Immigration Solicitors Guide to the Immigration Skills Charge 2022
In 2022 every UK business is keenly looking at their overheads to limit the impact of inflation on their company. However, businesses are also juggling balancing the need to employ staff with the costs of recruiting either settled or overseas workers. In this article, our immigration solicitors provide a guide to the immigration skills charge 2022 to help your business navigate the complexities of sponsoring skilled migrant workers on skilled worker visas and senior or specialist worker visas.
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For advice on sponsor licences and the recruitment of overseas workers call the expert London immigration lawyers at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
How does the immigration skills charge work?
The immigration skills charge is a fee payable to the Home Office when a UK business with a sponsor licence recruits a skilled worker visa applicant or senior or specialist worker visa applicant on a UK work visa.
The fee is non-negotiable. If the Home Office does not get their money your job candidate will not be issued with a visa by the Home Office.
What is your business paying for when you pay the immigration skills charge? In effect, you are paying for the privilege of sponsoring an overseas job applicant rather than recruiting a British citizen or a settled worker, such as someone who has already secured indefinite leave to remain or who is in the UK with pre-settled status or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme.
Some UK employers are disgruntled at having to pay the immigration skills charge because they have no choice other than to recruit skilled workers from overseas because of the UK skills shortage. They feel they are being penalised for the mismatch between available UK workers and the skilled work that employers are finding it difficult to get UK-based recruits to fill posts.
The rationale for the immigration skills charge is that whilst the money is collected by the Home Office the fees are earmarked for use by the Department of Education to pay for skills training for UK workers with the intention that the money will eventually reduce the need for UK business owners to recruit skilled worker visa applicants as there will be suitably qualified and experienced workers to select from.
The law and regulations on the payment of the immigration skills charge are to be found in:
- The Immigration Skills Charge Regulations 2017
- The Immigration Skills Charge (Amendment) Regulations 2020
Who does the immigration skills charge apply to?
The immigration skills charge applies if you are a UK-sponsoring employer who is sponsoring new overseas staff on these two work visas:
- Skilled worker visa – previously called the Tier 2 (General) visa
- Senior or specialist worker visa – previously called the intra-company transfer visa
Since Brexit and the end of free movement on 31 December 2020, EU nationals are subject to UK immigration control unless they have obtained the pre-settled status or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme. That means new EU nationals looking to work in the UK now have to apply for a work visa, resulting in them requiring a UK employer who will sponsor them and pay the immigration skills charge as part of the sponsor package.
There are some exceptions to paying the immigration skills charge but in the vast majority of cases, employers will have to pay the immigration skills charge if they want to employ and sponsor an overseas worker who is subject to UK immigration controls. However, if a skilled worker visa or senior or specialist worker visa holder is coming to live and work in the UK bringing family members on dependant visas the employer will only need to pay the immigration skills charge for the new employee, not their dependants. For more information on exceptions to the immigration skills charge call our Sponsorship Licence lawyers on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
Who has to pay the immigration skills charge?
If the immigration skills charge is payable because your business is sponsoring an overseas worker on a skilled worker visa or senior or specialist worker visa then the charge is payable by your business as the sponsoring employer. You cannot say that the recruit must pay the immigration skills charge as a condition of their employment or reduce their salary by deducting the immigration skills charge in instalments. The fee cannot be passed on.
How much is the immigration skills charge?
The immigration skills charge is calculated by reference to:
- The size of your business
- The length of your sponsored worker’s visa
If your company is classed as a charity or small sponsor the immigration skills charge is £364 for the first 12 months of the visa. The charge is an additional £182 for each additional 6 months of the visa. If a sponsored worker is coming to the UK on a 5-year work visa the immigration skills charge will be £1,820 payable upfront.
If your company is classed as a medium or large sponsor the immigration skills charge is £1,000 for the first 12 months of the visa. The charge is an additional £500 for each additional 6 months of the visa. If a sponsored worker is coming to the UK on a 5-year work visa the immigration skills charge will be £5,000 payable upfront.
Payment has to be made upfront because the Home Office will not issue a skilled worker visa or senior or specialist worker visa until:
- A certificate of sponsorship has been allocated by the business to the overseas recruit
- The immigration skills charge has been paid
- The work visa has been applied for and the Home Office work visa immigration application fee and immigration health surcharge have been paid
Sponsor licence costs
In addition to the immigration skills charge, there are additional costs that a sponsoring employer has to factor in, such as:
- The cost of applying for a sponsor licence
- The cost of a sponsor licence renewal application as the sponsor licence only lasts for 4 years and then has to be renewed
- The cost of dealing with any problems – such as Home Office audits and reporting and recording compliance
- Allocation of key personnel to manage the sponsor licence and the overhead cost of managing the sponsor licence internally or using a professional sponsor licence management service
- Certificate of sponsorship allocation fee each time a new overseas worker is sponsored
- Payment of the Home Office immigration application fee for the skilled worker visa or senior or specialist worker visa and immigration health surcharge – if your business chooses to pay these fees because of the recruitment crisis and the need to put a good remuneration package together for overseas recruits
Our Sponsorship Licence lawyers can help you work out your sponsor licence costs and how best to manage them. For example, keeping on top of sponsor licence reporting and recording duties reduces the costs of Home Office actions plans or using a sponsor licence management service can be the best option if you do not have the HR or administrative staff to keep on top of sponsor licence compliance.
UK Online and London Based Immigration Solicitors and Sponsorship Licence Lawyers
For sponsor licence management advice and help with work visas for overseas workers call the immigration lawyers at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.