How Much Does It Cost To Sponsor A Tier 2 Migrant?

If you are a company who is thinking about sponsoring a Tier 2 Visa migrant it is important to stay informed on the fees involved when you make this application as they are subject to change.

At this present point in time, the following fees apply.

You will first need to get a sponsor license for your company.

• This costs £536 for small companies that employ 50 people or less, and have an annual income of 10.2 million or less,
  or
• £1476, for large companies, who employ more than 50 people and make more than £10.2 million per year.

In addition to the fee, you must also show during this process that you are in compliance with the Home Office regulations by showing an audit of your files. Our team of top immigration lawyers in London can be of help advising you through this process.

Once you are successful and your license is approved, you will need to find out if your company will have to meet the resident labour market test. This test will determine whether you have considered hiring any settled resident workers or EU nationals to take up the role which is advertised.

If there are no settled workers or are you Nationals able to do the job in question then you are allowed to Sponsor a Tier 2 Visa Migrant but may ask the following questions.

How much is a Certificate of sponsorship?

Every Tier 2 Visa Migrant will need to have a valid certificate of sponsorship (COS) and each one of these costs £199. Moreover, there is no difference in price whether it is for one year or for five years

How much is the Home Office application fee?

Those who apply will have to pay a Home Office application fee which will depend on the type of Visa that they are applying for. The fees that you will pay as the applicant will depend on the length of the Visa which you are applying for and whether you are applying from within the UK or not. The fees can range between £464-£1408. If for any reason your application is refused you will more than likely not get this fee back.

What is the Immigration skills charge?

This particular fee (introduced on the 6th of April 2017)  is due each time the certificate of sponsorship is renewed for an applicant.

This fee depends on the size and type of the company and how much time the employee stated on the certificate of sponsorship will work at the company

If your company is small then the fee will be £364 and this will cover the employee up to 1 year. There will be a subsequent charge of £182 for each six-month period stated on the certificate of sponsorship. So if your Tier 2 Visa employee stays for 1 year the charge will be £264.

In every other case, the fee is a standard £1000 for any stated period of up to a year plus £500 for every six months period stated on the certificate of sponsorship. The above fee is based on current information and can always change.

What is an Immigration Health Surcharge?

There is a standard fee of £400 per applicant that will be charged when the application is submitted. This fee has to be paid every year for this applicant to remain in the UK.

This fee is deployed for migrants use of the national health service (NHS) and other benefits in the UK. If you pay this fee and if the application is refused then this fee is refunded.

If you have any questions regarding or sponsoring a tear to application moment feel free to reach out to our team of top immigration solicitors in London by filling out the form below and we will call you back.