Immigration Skills Charge (ISC): the 2026 guide for employers

The Home Office raised the Immigration Skills Charge by 32% on 16 December 2025. For a large sponsor, that is £1,600 more per worker across a five-year visa, or £19,200 for a team of 12. The ISC is one of the bigger costs of sponsoring overseas workers, it is paid upfront, and it cannot be passed on to the employee. Here is how the 2026 rates work, who is exempt, and how to budget it before your next CoS assignment.

Use the calculator below to estimate the ISC alongside the rest of your sponsorship costs.

What is the Immigration Skills Charge?

The Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) is a fee UK employers pay when they sponsor a worker on the Skilled Worker visa or the Global Business Mobility (GBM) Senior or Specialist Worker route. It was introduced in April 2017 to encourage employers to train and recruit from the domestic workforce, with the revenue going to the Department for Education.

You pay the ISC when you assign a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) through the Sponsor Management System (SMS), which you can only do once you hold a sponsor licence. It is due upfront, and you cannot recover it from the worker. Passing the charge on to an employee can put your licence at risk.

When does the Immigration Skills Charge apply?

The ISC applies when you sponsor a worker in one of these routes:

• The Skilled Worker visa, for skilled overseas hires in eligible roles.
• The GBM Senior or Specialist Worker visa, for international companies transferring employees to UK operations.

A few points worth holding on to:

• It applies to any CoS assigned on or after 6 April 2017.
• It is charged where the sponsored period is longer than six months.
• Extending an existing CoS attracts the ISC for the extra time.
• Dependants of sponsored workers are not charged.

How much is the Immigration Skills Charge in 2026?

Since 16 December 2025 the ISC has been 32% higher. What you pay depends on your organisation's size and the length of the visa you sponsor.

Medium or large sponsors pay:

• £1,320 for the first 12 months.
• £660 for each further six months.

Small or charitable sponsors pay:

• £480 for the first 12 months.
• £240 for each further six months.

You count as a small sponsor if you meet at least two of these: annual turnover of £15 million or less, total assets of £7.5 million or less, or 50 employees or fewer. If you do not, you pay the medium or large rate.

Worked through over a full visa, that means:

• A three-year visa costs £3,960 for a large sponsor, or £1,440 for a small sponsor.
• A five-year visa costs £6,600 for a large sponsor, or £2,400 for a small sponsor.

To estimate your total cost, including the ISC, use the visa fees calculator.

Who is exempt from the Immigration Skills Charge?

Some roles and routes are exempt, which can change your budgeting significantly:

• Health and Care Worker visa. You do not pay the ISC for workers you sponsor on the Health and Care Worker visa. This is a full exemption.
• PhD-level roles in eligible SOC codes, such as scientists, researchers, and higher education teaching professionals.
• Student visa switchers moving from a Student visa to a Skilled Worker visa inside the UK.
• Short assignments where the CoS is for six months or less.
• EU nationals on the GBM route transferring for up to 36 months, where the CoS was issued on or after 1 January 2023.
• Dependants of sponsored workers.

What happens if you don't pay the ISC?

Skipping the ISC has real consequences:

• The Certificate of Sponsorship is not valid, so it cannot be used for a visa application.
• The visa application will not be processed, which means delays or refusal.
• Non-payment can trigger sponsor licence revocation or other penalties.

You get a reminder to pay within 72 hours. To avoid hold-ups, settle the charge during the CoS assignment.

ISC refunds and adjustments

You may be able to reclaim the ISC in specific cases.

Full refunds apply where:

• The worker's visa application is refused or withdrawn.
• The CoS goes unused, or the worker never starts.

Partial refunds apply where:

• The worker leaves before the end of the visa.
• A small sponsor paid the large-sponsor rate by mistake.

Refunds are processed within 90 days through the SMS. The CoS fee itself is not refundable once assigned, even if the worker does not use it.

How the Immigration Skills Charge is used

In the 2021 to 2022 financial year the ISC raised £349 million, which went towards skills training across the UK. How effectively that money closes the skills gap has been questioned, and transparency on where it lands remains thin.

How to manage ISC costs

• Budget it upfront. Plan the ISC alongside other government fees such as the Certificate of Sponsorship cost and the Immigration Health Surcharge.
• Check the exemptions. Confirm whether the role or route qualifies for an exemption before you assign the CoS, particularly for care roles.
• Get the sponsor size right. Paying the large rate when you qualify as small is a common, recoverable mistake, but it ties up cash you did not need to spend.

Frequently asked questions

How much is the Immigration Skills Charge in 2026?

Since 16 December 2025, large and medium sponsors pay £1,320 for the first 12 months and £660 for each further six months. Small and charitable sponsors pay £480 and then £240.

Who pays the Immigration Skills Charge?

The employer pays it, upfront, when assigning the CoS. You cannot pass it on to the worker, and doing so can cost you your sponsor licence.

Is the Immigration Skills Charge refundable?

Yes, in some cases. You get a full refund if the visa is refused or withdrawn or the worker never starts, and a partial refund if the worker leaves before the visa ends. Refunds come through the SMS within 90 days.

What is the ISC for a five-year visa?

£6,600 for a large sponsor and £2,400 for a small or charitable sponsor.

Is the Health and Care Worker visa exempt from the ISC?

Yes. The ISC does not apply to workers you sponsor on the Health and Care Worker visa.

How Borderless can help

The ISC is rarely the hard part. Tracking it across every CoS, every extension, and every sponsor-size change is. Borderless keeps your sponsorship costs and compliance in one place, so nothing slips between spreadsheets. Book a demo to see how it works.