Every UK work visa has two prices: the application fee, and the health surcharge that usually dwarfs it. Fees run from £340 on the temporary routes to £1,865 for a long in-country sponsored application, while the surcharge adds £1,035 a year for each adult. Employers pay a third set of costs they cannot pass on — and one exemption most guides get wrong.
UK Work Visas
UK Work Visa Fees 2026: Every Route, Employer Costs and Real Totals
What a Work Visa Actually Costs
Application fees run from £340 on the temporary work routes to £1,865 for a Skilled Worker application over three years made inside the UK. On top sits the health surcharge at £1,035 a year for adults and £776 for under-18s, paid upfront for the whole grant — except on the Health and Care Worker route, which is exempt. Employers separately pay the licence, £525 or £55 per certificate, and the skills charge where it applies.
Three variables move the number: the route, the length of permission requested, and whether the application is made inside or outside the UK. Dependants pay the same application fee as the main applicant and their own surcharge. Figures below are the 8 April 2026 schedule — the wider picture across all categories, not only work, is in our full fee guide.
One timing point saves money. The fee that applies is the one in force when the application is submitted and paid, not when it is decided, so a submission made before a scheduled uplift is charged at the old rate even if the decision comes months later. The same logic runs the other way for the surcharge: it is calculated on the length of permission you are asking for.
Skilled Worker Fees
The main sponsored route splits by duration and by where you apply. Immigration Salary List roles keep a reduced fee, identical inside and outside the UK, until that list expires on 31 December 2026.
Skilled Worker Application Fees
| Application | Outside the UK | Inside the UK |
|---|---|---|
| 3 years or less | £819 | £943 |
| More than 3 years | £1,618 | £1,865 |
| Immigration Salary List, 3 years or less | £628 | £628 |
| Immigration Salary List, more than 3 years | £1,235 | £1,235 |
Source: GOV.UK Skilled Worker visa, 8 April 2026 fee schedule. Verified 22 August 2026.
Add the surcharge to get the real figure: five years outside the UK is £1,618 plus £5,175, so £6,793 before anything optional. Salary and occupation rules that decide whether the application is viable at all sit in our salary guide and the route itself in our Skilled Worker guide.
Health and Care Worker Fees
This is the cheapest sponsored route by a wide margin: £324 for permission of three years or less and £628 for longer, the same inside and outside the UK, with no health surcharge for the worker or their family. A five-year grant costs £628 in total against £6,793 on the standard route.
The worker's saving is real; the employer's is not. There is no Health and Care exemption from the Immigration Skills Charge. Exemptions run by occupation code — 2111 to 2115, 2119, 2161, 2162 and 2311 — plus entry clearance under six months, student switchers and certificate overlaps. Of the health and care codes only 2113 and 2114 appear, so a trust or care provider sponsoring a nurse, doctor or care worker pays £1,320 a year, or £480 if small or charitable, in full. Route detail is in our Health and Care Worker guide.
Talent, Innovation and Graduate Routes
The unsponsored routes price differently. Global Talent splits its £766 across two stages. Innovator Founder charges the visa fee plus endorsement costs paid to the endorsing body. Scale-up, Graduate and High Potential Individual are single flat fees regardless of grant length.
Unsponsored and Founder Route Fees
| Route | Outside the UK | Inside the UK |
|---|---|---|
| Global Talent, endorsement stage | £561 | £561 |
| Global Talent, visa stage after endorsement | £205 | £205 |
| Global Talent on a prestigious prize, single application | £766 | £766 |
| Innovator Founder | £1,357 | £1,693 |
| Scale-up Worker | £937 | £937 |
| Graduate | Not available | £937 |
| High Potential Individual | £880 | £880 |
Source: GOV.UK route pages, 8 April 2026 fee schedule. Verified 22 August 2026.
Innovator Founder endorsement adds £1,000 to the endorsing body, plus £500 for each of the two contact-point meetings. High Potential Individual applicants also pay £252 including VAT for the Ecctis assessment. Route detail sits in Global Talent, Innovator Founder, Scale-up and High Potential Individual.
Global Business Mobility
The long-term transfer route is priced like Skilled Worker; the four short-term routes sit at the temporary-work floor of £340.
Global Business Mobility Fees
| Sub-route | Outside the UK | Inside the UK |
|---|---|---|
| Senior or Specialist Worker, 3 years or less | £819 | £943 |
| Senior or Specialist Worker, more than 3 years | £1,618 | £1,865 |
| Graduate Trainee | £340 | £340 |
| UK Expansion Worker | £340 | £340 |
| Service Supplier | £340 | £340 |
| Secondment Worker | £340 | £340 |
Source: GOV.UK Global Business Mobility route pages, 8 April 2026 fee schedule. Verified 22 August 2026.
The family is explained in our GBM pillar, with the individual routes covered in Senior or Specialist Worker, Graduate Trainee, UK Expansion Worker and Secondment Worker.
Surcharge, Sponsor Costs and Faster Decisions
The health surcharge is paid upfront for the whole period of permission, not annually in arrears, which is why long grants produce large single payments. It is not payable on settlement applications.
Costs Beyond the Application Fee
| Item | Amount | Paid by |
|---|---|---|
| Health surcharge, adult | £1,035 a year | Applicant |
| Health surcharge, under 18 | £776 a year | Applicant |
| Money you must show | £1,270 on most routes | Applicant |
| Sponsor licence, small or charitable | £611 | Sponsor |
| Sponsor licence, medium or large | £1,682 Worker, £611 Temporary Worker | Sponsor |
| Certificate of sponsorship | £525 Worker routes, £55 Temporary Worker | Sponsor |
| Immigration Skills Charge | £1,320 or £480 a year | Sponsor |
| Priority and super priority | £500 and £1,000 | Applicant |
Source: GOV.UK UK visa sponsorship for employers and the 8 April 2026 fee schedule. Verified 22 August 2026.
Employers cannot recover the licence fee, the certificate fee or the skills charge from the worker — doing so risks the licence, as set out in our sponsorship guide. The surcharge itself is explained in our health surcharge guide, and paid faster decisions in our priority services guide.
Temporary Work and Other Routes
The temporary routes share a flat £340 fee, but they differ sharply in how long they last — from six months on the seasonal route to two years on religious work and the mobility schemes.
Temporary and Specialist Route Fees
| Route | Fee | Maximum stay |
|---|---|---|
| Seasonal Worker | £340 | 6 months, horticulture |
| Charity Worker | £340 | 12 months |
| Creative Worker | £340 | 12 months |
| Religious Worker | £340 | 24 months |
| Government Authorised Exchange | £340 | Depends on the scheme |
| International Agreement | £340 | 2 years at a time |
| Youth Mobility Scheme | £340 | 24 months |
| India Young Professionals Scheme | £340 | 24 months |
| International Sportsperson, 12 months or less | £340 | Up to 12 months |
| International Sportsperson, over 12 months | £819 outside, £943 inside | Up to 3 years |
| Minister of Religion | £819 outside, £943 inside | 3 years and 1 month |
| UK Ancestry | £726 | 5 years |
Source: GOV.UK route pages, 8 April 2026 fee schedule. Verified 22 August 2026.
Money requirements differ too: the Youth Mobility and India Young Professionals schemes ask for £2,530 in savings rather than the usual £1,270. The family is covered in our Temporary Worker pillar, with individual guides to Seasonal Worker, Charity Worker, Religious Worker, Creative Worker and the domestic worker route.
What People Actually Pay
Headline fees mislead because the surcharge scales with the length of permission. These are applicant-side totals; employer costs sit on top and stay with the employer.
Worked Totals, Single Applicant
| Scenario | Fee | Surcharge | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skilled Worker, 3 years, outside the UK | £819 | £3,105 | £3,924 |
| Skilled Worker, 5 years, outside the UK | £1,618 | £5,175 | £6,793 |
| Health and Care Worker, 5 years | £628 | Exempt | £628 |
| Global Talent, 5 years, with endorsement | £766 | £5,175 | £5,941 |
| Graduate, 2 years | £937 | £2,070 | £3,007 |
| Temporary Worker, 12 months | £340 | £1,035 | £1,375 |
Source: GOV.UK route pages and the 8 April 2026 fee schedule. Verified 22 August 2026.
A family of four on three-year Skilled Worker permission from outside the UK pays £3,276 in fees, £6,210 of adult surcharge and £4,656 of child surcharge — £14,142 in total. The same family on the Health and Care Worker route pays £1,296 and nothing else. Settlement later adds £3,226 per person, covered in our settlement guide.
Sources: GOV.UK route pages for Skilled Worker route page on GOV.UK, Health and Care Worker route page on GOV.UK and the temporary work categories; the employer sponsorship pages on GOV.UK; and the Home Office immigration and nationality fees for 8 April 2026. Figures verified 22 August 2026.
Frequently Asked
Questions about UK Work Visa Fees
The Health and Care Worker visa, at £324 for three years or less and £628 for longer, with no health surcharge for the worker or their dependants. The temporary work routes are cheaper to apply for at £340, but their applicants still pay the surcharge at £1,035 a year, so a 12-month temporary visa costs more in total than a five-year health and care one.
No, it is a separate payment made at the same time. The rate is £1,035 a year for adults and £776 for under-18s, and the whole amount for the period of permission is paid upfront. Health and Care Worker applicants and their dependants are exempt entirely, and no surcharge is payable on a settlement application.
Yes. Each dependant pays the same application fee as the main applicant plus their own surcharge — £1,035 a year for an adult partner, £776 a year for a child. A family of four on three-year Skilled Worker permission from outside the UK therefore pays about £14,142 in total, against £1,296 for the same family on the Health and Care Worker route.
No. There is no Health and Care exemption. The charge is waived only for occupation codes 2111 to 2115, 2119, 2161, 2162 and 2311, for entry clearance under six months, for student switchers and where certificates overlap. An employer sponsoring a nurse, doctor or care worker pays £1,320 a year, or £480 if small or charitable, for the length of the visa.
A sponsor licence at £611 for small and charitable organisations or £1,682 for a medium or large Worker licence, £525 for each Worker-route certificate of sponsorship or £55 on the temporary routes, and the skills charge where it applies. None of it may be recovered from the worker. A five-year Skilled Worker sponsorship costs a large employer £8,807 in total.
£500 for the priority service and £1,000 for super priority, on top of the application fee. Availability varies by route and by application centre, and super priority made inside the UK requires an appointment at a service point rather than the identity app. Standard decisions on most work routes take about three weeks from outside the UK and eight weeks inside it.
Application fees are not refunded once processing has started, even if the application is refused — you can only get a refund by cancelling before UKVI begins work on it. The health surcharge is different: it is refunded where an application is refused or withdrawn, and can be partly refunded where permission is granted for a shorter period than paid for.
Seasonal Worker, Charity Worker, Creative Worker, Religious Worker, Government Authorised Exchange, International Agreement, the Youth Mobility and India Young Professionals schemes, International Sportsperson for 12 months or less, and the four short-term Global Business Mobility routes. Longer sportsperson and Minister of Religion applications move to the £819 and £943 rates instead.