- total assets are £7.5 million or less;
- the organisation has 50 employees or fewer.
There are separate provisions for charitable sponsors.
This is worth checking carefully because sponsor size affects more than the Sponsor Licence application fee.
It can substantially affect the Immigration Skills Charge across every sponsored worker.
What counts as a charitable sponsor?
Qualifying charitable organisations can pay the lower ISC rate.
This includes relevant registered, exempt and excepted charities and other qualifying charitable organisations under the applicable rules.
The exact status of the organisation should be confirmed rather than assuming that being a not-for-profit business automatically makes it a charitable sponsor.
“Not making much profit this year” is unfortunately not a Home Office charity classification.
What if the business grows from small to large?
The organisation should report relevant changes in its size or status to the Home Office.
Current Sponsor Guidance requires sponsors to notify UKVI of changes in organisation size or type within the applicable reporting period, currently no later than 20 working days.
This is important because the change affects future ISC payments.
If the business has grown beyond the small-company criteria but the SMS still treats it as small, the sponsor may pay the wrong ISC when assigning a CoS.
That can create both payment and compliance issues.
Likewise, where an organisation becomes small or gains charitable status, reporting the change can reduce future sponsorship costs once the Home Office accepts the updated status.
What if I accidentally pay the small ISC when I am a large sponsor?
The Home Office can request a top-up payment.
Where the ISC is underpaid, the relevant CoS remains invalid until the correct amount has been paid.
A worker’s immigration application can therefore be delayed while the sponsor corrects the payment.
The current process allows the Home Office to send payment links to the sponsor’s Key Contact where a top-up is required.
These links have short validity periods.
If the employer ultimately fails to pay the required charge, the worker’s application can be refused.
This is another good reason to get sponsor size correct before assigning the CoS rather than letting the worker’s visa application discover the problem for you.
Does every Skilled Worker require the Immigration Skills Charge?
No.
This is where ISC planning becomes more interesting.
There are several exemptions.
Some relate to the worker’s current immigration status.
Some relate to their occupation.
Others relate to the duration or history of sponsorship.
Before assigning a CoS, the sponsor should check whether one applies.
For some businesses, an exemption can save several thousand pounds.
Are Student visa holders exempt from the Immigration Skills Charge?
Potentially, yes.
This is one of the most important exemptions.
Where the worker has current valid permission for the purpose of study at the time the CoS is assigned, the ISC exemption can apply.
The relevant study routes currently include:
- Student;
- Child Student;
- Tier 4 (General);
- Tier 4 (Child); and
- Short-term Student (English Language), subject to the separate switching position.
For a typical Student switching into Skilled Worker from within the UK, this can mean the employer does not need to pay the ISC.
This can create a substantial saving.
For a small sponsor offering a three-year Skilled Worker CoS, the difference could be:
Normal ISC: £1,440
Qualifying Student exemption: £0
For a large sponsor:
Normal ISC: £3,960
Qualifying Student exemption: £0
That is worth checking before anybody presses the payment button.
What if the Student visa has already expired?
Then the study-route exemption may no longer apply.
The worker needs to have the relevant valid study permission when the CoS is assigned.
This is an important timing point.
If the employer delays sponsorship until after the relevant permission has ended, the ISC position can change.
The exact immigration position of the worker should therefore be checked before the CoS is assigned.
Is a Graduate visa holder exempt from the Immigration Skills Charge?
No, not simply because they previously studied in the UK.
This is an important distinction.
A worker currently holding a Graduate visa is not covered by the study-route ISC exemption merely because their Graduate permission followed a Student visa.
So if a company is sponsoring an employee who currently holds Graduate permission, the ISC will generally be payable unless another exemption applies.
This often surprises employers.
The sequence may be:
Student visa → Graduate visa → Skilled Worker.
If the employer sponsors while the person still has qualifying Student permission, the study exemption may apply.
If they later hold Graduate permission when the CoS is assigned, that particular exemption does not.
That difference can be worth thousands of pounds.
What if the worker is a dependant of a Student?
Again, the study exemption does not simply extend to dependants.
Current Sponsor Guidance makes clear that Graduate permission and dependant permission linked to study routes are not treated as qualifying study permission for this exemption.
So if you are sponsoring someone who currently holds permission as the dependant of a Student, do not assume the ISC is automatically zero.
Check the position properly.
If a Student was exempt originally, what happens when they extend their Skilled Worker visa?
There is another useful exemption here.
Where the worker originally had qualifying study permission when the employer sponsored them and the sponsor therefore did not pay the ISC, the exemption can continue when the sponsor assigns another CoS to keep sponsoring that worker in the same role.
This can be extremely valuable.
Imagine a large sponsor hires a Student graduate and sponsors them for three years without ISC because the Student exemption applies.
Three years later the business wants to extend their Skilled Worker permission for another two years in the same role.
The continuing exemption may mean the employer does not suddenly face another large ISC bill.
Again, the precise circumstances matter.
The “same role” requirement should not simply be assumed where the worker has materially changed jobs.
Which occupations are exempt from the Immigration Skills Charge?
There is currently an exemption for workers sponsored in a specific group of research, science and higher education occupations.
The exempt occupation codes currently include:
- 2111 Chemical scientists
- 2112 Biological scientists
- 2113 Biochemists and biomedical scientists
- 2114 Physical scientists
- 2115 Social and humanities scientists
- 2119 Natural and social science professionals not elsewhere classified
- 2161 Research and development managers
- 2162 Other researchers, unspecified discipline
- 2311 Higher education teaching professionals
Where the worker is genuinely sponsored under one of these occupation codes, the employer does not pay the ISC.
The word genuinely matters.
Do not choose an occupation code because it happens to save £6,600.
The code must accurately reflect the job.
Using an incorrect occupation code to avoid sponsorship costs can create a much bigger Sponsor Licence problem than the charge you were trying to avoid.
Are doctors and nurses automatically exempt from ISC?
Not simply because they work in healthcare.
The occupation-based ISC exemption is specific.
Many healthcare roles are not among the exempt occupation codes listed above.
Employers should therefore distinguish between:
Health and Care Worker visa rules
and
Immigration Skills Charge exemptions.
A worker qualifying for the Health and Care route does not automatically mean the employer has no ISC liability.
Check the actual occupation and circumstances.
Does the Immigration Salary List create an ISC exemption?
No, not simply because the occupation appears on the Immigration Salary List.
The Immigration Salary List affects other aspects of the Skilled Worker system.
The ISC occupation exemption is based on its own specified list.
Employers should not mix the two up.
Immigration rules already contain enough lists without us combining them into one imaginary master list.
What about workers applying from overseas for less than six months?
Where the worker is applying from outside the UK for permission of less than six months, the ISC does not generally apply.
This is less common for standard long-term Skilled Worker recruitment because employers usually sponsor workers for substantially longer periods.
But the exemption remains relevant in the appropriate circumstances.
If the worker is applying from within the UK, however, the ISC can apply even where the period requested is shorter.
Does the ISC apply to the worker’s husband, wife or children?
No, not simply because they are dependants of the sponsored worker.
The Immigration Skills Charge is linked to the sponsored worker.
An employer does not pay a separate ISC for the worker’s partner and children just because they accompany the worker to the UK.
Their immigration applications can have their own fees and other costs, but not an additional employer ISC simply by virtue of dependency.
Does the ISC apply to every sponsored work visa?
No.
The charge currently applies primarily to Skilled Worker and Senior or Specialist Worker sponsorship in the circumstances set out in the rules.
It does not simply attach to every Certificate of Sponsorship across every sponsored work route.
This is another reason to identify the actual route rather than applying one set of sponsorship costs universally.
What happens if an existing sponsored worker changes job with the same employer?
This depends on the change.
Where the worker moves into a different occupation code, the sponsor may need to assign a new CoS and the worker may need to make a new immigration application.
For ISC purposes, the Home Office does not necessarily require the employer to pay the full charge again for time it has already paid for.
Where the new sponsorship does not extend the worker’s existing period of immigration permission, additional ISC may not be payable for the overlapping period.
If the new CoS extends their permission beyond the period already paid for, the employer generally pays the ISC for the additional period.
That prevents the sponsor effectively paying twice for the exact same period of sponsorship.
Example: worker changes occupation but visa end date stays the same
Imagine the employer paid ISC for a Skilled Worker covering:
1 January 2026 to 31 December 2028.
In 2027 the worker changes into a new occupation code with the same employer.
A new CoS and immigration application are required, but the requested immigration period still ends on 31 December 2028.
The employer has already paid ISC covering that period.
In that scenario, it may not need to pay another full ISC for the same time.
Example: worker changes role and gets another year
Now suppose the new CoS extends employment to:
31 December 2029.
The business has already paid ISC up to December 2028.
It would generally need to pay ISC for the additional period beyond the existing sponsorship.
That is a much more sensible outcome than paying the entire charge twice.
Does TUPE create another Immigration Skills Charge?
Not necessarily.
Where a sponsored worker transfers to another employer under TUPE or similar employment protection and their existing immigration permission remains valid without changing role, the incoming sponsor does not automatically pay a new ISC simply because the employment transferred.
Future sponsorship can create further ISC questions when the new employer assigns another CoS.
TUPE sponsorship cases can be technically complicated because they involve both sponsorship and employment considerations.
They should be assessed on their actual facts rather than assuming every transfer requires a completely new sponsorship process.
Can the Immigration Skills Charge be refunded?
Yes.
This is one of the most useful features of the ISC system and one employers sometimes overlook.
There are circumstances where the sponsor can receive either a:
Full refund
or
Partial refund.
The correct outcome depends on what happened to the sponsorship.
When can you get a full ISC refund?
A full refund can generally arise where:
- the worker’s visa application is refused;
- the worker withdraws their visa application before a decision;
- the visa is granted but the worker does not travel to the UK or start work;
- the CoS expires without being used in a valid application; or
- the sponsor withdraws the CoS before it is used.
That makes sense.
The employer paid the charge on the expectation that the sponsorship would take place.
If the worker never actually begins the sponsored employment, the charge can generally be returned.
What if the worker’s visa is refused?
The ISC can be refunded.
However, where the worker has the option of requesting administrative review, the Home Office may wait until that process has concluded or the deadline for requesting review has passed before issuing the refund.
So the refund may not necessarily appear immediately after the refusal email.
The immigration process needs to reach the relevant final stage first.
What if the worker changes their mind and never starts?
A full refund can generally be available.
For example:
The employer assigns the CoS.
The worker successfully receives their visa.
Before starting, they decide to remain overseas or take another opportunity.
The sponsor reports that the worker did not start employment.
Subject to the rules, the employer can receive the ISC back.
The Certificate of Sponsorship fee itself is a separate question and should not be assumed to follow the same refund rules.
When can you get a partial ISC refund?
Partial refunds can arise where the worker begins the sponsored employment but the period ultimately used is shorter than the period the employer originally paid for.
Examples include where:
- the worker receives a shorter visa than expected;
- the employee voluntarily changes to another sponsor;
- the employee resigns early;
- the worker is made redundant;
- the worker is dismissed;
- they fail probation;
- they leave because of ill health; or
- they fail to obtain a professional qualification needed for the role.
The employer may then recover ISC relating to unused periods.
How are partial ISC refunds calculated?
The Home Office generally retains the ISC covering the first 12 months.
After that, unused complete six-month periods can be refunded.
For example, imagine a small sponsor pays three years of ISC:
£1,440
The employee leaves after six months.
The Home Office retains the first year’s charge:
£480
The remaining two years can potentially be refunded:
£960
The employer does not receive half of the first year’s charge simply because the employee only worked six months.
The initial 12-month amount is retained.
Example: employee leaves after 18 months
A large sponsor pays for five years:
£6,600
The worker leaves after 18 months.
The employer has used the first 18 months of sponsorship.
The remaining three and a half years can potentially form the basis of a partial refund.
For a large sponsor, that can represent a substantial amount of money.
This is why businesses should properly report sponsored workers who leave early rather than simply removing them from payroll and forgetting about the sponsorship.
There may literally be thousands of pounds attached to that report.
Do you get an ISC refund if the employee is dismissed?
Potentially, yes.
The reason employment ends does not have to be voluntary resignation.
Current guidance specifically recognises situations including dismissal, redundancy and failed probation as circumstances where a partial refund may arise.
The refund is connected to the unused sponsorship period.
Of course, the employer still needs to meet its Sponsor Licence reporting duties when sponsored employment ends.
Do you get an ISC refund if the worker changes sponsor?
Potentially, where the worker voluntarily leaves to work for another sponsor.
The original employer can receive a partial refund for unused sponsorship periods, subject to the refund rules.
The new employer will then have its own sponsorship obligations and may need to pay ISC for the new sponsorship unless an exemption applies.
When will the Home Office not refund the ISC?
There are also circumstances where the employer should not expect a refund.
Current Sponsor Guidance includes situations such as where:
- the worker changes job but remains with the same sponsor;
- the worker switches immigration route but remains employed in the same job;
- the worker transfers to another sponsor under TUPE or similar protection;
- the Sponsor Licence becomes dormant following certain corporate changes;
- the Sponsor Licence is revoked; or
- the worker’s permission is cancelled in circumstances outside the refund exceptions.
That last one is worth remembering.
Sponsor Licence revocation does not normally generate an ISC refund.
So if a business loses its licence because of compliance failures, it should not expect the Home Office to refund the remaining sponsorship charge for its workforce.
The financial consequences of revocation can therefore extend further than simply losing the ability to sponsor.
How long do ISC refunds take?
The Home Office generally aims to deal with refunds within around 90 days of the relevant event.
The relevant event can differ depending on what happened.
It might be:
- notification that the worker did not start;
- notification that employment ended early;
- expiry of an unused CoS;
- withdrawal of a CoS;
- the visa refusal becoming final; or
- notification of a qualifying change in sponsor size.
In many cases the refund is automatic.
The business should nevertheless monitor whether it actually arrives.
Where does the refund go?
The Home Office normally attempts to refund the ISC to the original payment method used by the sponsor.
This matters where payment was made using:
a director’s card;
company card;
representative payment method;
or another account.
Businesses should keep clear payment records so that old sponsorship transactions can be reconciled if a refund later appears.
What if the refund does not arrive?
If the applicable refund period has passed and the employer believes a refund is due, the matter can be raised with UKVI.
Before chasing it, check:
- when the relevant event was reported;
- whether the worker actually falls within a refund category;
- whether an administrative review remains outstanding;
- what period was originally paid for; and
- what payment method was used.
Sometimes the refund has arrived and nobody recognised the transaction.
Immigration accounting can occasionally create its own detective work.
Can you choose a shorter CoS to reduce the ISC?
Yes, in the sense that the ISC is linked to sponsorship duration.
A shorter sponsorship period generally means a lower ISC.
But the employer should not choose dates artificially without considering the wider employment and immigration plan.
Suppose a small business is deciding whether to sponsor somebody for three years or five years.
The ISC difference is:
Three years: £1,440
Five years: £2,400
An additional:
£960
That may sound significant.
But the business should also consider what happens if the worker needs another Skilled Worker extension after the first period.
There may be further visa fees, CoS costs, professional fees and administrative work.
The cheapest CoS today is not automatically the cheapest overall sponsorship strategy.
Is three-year or five-year sponsorship better?
There is no universal answer.
Three years can reduce upfront costs.
Five years can provide greater certainty and may reduce the need for an additional extension application.
The right approach depends on matters such as:
- employment plans;
- worker’s immigration history;
- settlement eligibility;
- visa costs;
- IHS costs;
- ISC;
- cash flow; and
- how long the business genuinely expects the employment to continue.
This is one area where looking at the whole immigration journey is more useful than focusing on one fee.
Does the employer have to pay the worker’s visa fee as well?
Not simply because it pays the ISC.
The employer-side sponsorship costs and worker immigration costs are separate.
Depending on the arrangement, an employer may voluntarily pay some worker-side immigration costs as part of a recruitment package.
But the ISC itself remains a sponsor cost and must not be passed on to the worker.
The same care should be taken with other sponsorship fees where Home Office restrictions prevent their recovery from sponsored workers.
What about the Certificate of Sponsorship fee?
That is separate from the ISC.
When sponsoring a Skilled Worker, the employer may therefore pay:
Certificate of Sponsorship fee
plus
Immigration Skills Charge
at around the same stage of the process.
The fact that both arise around CoS assignment can make them easy to confuse.
But they are separate Home Office charges with different rules and different refund arrangements.
Can the employer recover the CoS fee from the worker?
Current Skilled Worker sponsor rules prohibit sponsors from recouping or attempting to recoup the CoS fee and associated administrative costs from sponsored workers for CoS assigned under the relevant post-December 2024 rules.
This sits alongside the separate prohibition on recovering the Immigration Skills Charge.
Employers should therefore review older immigration repayment agreements.
A clause written in 2022 may not properly reflect the sponsorship rules applying in 2026.
Why professional cost planning matters
The ISC is a good example of why Skilled Worker sponsorship should be planned before the Certificate of Sponsorship is assigned.
Take two employees.
Both have been offered the same £40,000 job.
Both are being sponsored by the same company.
One currently has Student permission.
The other currently has Graduate permission.
For ISC purposes, they may not be treated the same way.
Or take two businesses sponsoring the same worker for five years.
One qualifies as a small sponsor.
The other is large.
One may pay:
£2,400
The other:
£6,600.
These are not small differences.
Checking exemptions and sponsor status before assigning the CoS can therefore have a very real financial value.
Immigration Skills Charge mistakes can affect the visa application
The ISC is not just an accounting issue.
Where the charge is required, it needs to be paid correctly.
The Immigration Rules require the sponsor to have paid any required ISC.
If it has not been paid in full, the CoS can remain invalid until the outstanding amount is dealt with.
That can delay the worker’s application.
And where the required payment ultimately is not made, the application can be refused.
So although the worker does not personally pay the charge, an employer mistake can still affect their immigration application.
Check the ISC before assigning the CoS
Our preferred approach is simple.
Before the employer assigns the Certificate of Sponsorship, establish:
Is this worker on a route attracting the ISC?
Are they exempt because of current Student permission?
Does their occupation code create an exemption?
Has the employer already paid ISC covering any of this period?
Is the company correctly classified as small, charitable or large?
How long is the sponsorship intended to last?
Then calculate the cost.
That avoids reaching the payment screen and trying to work out an immigration regulation while somebody is waiting for their CoS number.
Immigration Skills Charge in 2026: the simple version
For most ordinary Skilled Worker sponsorships:
Small or charitable sponsor
£480 for the first 12 months
then
£240 for each additional six months
Medium or large sponsor
£1,320 for the first 12 months
then
£660 for each additional six months
A three-year sponsorship therefore costs:
£1,440 small/charitable
or
£3,960 medium/large.
A five-year sponsorship costs:
£2,400 small/charitable
or
£6,600 medium/large.
But those figures should never be the end of the analysis.
Some workers are exempt.
Students can qualify for an exemption where the specific requirements are met.
Graduate visa holders are not covered by the study exemption simply because they previously studied.
Specified research and higher education occupations are exempt.
Existing sponsorship periods can affect whether further ISC is due.
And unused periods can sometimes be refunded.
That is why the proper question is not:
“How much is the ISC?”
It is:
“How much is the ISC for this particular worker?”
Need help working out your sponsorship costs?
If your business is preparing to sponsor a Skilled Worker, we can assess the employer, worker and proposed sponsorship before the Certificate of Sponsorship is assigned.
That includes considering whether the Immigration Skills Charge applies, whether an exemption is available, the appropriate sponsor size, the intended sponsorship period and the wider cost of the Skilled Worker process.
For businesses sponsoring their first worker, this can also help avoid one of the more common surprises in sponsorship:
thinking the cost is one figure and discovering at the payment screen that it has quietly become another.
The Immigration Skills Charge itself is not particularly complicated once the right rules have been identified.
The important part is identifying which rules apply before you pay it.
1. What is the Immigration Skills Charge?
The Immigration Skills Charge is an employer-side charge that applies to many Skilled Worker and Senior or Specialist Worker sponsorships. It is normally paid when the Certificate of Sponsorship is assigned. The amount depends mainly on the size or status of the sponsor and how long the worker is being sponsored for.
2. How much is the Immigration Skills Charge in 2026?
A small or charitable sponsor currently pays £480 for the first 12 months and £240 for each additional six months. A medium or large sponsor pays £1,320 for the first 12 months and £660 for each additional six months. A three-year Skilled Worker sponsorship therefore costs £1,440 or £3,960 respectively.
3. How much is the Immigration Skills Charge for five years?
For five complete years, a small or charitable sponsor currently pays £2,400. A medium or large sponsor pays £6,600. This is paid in addition to other applicable sponsorship costs, including the Certificate of Sponsorship fee. Worker-side visa costs should therefore be considered separately when calculating the overall cost of sponsorship.
4. Is a Graduate visa holder exempt from the Immigration Skills Charge?
No, not simply because they previously held a Student visa. The study-related ISC exemption applies where the worker has qualifying current study permission when the Certificate of Sponsorship is assigned. A person who has already switched onto the Graduate route does not qualify for that exemption merely because they previously studied in the UK.
5. Is a Student visa holder exempt from the Immigration Skills Charge?
Potentially, yes. Where the worker has valid qualifying study permission when the Certificate of Sponsorship is assigned, the employer can benefit from the study-route ISC exemption. The worker’s exact immigration status and timing should be checked before the CoS is assigned because waiting until their immigration position changes can affect the exemption.
6. Can an employer make a Skilled Worker repay the Immigration Skills Charge?
No. The Immigration Skills Charge is the sponsor’s responsibility and current sponsorship rules prohibit employers from passing it on or attempting to recover it from sponsored workers. Employers should therefore be careful with immigration repayment clauses, particularly older contracts that broadly require workers to repay all sponsorship costs if they leave employment early.
7. Can an employer get an Immigration Skills Charge refund if the worker leaves?
Potentially, yes. Where the sponsored worker leaves employment before the period covered by the original payment ends, the sponsor may receive a partial refund for qualifying unused periods. This can include resignations, dismissals and redundancies. The amount depends on how much of the sponsored period has already been used.
8. Is the Immigration Skills Charge refunded if the Skilled Worker visa is refused?
A full ISC refund can generally be available where the worker’s immigration application is refused. However, the timing of the refund can depend on whether an administrative review can be requested. The employer should therefore not necessarily expect the payment to return immediately on the day the worker receives the refusal decision.
9. Do healthcare employers have to pay the Immigration Skills Charge?
Potentially, yes. Being sponsored as a healthcare worker does not itself create a general ISC exemption. Certain specified research, scientific and higher education occupations are exempt, but employers should check the worker’s actual occupation code and circumstances rather than assuming that every Health and Care Worker sponsorship is exempt from the charge.
10. Is the Immigration Skills Charge the same as the Certificate of Sponsorship fee?
No. They are separate sponsorship costs. The Certificate of Sponsorship fee is charged for assigning the CoS, while the Immigration Skills Charge is a separate employer levy that applies to qualifying sponsorships. An employer can therefore be required to pay both when sponsoring a Skilled Worker, in addition to other applicable immigration costs.