FAQs on the Immigration Skills Charge
In this article, our UK Immigration Solicitors answer your frequently asked questions on the immigration skills charge.
Contact OTS Solicitors Today for Expert Immigration Legal Advice.
What is the immigration skills charge?
The immigration skills charge is a levy payable by UK employers that sponsor skilled migrant workers under the Skilled Worker Visa or the Global Mobility Senior or Specialist Worker Visa, unless an exemption applies.
Calculating the immigration skills charge
The immigration skills charge increased on 16 December 2025. The fee depends on two factors:
- The length of the visa, and
- The nature and size of the employer.
The visa duration is taken from the certificate of sponsorship. The immigration skills charge bill is not calculated based on the number of visa days. Instead, an employer must pay in 12-month or six-month periods. Accordingly, if a visa applicant intends to work in the UK for 14 months, their employer must pay an 18-month ISC fee.
The fee is payable upfront and cannot be paid in instalments.
How much is the immigration skills charge?
The immigration skills charge from 16 December 2025 is:
- £480 for the first 12 months, and £240 for each further six-month period for small companies and charities.
- £1,320 for the first 12 months, and £660 for each further six-month period for large companies.
What is the definition of a small company and charity for payment of the ISC?
A small or charitable sponsor is defined in the immigration skills charge regulations as a business or charity that is:
- A company that falls within the small companies regime under Section 381 of the Companies Act 2006 (4).
- A charity within the meaning of the statutes, namely Section 1 of the Charities Act 2011, or Section 1 of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008, or a body entered into the Scottish Charity Register.
- An employer who does not employ more than 50 employees.
If a business or organisation does not meet any of the three criteria, it is considered large and must pay the higher ISC fee.
When is the immigration skills charge payable?
If an employer with a sponsor licence sponsors a relevant employee, the immigration skills charge is payable when the employer allocates the certificate of sponsorship. The Home Office will not grant a Work Visa to a visa applicant unless the fee is paid.
Who is responsible for paying the immigration skills charge?
The immigration skills charge is payable by the UK employer sponsoring the work visa applicant. It is not a fee that the Home Office asks visa applicants to pay.
When was the immigration skills charge introduced?
The immigration skills charge was introduced in April 2017. The funds raised were intended to be allocated to upskill British workers, thereby reducing employers' need to sponsor overseas workers. In its 2025 White Paper, the government said it planned to use the funds raised to support skills funding for priority sectors, upskill the UK workforce, and reduce the UK's reliance on migration over the medium term.
What are the exemptions to payment of the immigration skills charge?
There are five main exemptions to paying the immigration skills charge:
- An exempt occupation.
- Sponsorship is for less than six months.
- The worker has been in sponsored employment since before April 2017.
- The worker is an EU national applying for a Senior or Specialist Worker Visa.
- The worker is switching from a Student Visa to a Skilled Worker Visa or a Senior or Specialist Worker Visa.
Exempt occupations and the immigration skills charge
From 16 December 2025, in addition to exempt Health and Care Worker Visa roles, the following occupations (with codes) do not require an employer to pay the immigration skills charge when assigning a certificate of sponsorship:
- 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
- 2161 research and development managers
- 2162 other researchers
- 2311 higher education teaching professionals
- 2463 clergy
- 3431 and 3432 sports players, sports coaches, instructors and officials
Exemption from the immigration skills charge fee for the length of sponsorship
If an employer is employing overseas workers on a sponsored Work Visa, the employer is exempt from paying the charge if the employment will be for less than six months.
Exemption from the ISC for the employment of EU nationals on the Senior or Specialist Worker Visa
In January 2023, the Home Office introduced an immigration skills charge exemption for overseas-based companies transferring EU employees to the UK to work at the UK branch of their business on a Senior or Specialist Worker Visa.
An employer does not have to pay the immigration skills charge for EU nationals applying for a Senior or Specialist Worker Visa to transfer from an EU-based business to the UK for up to 36 months, provided the worker’s certificate of sponsorship was issued after 1 January 2023.
The exemption applies to EU nationals (or Latvian non-citizens) where the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement exemption applies to the worker. The exemption does not include EEA nationals, Swiss nationals, or workers from Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland, or from any non-EEA country.
Exemption from the ISC for recruits on Student Visas switching to a Skilled Worker Visa or a Senior or Specialist Worker Visa.
If a sponsor licence holder recruits a person with a Student Visa (the student may be in the UK or overseas at the time of the certificate of sponsorship allocation) through the Skilled Worker or the Senior or Specialist Worker Visa routes, the employer will not be required to pay the ISC.
The Student Visa exemption covers recruits who hold one of these Student Visas:
- Student Visa
- Child Student Visa
- Short-term Student Visa (English language).
Do Business Visa applicants need to pay the immigration skills charge?
A Business Visa applicant is not liable to pay the immigration skills charge, but their work in the UK is limited to permissible business activities.
Can an employer ask an employee to repay the immigration skills charge?
An employer cannot ask a Skilled Worker Visa or Senior or Specialist Worker Visa applicant to repay the immigration skills charge by asking the sponsored employee to reimburse them with a one-off payment or through salary deductions.
What happens if an employer asks an employee to pay the immigration skills charge?
If an employer asks a job applicant to pay the immigration skills charge, it could jeopardise the employer's sponsor licence, as the applicant has been required to do something that violates the rules.
What are the consequences of the Home Office discovering that employees have reimbursed immigration skills charge fees?
If the Home Office discovers that an employer has asked sponsored employees to repay the immigration skills charge, it could conduct a compliance visit to investigate and assess the employer’s commitment to meeting its sponsor licence reporting and recording duties. The investigation could lead to the suspension or revocation of the licence.
If a sponsor licence is suspended, a UK business can't recruit any additional overseas workers who require sponsorship under a skilled worker visa or a senior or specialist worker visa.
Revoking a sponsor licence has significant implications for a sponsoring employer and its sponsored employees. A business cannot continue employing its sponsored workforce, even if it has not asked every sponsored employee to reimburse the immigration skills charge.
For employees on skilled worker visas or senior or specialist worker visas, the consequences of their employer losing its sponsor licence can be devastating, as their visas will be curtailed or ended early. The employee has 60 days to leave the UK, switch to a new sponsoring employer with a sponsor licence, or switch to a visa that does not require a sponsoring employer.
Obtaining a refund of the immigration skills charge
An employer may request an ISC refund from the Home Office in certain circumstances.
A full refund will be made if the Work Visa applicant is unsuccessful in their visa application, or if the worker does not come to the UK to start their sponsored employment.
After the first year of sponsorship, the Home Office may give a partial refund for any unworked six-month period of the visa. For example, if the worker leaves their employment early or changes employers and is sponsored by a different sponsor licence holder.
Questions on the immigration skills charge
If your business has a sponsor licence or is planning to apply for one, our Sponsorship Licence Lawyers can help with:
- Applying for a sponsor licence.
- Sponsor Licence Management Services.
- Bespoke training on certificate of sponsorship allocation.
- Immigration legal advice on recruiting overseas workers.
- Compliance advice on reporting and recording duties.
- Troubleshooting if your sponsor licence is at risk of suspension or revocation.
The firm's immigration expertise is recognised by inclusion in the 2026 editions of Chambers Guide to the Legal Profession and Legal 500.
The Business Immigration Lawyers will discuss how our proactive, results-driven immigration legal advice can add value to your business and ease the administrative burden of overseas recruitment and sponsor licence management.
Contact OTS Solicitors Today for Expert Immigration Legal Advice.
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