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September 16, 2026UK Self-Sponsorship Cost 2026: Sponsor Licence, CoS, Visa & Business Costs Explained
Vishang Shah
There is no such thing as a “self-sponsorship visa fee.” Self-sponsorship uses the standard Skilled Worker route, so you pay exactly the same government fees as any other sponsor and applicant, just that your own company happens to be the one sponsoring you.
That distinction matters for budgeting. Most of these costs are paid upfront, before a decision is made, and most are non-refundable if the application does not succeed. Getting the sequence and the numbers right from the outset avoids paying twice for the same step.
Sponsor licence and Skilled Worker visa fees increased from 8 April 2026, and the Immigration Skills Charge changed on 16 December 2025. Several guides still circulating online quote the older, lower figures, which can leave you short by several hundred pounds if you budget from an out-of-date source.
This guide sets out every fee involved in self-sponsoring yourself into the UK, from company incorporation through to the Immigration Health Surcharge, with worked examples so you can see what a realistic total looks like for your situation.
Key Takeaways
- No Standalone Visa Fee: Self-sponsorship uses the standard Skilled Worker route, so there is no separate “self-sponsorship visa” charge, only the usual sponsor licence, CoS, visa and IHS fees.
- Costs Split Between Two Payers: Your company pays the sponsor licence, CoS and Immigration Skills Charge, while you personally pay the visa application fee and Immigration Health Surcharge.
- Most Applicants Qualify as Small Sponsors: A newly formed company with modest turnover, assets or headcount usually falls into the lower small or charitable fee tier for both the licence and the Immigration Skills Charge.
- Fees Rose on 8 April 2026: Sponsor licence and Skilled Worker visa application fees increased this year, so older guides quoting 2025 figures will understate your real cost.
- The Health Surcharge Is Paid Upfront, in Full: It covers your entire visa length in one lump sum at application, often the single largest cost for longer visas.
- A Single Applicant’s Total Typically Runs £6,500 to £11,000+: The exact figure depends mainly on your company’s size, your visa length, and whether you use any priority services.
- Dependants Add Their Own Full Set of Fees: A partner or child pays the same visa fee as you for the same visa length, plus their own annual health surcharge.
- Cutting Corners Risks Losing Fees Already Paid: Sponsor licence, CoS and visa fees are generally non-refundable if the Home Office is not satisfied the business or role is genuine.
What “Self-Sponsorship Cost” Actually Means
The Home Office does not have a category called “self-sponsorship.” What people describe this way is simply a Skilled Worker visa where the sponsoring company happens to be owned or controlled by the applicant.
That means every cost below is a normal Skilled Worker sponsorship cost. Nothing is charged specifically because you are sponsoring yourself, but nothing is waived for that reason either. Your company must meet the same sponsor duties, and your role must meet the same skill and salary rules, as any other Skilled Worker sponsorship.
The Full Cost Breakdown at a Glance
| Cost | Who Pays | Small/Charitable Sponsor | Medium/Large Sponsor |
| Company incorporation (Companies House, online) | Company | £100 | £100 |
| Sponsor licence application | Company | £611 | £1,682 |
| Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) | Company | £525 per certificate | £525 per certificate |
| Immigration Skills Charge, first 12 months | Company | £480 | £1,320 |
| Immigration Skills Charge, each extra 6 months | Company | £240 | £660 |
| Skilled Worker visa fee, outside UK, up to 3 years | Applicant | £819 | £819 |
| Skilled Worker visa fee, outside UK, over 3 years | Applicant | £1,618 | £1,618 |
| Immigration Health Surcharge | Applicant | £1,035/year (£776 for children) | £1,035/year (£776 for children) |
| Sponsor licence priority service (optional) | Company | £750 | £750 |
| Visa priority service (optional) | Applicant | £500 | £500 |
Before you spend anything on a sponsor licence application, it helps to see the full cost picture for your specific company size and visa length. West End Consultants can walk you through a realistic budget for your situation. Book a Consultation.
Setting Up the UK Company
If you do not already run a UK business, this is where spending starts. Registering a private limited company online with Companies House costs £100. An annual confirmation statement, which every active company must file, costs £50.
Beyond the statutory fees, you will typically need a UK business bank account and basic accounting support to keep records straight. Costs here vary widely depending on the bank and adviser you use.
One point matters more than any fee: the Home Office expects the company to be a genuine, trading (or genuinely ready to trade) business, not a vehicle set up mainly to obtain a visa. Getting this wrong risks losing every fee paid afterwards to a refusal. Our guide to setting up a UK company for self-sponsorship covers this in more depth.
Sponsor Licence Costs
Once the company exists, it applies for a Worker sponsor licence in its own right. The fee depends on how the Home Office classifies the business.
A company is treated as small if it meets at least two of: annual turnover of £10.2 million or less, a balance sheet total of £5.1 million or less, or 50 employees or fewer. Charities qualify for the small rate regardless of size. Most newly formed self-sponsorship companies fall comfortably into this category.
- Small or charitable sponsor: £611
- Medium or large sponsor: £1,682
- Optional priority service: £750, aiming for a decision within 10 working days, subject to availability
Since April 2024, a granted sponsor licence no longer needs renewing every four years in most cases, so this fee is typically a one-off cost rather than a recurring one. For the full application process, see our sponsor licence guide.
Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) Fee
Once licensed, your company assigns you a Certificate of Sponsorship, an electronic reference confirming your role, salary and start date. It is not a physical document.
The fee is £525 per certificate, whether you are applying from outside the UK on a defined CoS or switching from inside the UK on an undefined CoS. This is a one-off charge per certificate, separate from the Immigration Skills Charge below.
Getting your licence and CoS type right the first time avoids paying twice for the same step. West End Consultants’ advisers can check your company’s readiness before you apply. Talk to an Expert.
Immigration Skills Charge (ISC)
The Immigration Skills Charge is paid by the company when it assigns your CoS, calculated across the full length of sponsorship. It cannot legally be recovered from the sponsored worker, including where that worker is you.
| Sponsor Type | First 12 Months | Each Additional 6 Months |
| Small or charitable | £480 | £240 |
| Medium or large | £1,320 | £660 |
For a small sponsor, a 3-year CoS carries an Immigration Skills Charge of £1,440; a 5-year CoS carries £2,400. For a medium or large sponsor, the equivalent figures are £3,960 and £6,600. The charge is refunded in full if the visa application is refused, and partially refunded if you leave the role early or are granted less time than sponsored.
Skilled Worker Visa Application Fee
This is the fee you personally pay when you submit your visa application, using the CoS your company has assigned you.
| Application Route | Up to 3 Years | More than 3 Years |
| Outside the UK, standard role | £819 | £1,618 |
| Inside the UK (extend, switch or update), standard role | £943 | £1,865 |
| Immigration Salary List role, inside or outside the UK | £628 | £1,235 |
Most self-sponsored roles, being director or specialist management positions you have created yourself, are unlikely to sit on the Immigration Salary List, so the standard rate usually applies. Your visa can run for up to 5 years before you need to extend, and five continuous years on the route can lead to Indefinite Leave to Remain.
Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS)
Alongside the visa fee, you pay the Immigration Health Surcharge, which gives access to the NHS for the length of your stay. It is charged per year of visa length and paid in one lump sum at application, not annually as you go.
- Standard adult rate: £1,035 per year
- Reduced rate (children under 18, students, Youth Mobility): £776 per year
On a 3-year visa, that is £3,105 upfront; on a 5-year visa, £5,175. For most applicants, this single payment is larger than the visa fee itself, so it deserves as much attention in your budgeting as the headline application cost.
If you are weighing up a 3-year versus a 5-year Certificate of Sponsorship, the health surcharge and skills charge make a real difference to your total spend. West End Consultants can help you compare the numbers for your circumstances. Get in Touch.
Other Costs to Budget For
A handful of smaller, non-Home Office costs commonly catch applicants out:
- English language test: typically £150 to £250, unless you are exempt by nationality or a qualification taught in English
- Tuberculosis test: typically £65 to £150, required only for applicants from listed countries
- Biometric enrolment: included in the standard process, though premium or weekend appointment slots can add £50 to £200
- Certified translations: required for any supporting document not already in English or Welsh
- Professional or legal support: fees vary by scope and complexity, and are best discussed directly with your adviser once your situation is clear
Worked Cost Examples
To bring the figures together, here is what a single applicant sponsoring themselves through a small, newly formed company might realistically pay, before optional extras.
| Scenario | Company Set-Up | Sponsor Licence | CoS | Skills Charge | Visa Fee | Health Surcharge | Approximate Total |
| 3-year visa, applying from outside the UK | £100 | £611 | £525 | £1,440 | £819 | £3,105 | £6,600 |
| 5-year visa, applying from outside the UK | £100 | £611 | £525 | £2,400 | £1,618 | £5,175 | £10,429 |
Add a dependent partner to the 3-year scenario, and their own visa fee (£819) and health surcharge (£3,105) bring the combined household total to roughly £10,524. These figures are illustrative, correct as of September 2026, and exclude professional fees, testing costs and any priority services, so treat them as a starting point rather than a fixed quote.
If You’re Bringing Dependants
A partner or child applying with you pays the same visa application fee as you, for the same visa length, and their own Immigration Health Surcharge each year (at the reduced rate for children under 18). There is no separate CoS fee for dependants.
Dependants must also show they can meet the standard maintenance requirement, or your certificate can confirm your company will cover their costs instead. Bringing a partner or children changes your total budget considerably, and it helps to plan for this before you apply rather than after. West End Consultants’ advisers can map out the costs for your whole family. Book a Consultation.
Self-Sponsorship or Innovator Founder: A One-Line Cost Comparison
Self-sponsorship has no endorsement fee, since it uses the Skilled Worker route directly through your own company’s sponsor licence. The Innovator Founder Visa instead requires endorsement from an approved body and follows a different cost and eligibility structure entirely. Our comparison of self-sponsorship and Innovator Founder sets out which route tends to suit which kind of applicant.
Ways Applicants Overspend, or Under-Budget
- Paying to acquire an existing shell company without checking it is genuinely trading, which can undermine the entire sponsor licence application
- Budgeting only for a 3-year CoS, then extending and discovering the Immigration Skills Charge and visa fee both scale with length
- Forgetting that each dependant pays their own full visa fee and health surcharge, not a discounted family rate
- Assuming figures from an older article are still current, when sponsor licence and visa fees changed as recently as 8 April 2026
Why West End Consultants for Self-Sponsorship Costs
Getting the sequence right matters as much as knowing the numbers. West End Consultants’ IAA-regulated advisers, Registration No. F200700162, can check whether your company and role are genuinely sponsor-ready before you commit to a licence fee that cannot be refunded.
We correspond directly with the Home Office on your behalf, and our consultations run remotely for clients anywhere in the world, with enquiries typically answered within 24 to 48 hours. Our team has also supported clients through complex cases, including previous refusals, so we understand where self-sponsorship applications most often go wrong.
Conclusion
Self-sponsorship costs are simply Skilled Worker costs, split between the company you set up and yourself as the applicant. For a single applicant through a small company, total government fees typically run from around £6,600 for a 3-year visa to over £10,000 for a 5-year visa, before any dependants or optional extras.
Because most of these fees are paid upfront and are rarely refundable, the return on getting proper advice before you apply is often larger than the advice itself costs. Self-sponsorship can be a genuine, cost-effective route into the UK when the figures are planned properly from the outset. West End Consultants’ IAA-regulated advisers can help you sequence your spending and avoid paying for steps you are not ready for. Contact Us to discuss your situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Is there a separate fee for a “self-sponsorship visa”?
No. There is no standalone self-sponsorship visa or fee. You use the standard Skilled Worker route, so you pay the same sponsor licence, Certificate of Sponsorship, visa application and Immigration Health Surcharge fees as any other Skilled Worker sponsor and applicant.
2. How much does UK self-sponsorship cost in total in 2026?
For a single applicant sponsored through a small or newly formed company, total government fees for a 3-year visa typically fall around £6,600, rising to roughly £10,400 for a 5-year visa. These figures exclude optional extras such as professional fees, English language testing and priority processing.
3. Do I need a large company to self-sponsor myself?
No. Most self-sponsorship applicants use a new or small company, which qualifies for the lower sponsor licence and Immigration Skills Charge rates. What matters more to the Home Office is whether the business is genuine, trading or ready to trade, and able to support the role and salary you are sponsoring yourself for.
4. What happens to the fees if my sponsor licence or visa application is refused?
Sponsor licence, CoS and visa application fees are generally non-refundable if an application is refused. The Immigration Skills Charge is normally refunded in full where the visa application itself is refused, so it is worth checking current gov.uk guidance for your specific circumstances before applying.
5. Do my partner and children pay their own visa and IHS costs?
Yes. Each dependant pays the same visa application fee as the main applicant for the same visa length, plus their own Immigration Health Surcharge each year, at a reduced rate for children under 18. There is no separate Certificate of Sponsorship fee for dependants.
6. Is West End Consultants regulated to advise on self-sponsorship costs and applications?
Yes. West End Consultants UK Ltd. is regulated by the IAA (Immigration Advice Authority), Registration No. F200700162. We are not a firm of solicitors, but our regulated advisers can guide you through the sponsor licence, CoS and Skilled Worker visa stages of a self-sponsorship application.
