UK may increase sponsorship fee from from £239 to £525 for employers hiring migrant workers

The United Kingdom (UK) government recently made an announcement, proposing to increase the fees for the Certificate of Sponsorship from £239 to £525.

These certificates of sponsorship (CoS) are important documents given by employers to foreign skilled workers to obtain their skilled worker visa to work in the UK.

This statement was announced on the official site of the UK home office on January 16, 2025.

“The legislation laid today will be debated in Parliament and is subject to approval by both Houses. If approved, the proposed new fees will be introduced by amending separate legislation, the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Regulations 2018, as soon as Parliamentary time allows”, it states.

Along with the visa sponsorship fee hike that has been proposed, the UK government also announced several other fee changes. The Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) fee which was previously set at £10 is now set to rise to £16.

As for the naturalisation fee, this will increase from £1,605 to 1,000 pounds. Also, the fee charged for naturalisation as a British Overseas Territories citizen is set for an increase, from 1,000 pounds to £1,070.

It is estimated that these changes will generate an increase of £269 every year, which corresponds with the UK’s “Plan for Change” where the objective is to improve the immigration and immigration processes.

Moreover, for the Home Office, this raise is part of wider reforms which are being pursued to limit direct funding from taxpayers for migration and borders control system.

Depending on the kind of a sponsor license an employer has, the CoS fee might vary. This implies that organisations will have to plan their immigration budgets to cover these extra costs if they wish to start sponsoring foreign workers.

With the increase in the budget for employing international workers/ immigrants, these changes will greatly affect UK businesses in the long run.

Impact on employers and foreign workers

As these proposed changes are geared to reduce the reliance on taxpayers, they also create additional financial burdens on both employers and foreign workers.

Employers who operate under the Skilled Worker visa route must therefore consider these increases when preparing their budgets.

These few increases could pose challenges for businesses which rely heavily on foreign talent, which potentially necessitates strategic adjustments to maintain competitiveness in a global setting.

Employers are therefore obligated to offer comprehensive guidance to their sponsored employees to help them navigate these changes effectively.

The proposed fee changes have been laid before Parliament and are currently awaiting approval.

The exact implementation date is still uncertain, as the changes need to undergo legal processes before being finalised.