United Kingdom: New Proposals to Further Increase Immigration Fees

• Certificate of Sponsorship. The cost of a COS, which is required to be paid by employers who sponsor foreign nationals under the Skilled Worker Route, is expected to more than double from GBP 239 to GBP 525.
• Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) application. The ETA application is expected to increase to GBP 16, up from the current GBP 10.
• Other immigration fee increases. Additional fee increases included in the proposals pertain to the cost of applying for UK citizenship.

• Budget assessments. Due to the significant jump in cost of the COS, sponsors will need to reassess their immigration budgets in order to ensure they are prepared to sponsor foreign nationals.
• Global fee comparison. UK immigration fees are already among the highest in the world, and these proposed increases will make hiring foreign nationals even more expensive, with potential implications for hiring and immigration program decisions.

• Government rationale for fee increases. The government has stated that the fees should raise an additional GBP 269 million in revenue and help it achieve its aim of reducing the cost to taxpayers of running the immigration system.
• Other Certificate of Sponsorship changes. The fee increases coincide with the recent confirmation that employers must pay COS fees, and these fees are not recoupable from the foreign nationals they sponsor; this has already increased financial burdens for some sponsors.
• Current fees had already increased. This change comes after other fee increases were introduced last year across all work and study routes, and after there were increases to the upfront immigration health surcharge that foreign nationals entering the United Kingdom as workers and students must pay. Current immigration fees can be found here.

Businesses using or seeking to use the UK immigration system to employ foreign nationals will need to reassess their budget and application strategies in light of the proposed increased costs.

Fragomen will monitor the progress of the proposals through the UK Parliament and provide further updates on the implementation date of the proposals, when available.