UK Government bans sponsors from passing on specific sponsorship costs to Skilled Workers

10 January 2025

In a significant immigration policy shift, sponsors can no longer pass on specific sponsorship costs to Skilled Workers.

Businesses who wish to sponsor international talent will now be required to pay for Certificates of Sponsorship, sponsor licences and associated costs themselves.

The change of policy was announced in Labour’s ministerial statement on 28 November 2024 and the Home Office sponsor guidance was updated to implement the changes on 31 December 2024.

The given ban currently applies to the Skilled Worker route, but the ministerial statement confirms it will also be extended to other sponsored work routes.

What costs are prohibited and when does the ban come into effect? 

Skilled Worker sponsors are expressly prohibited from passing on the following costs to workers:

• The sponsor licence fee or associated administrative costs for applications made from 31 December 2024. This includes a request to add the Skilled Worker route to an existing sponsor licence. Government fees can be in the region of £2,000 if using priority processing services.
• The Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) fee for CoS assigned on or after 31 December 2024. The CoS fee is currently £239 per worker. This cost can be substantial, especially for sponsors sponsoring a large number of workers.

The changes align with the existing prohibition that prevents a sponsor from passing on the Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) to workers.

However, it is still permissible for an employer sponsor to recoup other immigration-related costs, e.g. any immigration application fees, Home Office commercial partner service charges and/or Immigration Health Surcharges it has paid on behalf of a sponsored worker or their dependants.

What happens if a sponsor passes on prohibited costs to a worker?

The Home Office will normally revoke your company sponsor licence.

Revocation of a sponsor licence usually results in reputational damage, financial loss, and significant upheaval for existing sponsored workers who will need to find a new sponsor or leave the UK.

For further advice and assistance with Skilled Worker and company sponsor license applications, or any other immigration matters, please contact our immigration team by emailing Robert Sookias at RobertSookias@cartercamerons.com.