Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) 2026: Rates, Fees & Exemptions

Key Takeaway for UK Immigration Skills Charge

From December 16, 2025, the UK Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) were planned to be increased by 32%, raising the fee to £1,320 per sponsored worker per year for medium and large employers, and to £480 for small or charitable sponsors.
The ISC is required for sponsoring overseas workers under Skilled Worker and Global Business Mobility routes, with certain limited occupation exemptions.
This increase adds significant cost to international hiring, making immigration management platforms and strategic workforce planning essential for compliance and cost control.

What Is the UK Immigration Skills Charge?

The Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) is a fee UK employers pay per sponsored worker each time they assign a Certificate of Sponsorship under the Skilled Worker or Global Business Mobility (Senior or Specialist Worker) route. It is paid upfront for the full length of the sponsorship, is the sponsor's legal liability, and cannot be passed on to the worker.

Immigration Skills Charge rates for 2026

Currently, the ISC applies to each sponsored worker and is paid upfront when assigning the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS).

Scenario	Previous Cost per Year	New Cost per Year (from Dec 16, 2025)	Difference
Large organisation	£1,000	£1,320	+£320
Small/charitable sponsor	£364	£480	+£116

ISC rates in force since 16 December 2025. You qualify as a small sponsor if you meet at least two of: annual turnover ≤ £10.2m, balance sheet total ≤ £5.1m, or 50 employees or fewer. Registered charities pay the small rate regardless of size.

How Much Is the Immigration Skills Charge for 3 Years?

The ISC is charged in six-month blocks and paid upfront in full when you assign the Certificate of Sponsorship. For a 3-year sponsorship, a small sponsor pays £1,440 and a large sponsor pays £3,960. The table below shows the total ISC by sponsor size and visa length.

Total Immigration Skills Charge by sponsor size and visa length:

Sponsorship length	Small / charitable sponsor	Medium / large sponsor
1 year	£480	£1,320
2 years	£960	£2,640
3 years	£1,440	£3,960
4 years	£1,920	£5,280
5 years	£2,400	£6,600

Example: a large sponsor assigning a 5-year CoS pays £6,600 in ISC upfront, per worker, on top of the £525 Certificate of Sponsorship fee. The ISC cannot be recovered from the worker.

Why the Government Is Raising the Charge

The UK Home Office states the increase aims to further support investment in local workforce training and reduce dependence on overseas labour. However, many employers argue it creates additional cost pressure at a time when skills shortages remain high across industries like healthcare, engineering, and technology.

How the ISC Is Calculated

The Immigration Skills Charge is not a flat fee, it is calculated in blocks tied to the length of the sponsorship, and paid upfront in full when you assign the Certificate of Sponsorship. Understanding the block structure is what lets you budget accurately and avoid tying up cash in a longer certificate than you need.

Rule	What It Means
12-Month Minimum	The Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) is payable for the first full 12 months, even if the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) covers a shorter assignment.
6-Month Blocks	Any period beyond the first year is rounded up to the nearest 6-month block when calculating the ISC.
Cost per Additional Block	Each additional 6-month block costs £660 for medium or large sponsors, or £240 for small or charitable sponsors.
Rounding Rules	Charges are rounded up. For example, a CoS issued for 3 years and 1 month is charged as 3 years and 6 months, not 3 years and 1 month.
Upfront Payment	The full Immigration Skills Charge for the entire CoS duration must be paid in one lump sum when the CoS is assigned. It cannot be paid in instalments over the visa period.

What Happens If an Employee Settles or Leaves Early

The ISC is paid upfront for the full certificate length, but the sponsorship rarely ends exactly on the CoS end date. If a worker leaves, settles, or is granted a shorter visa, you are entitled to recover the unused portion but the timing of that refund has a real cash-flow cost worth planning around.

Rule	What It Means
Automatic Partial Refunds	UKVI automatically refunds any unused 6-month Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) blocks after you report the relevant change through the Sponsor Management System (SMS).
Early Exit or Settlement	If a sponsored worker resigns, is dismissed, or is granted Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) before the end of the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS), the unused ISC blocks are generally refundable.
Refund Processing Time	Refunds typically take 90 days or longer to be processed and returned to the sponsoring employer.
Cash Flow Planning	Treat ISC refunds as a long-term cash recovery rather than an immediate saving when forecasting recruitment costs.
Shorter CoS Strategy	Issuing a shorter Certificate of Sponsorship can reduce upfront ISC costs and help preserve working capital instead of relying on a future refund from an unnecessarily long certificate.

Deciding how long a certificate to assign when an employee is close to settlement? Our guide on when employees can apply for UK ILR covers the one-year versus three-year CoS decision in full.

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Immigration Skill Charge Exemptions for Sponsors

While the ISC applies to most Skilled Worker and Global Business Mobility sponsorships, several roles and scenarios let employers bypass the charge entirely. Knowing where the exemptions apply is essential for accurate budgeting and for avoiding an overpayment you then have to reclaim.

Exemption	What It Means
Specified Professional Roles	No Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) is payable when sponsoring certain exempt occupations, including eligible PhD-level roles such as chemical scientists, biological scientists, and higher education teaching professionals.
Global Business Mobility – Graduate Trainees	Workers transferred to a UK entity as part of a qualifying graduate training programme leading to a managerial or specialist position are exempt from the ISC.
Eligible EU Intra-Corporate Transferees	Under the UK–EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, certain qualifying senior intra-corporate transferees assigned for less than 36 months may be exempt from the ISC.
Switching from a Student Visa	Applicants already in the UK who switch from the Student route to the Skilled Worker route are generally exempt from the Immigration Skills Charge.
Temporary Worker Routes	Immigration routes within the Temporary Worker category are outside the scope of the Immigration Skills Charge.

Not sure which routes carry no charge? See which qualify in our UK temporary worker visa routes guide.

Immigration Skills Charge Refunds

Beyond early exits, the Home Office refunds the ISC in several defined situations where the sponsorship does not proceed as planned. Most are processed automatically, but sponsors should monitor their SMS account to confirm the funds are returned when eligibility is met.

Visa refusals and withdrawals: A full refund is issued if the worker's visa is refused, or if they withdraw before a decision.
Failure to start work: If a visa is granted but the worker never begins employment, the full amount is refundable.
Application errors: If you paid the ISC for a candidate who was in fact exempt, the overpayment is refunded once the error is verified.
Report changes promptly: Refund eligibility is triggered by reporting the change in the SMS, delays in reporting delay the refund.
Confirm, don't assume: Automatic refunds can be missed; check your account rather than assuming the credit has landed.

Disclaimer: Immigration rules change quite frequently; please verify with official sources or contact us for the latest info before making any decisions.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Immigration Skills Charge Hike 2026

What is the UK Immigration Skills Charge for a UK Sponsor Licence in 2026?

The Immigration Skills Charge is a mandatory fee paid by UK employers when sponsoring foreign workers, which increased to £1,320 per year for large organizations starting in late 2025 and continuing through 2026.

How much do small or charitable organizations pay for the UK Immigration Skills Charge in 2026?

Small or charitable sponsors are required to pay a rate of £480 per sponsored worker per year throughout 2026, following the 32% increase implemented in December 2025.

Which visa routes require the payment of the UK Immigration Skills Charge?

Employers must pay the charge when assigning a Certificate of Sponsorship for workers under the Skilled Worker and Global Business Mobility routes.

Are there any exemptions to the UK Immigration Skills Charge?

Yes, exemptions apply to specific roles such as Health and Care Workers, certain PhD-level scientists, and students switching to a Skilled Worker visa from within the UK.

What happens if an employer fails to pay the UK Immigration Skills Charge?

Failure to pay the full amount will result in the Certificate of Sponsorship being invalidated and the subsequent refusal of the worker's visa application.

What happens if a sponsor does not pay the Immigration Skills Charge?

If the Immigration Skills Charge is not paid correctly, the Certificate of Sponsorship may become invalid and the sponsored worker’s visa application can be refused by the Home Office.

What circumstances will lead to a refund or top up request?

A refund or top up request may occur if sponsorship periods change, visa applications are refused, workers leave early, or the employer assigned an incorrect sponsorship duration.

Can the sponsor pass on the Immigration Skills Charge to the employee?

No, UK immigration rules prohibit employers from passing the Immigration Skills Charge cost onto sponsored workers either directly or indirectly.

Maliha Ahmed

Maliha Ahmed is an IAA-accredited Immigration Advisor at Jobbatical, specialising in UK business immigration. She holds an LLB Law (Honours) from Brunel University London and brings 8 years of experience advising SMEs and large enterprises on skilled worker visas, sponsor licence applications, Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS), SMS compliance, and global mobility. She is an active member of the Immigration Law Practitioners Association (ILPA) and she regularly participates in corporate immigration events to stay current with UKVI policy changes.

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