From 16 December 2025, the Immigration Skills Charge for medium and large sponsors will rise from £1000 to £1320 and for small and charitable sponsors from £364 to £480 per sponsored employee per year of sponsorship. Source: Immigration Skills Charge (Amendment) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/1078)
What is the Immigration Skills Charge and how it is calculated
The Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) is a mandatory fee payable by the sponsor when assigning a certificate of sponsorship to a sponsored Skilled Worker or a worker on the Senior or Specialist Worker route.
The ISC is calculated in proportion to the length of prospective employment and is paid as a lump sum at the time of assigning the CoS.
The ISC is calculated as a set figure for the first 12 months of sponsorship and then in six-month blocks for any subsequent period. For example, sponsoring a worker for one year and 4 months will require payment of the ISC for an 18 month period; sponsoring a worker for a year and 7 month will trigger an ISC for 24 months.
There are two rates for the Immigration Skills Charge:
- for medium and large sponsors it is £1000 going up to £1320 per year per employee for the first 12 months (and £660 per subsequent six months) on 16 December 2025;
- for small and charitable sponsors it is £364 per year going up on 16 December 2025 to £480 per employee for the first 12 months (and £240 per 6 months thereafter) .
If the employee is applying for entry clearance from outside the UK and is sponsored for less than six months, the employer does not pay the ISC .
If the worker is applying in the UK, the ISC is payable whatever the duration of sponsorship unless an exemption applies.
Criteria used to define a small company
To meet the definition of a small company, the enterprise has to meet two of the following criteria:
- Turnover not more than £15 million
- Balance sheet total (i.e. total assets) not more than £7.5 million
- Number of employees not more than 50
Exemptions from the Immigration Skills Charge
The following occupations will be exempt from the ISC:
(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);
(x) 2463 (clergy);
(xi) 3431 (sports players);
(xii) 3432 (sports coaches, instructors and officials)
The exemption also applies when sponsoring an employee who is switching from a student visa to a skilled worker or Senior or Specialist Worker visa, and also when they further extend their stay with the same employer and in the same category.
Exemptions for the Global Business Mobility Senior or Specialist Worker route
There is no ISC in this category where the following exemption requirements are met:
- the worker is an EU national or hold a Latvian non-citizen's passport
- they normally work in the EU for your EU business and transferred to the UK temporarily for up to 3 years
Employees moving to a new job with the same sponsor
You may have to assign a new certificate of sponsorship for a sponsored employee who is changing the job and moving to another SOC code. If there is an overlap period between the previously assigned CoS and the new one, you don't have to pay the Immigration Skills Charge second time for the same period, but you will have to top up the ISC for any extension period not covered by the previous certificate of sponsorship.
ISC cannot be passed to the sponsored worker
It is not unusual for the employer to share the visa costs with the employee. There are strict rules on what costs can be borne by the employer and the Immigration Skills Charge cannot be recovered from the employee, as cannot be the cost of assigning the certificate of sponsorship.
Impact on the employer
The increase in the Immigration Skills Charge cost does not come as a surprise since it is the first time is it raised since it was introduced in 2017. The 32% increase is quite steep and the impact will be even more palpable in combination with the increasing qualifying period of settlement, and hence longer need for sponsorship.
Employers may consider assigning the CoS before December 16, and assigning it for the maximum length of time.
ISC refunds
You may receive a partial refund of the ISC if the worker stopped working for you before the period of sponsorship ended. You have to notify the Home Office via the SMS of the last day of the sponsored worker worked for you.
The amount of the ISC refund is calculated on the basis of 6 months blocks not used by the sponsored worker. For example, if the worker was sponsored for 2 years but worked for 14 months, you should entitled to a refund for a six month period.