UK Visa And Immigration Fee Changes From 8 April 2026

The Home Office has published a new schedule of immigration and nationality fees effective from 8 April 2026, increasing charges across most major UK visa and immigration routes. The changes affect a wide range of applications, including work, study, visit, settlement and sponsor licence categories.

For employers and applicants alike, the practical point is straightforward: applications made on or after 8 April 2026 will generally be subject to the new fees. This makes timing particularly important for businesses preparing sponsorship applications and for individuals approaching visa extension or settlement deadlines.

What is changing?

The 2026 Home Office fee table shows increases across most routes, although the scale of the rise varies by category. Some of the most commonly used business immigration routes are affected as follows:

Sponsor licence fees

Sponsor licence fees are increasing again. From 8 April 2026:

• Worker and Temporary Worker sponsor licence (small sponsor) rises from £574 to £611 

• Worker and Temporary Worker sponsor licence (large sponsor) rises from £1,579 to £1,682 

Importantly, the priority add-ons for sponsors are not increasing:

• Priority service for sponsor licence applications remains £750 

• Priority service for sponsorship management requests remains £350 

• Notably, the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) assignment fee remains unchanged at £525 for Worker routes and £55 for Temporary Worker routes.

Skilled Worker fees

Skilled Worker application fees are also increasing across the main categories.

For applications made outside the UK:

• Up to 3 years: £769 → £819 

• More than 3 years: £1,519 → £1,618 

Applications made inside the UK (extensions/switching)

• Up to 3 years: £885 → £943

• More than 3 years: £1,751 → £1,865

• Immigration Salary List: 

  • Up to 3 years: £590 → £628 

  • More than 3 years: £1,160 → £1,235 

Health and Care visa:

• Up to 3 years: £304 → £324 

• More than 3 years: £590 → £628 

In percentage terms, most increases sit at roughly 6–7%, depending on the route.

Settlement and indefinite leave to remain

Settlement costs are also increasing.

• Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) rises from £3,029 to £3,226 

This represents one of the most significant increases in absolute terms.

Which categories are not increasing?

Although most routes are increasing, a small number remain unchanged.

Global Talent

Several key Global Talent fees remain unchanged:

• Endorsement (approval letter): £561 

• Main applicant (with endorsement): £205 

• Main applicant (no endorsement required): £766 

• Dependants: £766 

High Potential Individual

• High Potential Individual visa: remains £880 

Premium services

The following services remain unchanged:

• Super Priority service: £1,000 

• Priority service: £500 

One notable fee reduction

The most significant reduction is:

• Child registration as a British citizen (MN1):
  £1,214 → £1,000 

This is one of the few fee decreases in an otherwise upward trend.

Most commonly used visa routes – fee snapshot

What does this mean for employers and applicants?

For employers

The new fee structure adds another layer of cost to international recruitment. While individual increases may appear modest, they can become significant when sponsoring multiple workers.

For applicants

The overall cost of UK immigration continues to rise, particularly when combined with:

• the Immigration Health Surcharge 

• dependant application fees 

This is especially relevant for families and long-term applicants.

Final point

Anyone planning to submit a visa, settlement or sponsor licence application in early April 2026 should check timing carefully. The Home Office confirms that the revised charges apply from 8 April 2026.

Full fee list

For the complete list of all visa and immigration fees, see the official GOV.UK table.