Costs involved

The table below provides a summary of the costs associated with the visa application made overseas.

The cost per applicant, is payable for the main applicant and each dependant (main applicant's partner, spouse or dependant child under 18).

Cost of Skilled Worker Certificate of Sponsorship

Previously there was no CoS fee for applicants from certain countries, including most Europeans, but from 26 February 2022 this concession no longer applies.

The employing department, faculty or college incurs the cost of issuing the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS). The Staff Immigration Team will pay the cost of the CoS when it is issued and subsequently cross-charge this amount back to departments on a monthly basis.

Departments/Faculty

The CoS application form will ask for details of the 

• cost centre
• natural account
• activity
• source of funds
• organisation code

The code must be a general ledger code - project codes are not acceptable) in the to cross-charge the application fee to, e.g. AX0000/85210/00/00000/10). 

Colleges 

SIT is unable to cross-charge the CoS fees to colleges.

Please contact SIT to check the amount to be paid and arrange a bank transfer.
 

The ISC is levied on employers who sponsor applicants under Skilled Worker to take up certain roles, but few University roles are affected.

Please note the ISC does not apply to Research and Lecturer roles, and there are a number of other exemptions. 

The ISC does NOT apply to:

• Research (SOC code 2119) and Lecturer (SOC code 2311) roles, which fall under the ‘PhD level’ SOC codes;
• Overseas applicants coming for less than 6 months;
• Applicants switching from a student, Tier 4 visa into Skilled Worker from within the UK;
• Existing Tier 2 visa holders, whose Tier 2 CoS were issued before 6 April 2017, who are applying to extend their visa, or for a new Skilled Worker visa with a new employer

The ISC is a cost levied by the Government on Skilled Worker sponsorship for certain roles.

Which types of roles within the collegiate University are affected?

All roles, except those as a researcher or lecturer, are affected by the ISC. These include various IT positions, Engineers, Research Managers, Statisticians, PR professionals, and other support roles. If you are unsure please contact the Staff Immigration Team.

How much is the ISC?

The ISC is £364 per year based on the length of the CoS and is paid upfront, along with the CoS fee, when the Staff Immigration Team is issuing the CoS.

The Skilled Worker CoS Application Form highlights roles where the ISC applies and calculates the amount which will be charged.

This charge is an employer cost and must not be passed on to the individual.

Will the ISC be refunded in any circumstances?

The ISC will be refunded in full where:

• the Skilled Worker visa application is refused or withdrawn;
• a visa is granted but the visa holder does not take up the role;
• no visa application is made.

A partial refund in respect of all whole unused 6 month periods will be paid where:

• the Skilled Worker visa is granted for less than the period requested on the CoS;
• the visa holder after their first year, voluntarily changes to another sponsor;
• the visa holder, after their first year, leaves their post early, due to ill health, redundancy, or being dismissed, for example.

Home Office decisions on refunds are made within 90 days after the above events are reported. Refunded ISC fees will then be credited back to the sponsoring department from SIT by Finance in the following monthly credit card reconciliation. Colleges will be refunded by BACS.