This 2026 guide covers every UK work visa fee across the Skilled Worker route, Health and Care visa, Global Talent, Innovator Founder, Scale-up, High Potential Individual, the five Global Business Mobility sub-routes, and all temporary work categories. Every figure reflects the 8 April 2026 fee schedule — the single largest update to Home Office work-visa pricing this year. Skilled Worker visa fees rose to £819 (≤3 years, outside UK), Health and Care visa fees to £324, sponsor licences to £611 small or £1,682 large, while the Certificate of Sponsorship stayed frozen at £525. The Immigration Health Surcharge remains £1,035 per adult per year. The canonical fee schedule lives in the Home Office immigration and nationality fees publication for 8 April 2026.
From 8 April 2026, UK work visa fees range from £319 for temporary work routes to £1,865 for in-country Skilled Worker applications longer than 3 years. The Skilled Worker visa costs £819 (≤3 years) or £1,618 (>3 years) from outside the UK; £943 or £1,865 from inside. The Health and Care visa remains the cheapest sponsored route at £324 — with full exemption from the £1,035/year Immigration Health Surcharge. Total cost for a 3-year Skilled Worker application from outside the UK is approximately £3,924 including IHS.
UK Work Visa Fees 2026: Complete Cost Guide for All Work Visa Categories
UK work visa fees vary significantly across visa category, length of permission requested, and whether the application is made from inside the UK (extension or switch) or outside (entry clearance). Beyond the application fee itself, every applicant must budget for the Immigration Health Surcharge — and every sponsor must pay the sponsor licence, Certificate of Sponsorship, and Immigration Skills Charge. The 8 April 2026 schedule increased almost every fee in the work-route table; the Certificate of Sponsorship is one of the few items that stayed flat after its 120% rise in April 2024.
The Home Office implemented a UK-wide fee uplift on 8 April 2026 covering visa application fees, sponsor licences, ILR, and citizenship. Applications submitted before that date were processed at the previous lower fee, irrespective of decision date. Skilled Worker visa fees rose from £769 to £819 (≤3 years, outside UK) and from £885 to £943 (inside UK). The Health and Care visa rose from £304 to £324. Sponsor licence fees rose from £574/£1,579 to £611/£1,682 (small/large). The Certificate of Sponsorship assignment fee stayed at £525, and the Immigration Skills Charge remained at £1,320/£480 per year following its 32% rise on 16 December 2025.
How Much Does a UK Work Visa Cost?
UK work visa fees in 2026 range from £319 (Temporary Worker routes) to £1,865 (in-country Skilled Worker >3 years). The standard Skilled Worker visa from outside the UK costs £819 (≤3 years) or £1,618 (>3 years). The Immigration Health Surcharge adds £1,035 per adult per year on top, except for Health and Care visa holders who are fully exempt. A 3-year Skilled Worker visa from outside the UK comes to approximately £3,924 including IHS.
| Visa Category | Outside UK | Inside UK |
|---|---|---|
| Skilled Worker (≤3 years) | £819 | £943 |
| Skilled Worker (>3 years) | £1,618 | £1,865 |
| Health and Care visa (≤3 years) | £324 | £324 |
| Global Talent (with endorsement) | £766 total | £766 total |
| Innovator Founder | £1,274 | £1,590 |
| Scale-up / High Potential Individual | £880 | £880 |
| Temporary Worker routes | £319 | £319 |
Skilled Worker Visa Fees
The main employer-sponsored UK work route is the most expensive standard work visa but also the highest-volume. Fees scale with the length of the Certificate of Sponsorship and split into out-of-country (entry clearance) and in-country (extension or switch) rates. The same per-applicant rate applies to each dependant.
The standard Skilled Worker visa fee from 8 April 2026 is £819 for permission of 3 years or less from outside the UK, or £943 for the same length inside the UK. Permission longer than 3 years costs £1,618 (outside) or £1,865 (inside). Roles on the Immigration Salary List attract reduced fees of £590 (≤3 years) and £1,160 (>3 years), unchanged in the 8 April uplift.
Skilled Worker Fee Schedule from 8 April 2026
| Skilled Worker Category | Outside UK | Inside UK |
|---|---|---|
| Standard (≤3 years) | £819 | £943 |
| Standard (>3 years) | £1,618 | £1,865 |
| Immigration Salary List (≤3 years) | £590 | £590 |
| Immigration Salary List (>3 years) | £1,160 | £1,160 |
The Immigration Salary List discount preserves a meaningful saving for shortage-occupation applicants, but the list is scheduled to expire on 31 December 2026. After that date the standard fee schedule applies even to roles currently on the ISL. Salary thresholds, going-rate calculations, and skill-level rules sit in our Skilled Worker pay threshold guide.
Health and Care Visa Fees
The NHS Health and Care visa concession offers the steepest fee discount in the work-route table. The visa fee is roughly a third of the standard Skilled Worker rate, and Health and Care visa holders are fully exempt from the £1,035 per year Immigration Health Surcharge. The combined effect produces savings exceeding £3,500 over a 3-year visa compared to the standard Skilled Worker rate.
| Health and Care Visa | Fee from 8 April 2026 |
|---|---|
| Visa fee (≤3 years) | £324 |
| Visa fee (>3 years) | £624 |
| Immigration Health Surcharge | Exempt |
| Immigration Skills Charge (employer) | Exempt |
A 3-year Health and Care visa from outside the UK costs £324 total — no IHS, no Immigration Skills Charge from the sponsor side. The equivalent Skilled Worker route adds up to £3,924 (visa £819 plus 3 × £1,035 IHS). The differential of roughly £3,600 per applicant per 3-year grant is significant when sponsoring at scale. Note: care worker (SOC 6135) and senior care worker (SOC 6136) overseas applications closed on 22 July 2025; in-country switching for existing workers continues until 22 July 2028.
Global Talent and Business Innovation Fees
The UK offers three principal routes for highly-skilled or entrepreneurial migrants outside the sponsor framework. UK Global Talent endorsement pathway targets recognised leaders and exceptional promise in science, engineering, humanities, medicine, digital technology, and the arts. The route for endorsed UK business founders supports those building innovative businesses in the UK. High-growth firm Scale-up route and elite university Graduate Migrant route capture early-career recruits from fast-growing UK firms and top-100 global universities respectively.
Global Talent Visa Fees
| Global Talent Stage | Fee |
|---|---|
| Endorsement application (Stage 1) | £561 |
| Visa application with endorsement (Stage 2) | £205 |
| Visa application without endorsement (prestigious-prize fast-track) | £766 |
| Dependant fee | £766 |
The two-stage endorsement pathway totals £766 — the same as the fast-track route for applicants who hold a qualifying prestigious prize (Nobel, Turing, Oscar, etc.). The Global Talent route is exempt from the Immigration Skills Charge.
Innovator Founder and Start-up Visa Fees
| Innovation Visa | Outside UK | Inside UK |
|---|---|---|
| Innovator Founder | £1,274 | £1,590 |
| Endorsement fee (paid to endorsing body) | £1,000 + VAT | |
| Contact-point meeting (every 6 months) | £500 + VAT | |
| Start-up visa (closed to new applicants) | £465 | £625 |
Scale-up and High Potential Individual Fees
| Route | Fee |
|---|---|
| Scale-up visa | £880 |
| High Potential Individual | £880 |
| Graduate route (post-study) | £880 |
Global Business Mobility Fees
The UK intra-company transfer pathway covers intra-company transfers and short-term assignments. The long-term senior or specialist sub-route mirrors Skilled Worker pricing because the role profile is comparable; the other four sub-routes — including the structured trainee placement visa, temporary secondment pathway, and overseas business UK expansion visa — share the £319 short-term work-visa floor.
| GBM Sub-Route | Outside UK | Inside UK |
|---|---|---|
| Senior or Specialist Worker (≤3 years) | £819 | £943 |
| Senior or Specialist Worker (>3 years) | £1,618 | £1,865 |
| Graduate Trainee | £319 | £319 |
| UK Expansion Worker | £319 | £319 |
| Service Supplier | £319 | £319 |
| Secondment Worker | £319 | £319 |
Additional Costs: IHS, Sponsor Fees, Priority Processing
Beyond the visa application fee, the headline budget items are the Immigration Health Surcharge (paid by the applicant), the sponsor licence and Certificate of Sponsorship (employer), the Immigration Skills Charge (employer), and optional priority processing (applicant choice).
Immigration Health Surcharge
The Immigration Health Surcharge is £1,035 per year for adults and £776 per year for under-18s, students, and Youth Mobility Scheme applicants. The full IHS for the visa length is paid upfront at application. For a 3-year Skilled Worker visa this adds £3,105 to the headline application fee. Health and Care visa holders are exempt. Full mechanics in our £1,035 annual NHS levy explained, with current rates published in the official UK healthcare surcharge guidance on gov.uk.
| IHS Category | Annual Rate |
|---|---|
| Adults (Skilled Worker, GBM, Innovator Founder, etc.) | £1,035 |
| Under-18 dependants | £776 |
| Students and Youth Mobility Scheme | £776 |
| Health and Care visa holders | Exempt |
Sponsor Licence and Certificate of Sponsorship
Employer-side fees are paid by the sponsor and cannot be passed to the worker. The 8 April 2026 schedule raised the sponsor licence fee for the first time since 2023; the Certificate of Sponsorship and Immigration Skills Charge held steady. Full breakdown in our UK employer compliance and licensing framework.
| Sponsor-Side Cost | Fee from 8 April 2026 |
|---|---|
| Sponsor licence (small / charitable) | £611 |
| Sponsor licence (medium / large) | £1,682 |
| Sponsor licence priority service | +£750 |
| Certificate of Sponsorship — Skilled Worker, T2 Minister of Religion, GBM Senior or Specialist, International Sportsperson 12m+ | £525 |
| Certificate of Sponsorship — Temporary Worker routes | £55 |
| Immigration Skills Charge (large sponsor, per year) | £1,320 |
| Immigration Skills Charge (small or charitable sponsor, per year) | £480 |
Priority Processing
The Home Office offers two faster decision tiers above the standard schedule. Priority Service typically returns a decision within 5 working days; 5-working-day Priority service is the most popular optional add-on for work-visa applicants. Super Priority targets next-working-day decisions, subject to availability at the relevant Visa Application Centre.
| Service | Additional Fee | Processing Target |
|---|---|---|
| Standard processing | Included | 3 weeks outside UK / up to 8 weeks inside UK |
| Priority service | +£500 | 5 working days from biometrics |
| Super Priority service | +£1,000 | Next working day from biometrics |
Temporary Work Visa Fees
The UK T5 short-term work permission framework shares a uniform £319 application fee across every category. Routes include UK agricultural and horticultural seasonal route, faith-based non-pastoral worker permission, voluntary charitable work permission, arts and sporting performer route, International Agreement, Government Authorised Exchange, Youth Mobility Scheme, and the India Young Professionals Scheme. The flat fee makes these routes the cheapest UK work visa point of entry.
| Temporary Worker Category | Fee from 8 April 2026 |
|---|---|
| Seasonal Worker | £319 |
| Religious Worker (Temporary Work) | £319 |
| Charity Worker | £319 |
| Creative Worker (Temporary Work) | £319 |
| International Agreement | £319 |
| Government Authorised Exchange | £319 |
| Youth Mobility Scheme | £319 |
| India Young Professionals Scheme | £319 |
International Sportsperson and Minister of Religion
| Category | Outside UK | Inside UK |
|---|---|---|
| International Sportsperson (≤12 months) | £319 | £319 |
| International Sportsperson (>12 months) | £819 | £943 |
| T2 Minister of Religion | £819 | £943 |
| Representative of Overseas Business | £819 | £943 |
For domestic staff travelling with their UK-resident employer, the private-household worker route costs £319 for the standard 6-month grant and carries specific employment-rights protections under the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
Total Cost Worked Examples
Headline visa fees are only one component of the total budget. Worked examples below show typical out-of-pocket cost for a single applicant across the most common scenarios. Sponsor-side costs (£525 CoS + ISC) are paid separately by the employer and cannot lawfully be recovered from the worker. For the wider Home Office fee picture beyond work visas, see our all-categories UK Home Office fee schedule. Workers approaching the 5-year settlement point should also factor in the Skilled Worker route to ILR fee of £3,226 at the end of the qualifying period.
| Scenario | Visa Fee | IHS | Applicant Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skilled Worker, 3 years, outside UK | £819 | £3,105 | £3,924 |
| Skilled Worker, 5 years, outside UK | £1,618 | £5,175 | £6,793 |
| Health and Care visa, 3 years | £324 | £0 | £324 |
| Global Talent (with endorsement), 5 years | £766 | £5,175 | £5,941 |
| Innovator Founder, 3 years, outside UK | £1,274 + endorsement £1,200 | £3,105 | ~£5,579 |
| Temporary Worker, 12 months | £319 | £1,035 | £1,354 |
A family of four (two adults plus two children under 18) applying for 3-year Skilled Worker visas from outside the UK faces approximately £15,898 in applicant-side fees: 4 × £819 visa (£3,276) plus 2 × £3,105 adult IHS (£6,210) plus 2 × £2,328 child IHS (£4,656) plus £19.20 biometric enrolment each. Health and Care visa equivalents drop the same family to roughly £1,296 (4 × £324, with no IHS at all).
- Skilled Worker visa fees rose to £819 (≤3 years, outside UK) on 8 April 2026
- Health and Care visa is the cheapest sponsored route at £324 with IHS exemption
- Immigration Health Surcharge is £1,035 per adult per year
- Sponsor licence fees rose to £611 (small) / £1,682 (large)
- Certificate of Sponsorship stayed frozen at £525
- Immigration Skills Charge remains £1,320 (large) / £480 (small) per year
- Priority service +£500 (5 days); Super Priority +£1,000 (next day)
- All Temporary Worker routes share a flat £319 application fee
For the canonical schedule, see the Home Office immigration and nationality fees publication for 8 April 2026. Specific Skilled Worker fee detail lives in the official Skilled Worker visa cost guidance on gov.uk.
Frequently Asked Questions
From 8 April 2026, UK work visa fees range from £319 for any Temporary Worker route to £1,865 for an in-country Skilled Worker application longer than 3 years. The standard Skilled Worker visa from outside the UK costs £819 (≤3 years) or £1,618 (>3 years). The Immigration Health Surcharge adds £1,035 per adult per year on top. Total cost for a 3-year Skilled Worker visa from outside the UK is approximately £3,924 including IHS.
The Health and Care visa is the cheapest sponsored UK work visa at £324 for permission of 3 years or less from 8 April 2026. The route is also exempt from the £1,035-per-year Immigration Health Surcharge and the Immigration Skills Charge on the sponsor side, making total cost dramatically lower than the standard Skilled Worker route. Temporary Worker routes (Seasonal, Charity, Religious, Creative, etc.) cost £319 but applicants must still pay the IHS.
No. The Immigration Health Surcharge is a separate payment alongside the visa application fee. The IHS rate is £1,035 per year for adults and £776 per year for under-18s, students, and Youth Mobility Scheme applicants. The full IHS for the entire visa length must be paid upfront at the time of application. Health and Care visa holders are exempt from the IHS, which is one of the route's biggest financial advantages.
Priority service costs an additional £500 and targets a decision within 5 working days from biometric enrolment. Super Priority service costs an additional £1,000 and targets the next working day. Both are optional and stack on top of the standard visa application fee. Availability varies by Visa Application Centre and visa category — Super Priority is not offered at every overseas location.
A 5-year Skilled Worker visa from outside the UK costs £1,618 in application fee from 8 April 2026, plus £5,175 in Immigration Health Surcharge (5 × £1,035). Total applicant cost is approximately £6,793. The equivalent in-country (extension or switch) application costs £1,865 plus £5,175 = £7,040. Immigration Salary List roles attract a reduced application fee of £1,160 for permission longer than 3 years.
Yes — each dependant pays the same headline visa application fee as the main applicant. Each dependant also pays the Immigration Health Surcharge: £1,035 per year for adult dependants, £776 per year for children under 18. A family of four on a 3-year Skilled Worker route from outside the UK pays approximately £15,898 in core applicant-side fees once IHS is included. Note that Temporary Shortage List workers cannot bring dependants at all.
Visa application fees are non-refundable once the application is formally submitted, even where the application is later refused. The Immigration Health Surcharge can be refunded in specific circumstances — for example where the application is refused, withdrawn before decision, or where the worker leaves the UK before the IHS-funded period ends. IHS refunds are processed automatically in most cases or claimed through the IHS refund portal on gov.uk.
Sponsors pay the sponsor licence fee (£611 small or £1,682 large from 8 April 2026), the Certificate of Sponsorship assignment fee (£525 for Skilled Worker, £55 for Temporary Worker), and the Immigration Skills Charge (£1,320 large or £480 small per year). For a 5-year Skilled Worker sponsorship a large employer pays approximately £8,807 in employer-side fees alone. The Certificate of Sponsorship fee and Immigration Skills Charge cannot lawfully be recovered from the worker.
Yes. The Home Office implemented a UK-wide work-visa fee uplift on 8 April 2026. The standard Skilled Worker fee rose from £769 to £819 (≤3 years, outside UK) and from £885 to £943 (inside UK). Health and Care visa rose from £304 to £324. Sponsor licence fees rose from £574 to £611 (small) and from £1,579 to £1,682 (large). The Certificate of Sponsorship stayed frozen at £525, and the Immigration Skills Charge held at its December 2025 levels of £1,320/£480 per year. Applications submitted before 8 April 2026 were processed at the previous rates.