When it comes to hiring staff from outside of the UK, there are several factors which need to be considered by both employers (the sponsor) and prospective employees. Employers need to consider the additional overhead of employing staff from overseas versus the considerable benefits of being able to bring in the expertise and skills needed. Employees from outside of the UK need to weigh up their long term goals, the package and wages being offered, and the overall benefits of moving to the UK. Another factor is cost. Employing international staff does increase costs, not just in terms of the cost of applying for and maintaining a Skilled Worker sponsor license, but there are costs that must be paid for each worker brought into the UK. Likewise, employees need to pay the immigration healthcare surcharge, visa application fee, and then all of the costs associated with relocating and setting up in the UK. That said, some employers provide more assistance than others to international employees with their costs. In this article, we will discuss whether businesses hiring from within the EU/EEA (after 1st January 2021) or outside of the EU/EEA need to pay the costs associated with a Skilled Work visa for their sponsored staff.
What Are The Skilled Worker Visa Costs?
As we have established, there are costs which are paid by the employee and costs paid by the employer. Typically the employee is responsible for paying the following:
- The Skilled Worker visa application fee
- The Immigration Healthcare Surcharge (allowing the worker access to use the NHS)
The Skilled Worker visa application fee
The Skilled Worker visa application fee varies depending on where the person is applying from, the duration of the visa, and whether the role is on the shortage occupation list (SOL). The fees, as at the time of writing (November 2020), are as follows:
Applications outside the UK
Up to three years - £610 per person
More than three years - £1,220 per person
Application inside the UK
Up to three years - £704 per person
More than three years - £1,408 per person
Jobs on the SOL (whether inside or outside the UK)
Up to three years - £464 per person
More than three years - £928 per person
Main applicants for a skilled worker visa from any of the following countries are eligible for a discount of £55 on the application fee:
Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden or Turkey.
Skilled worker visa application costs are paid by the sponsored worker but, at their own discretion, employers may elect to pay for these on their behalf.
The Immigration Healthcare Surcharge
In addition to paying the Skilled Worker visa application fee, the sponsored employee is also responsible for paying the immigration healthcare surcharge.
At present, this equates to £624 per person per year. The challenge for some, especially those with families coming for a number of years, is that this can become extremely expensive. For example, a sponsored worker coming to the UK with a spouse/partner and two dependant children for three years will pay £7,488 (this is £624 x 3 years x 4 people).
Again, while the employer is not obliged to pay the immigration healthcare surcharge, there is nothing to stop them from doing so. Ultimately it will depend on how feasible and attractive the overall proposition is to the international worker and the benefits to the employer. For an employee on the lower end of the wage spectrum (bearing in mind there is a minimum salary which must be paid under the Skilled Worker category), having to pay the immigration healthcare surcharge for them and their family may make the move untenable. It may also be that the employee negotiates that any costs associated with immigration are paid for by the employer.
Which Costs Are Employers Responsible For Paying?
There are certain costs which the employer must pay and cannot pass on to the employee; these include the following:
Immigration Skills Charge
The Skilled Worker visa guidance document states, “You may have to pay the Immigration Skills Charge each time you assign a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) to a worker on the Skilled Worker route or the Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) route”.
The immigration skills surcharge is only paid for the sponsored worker themselves, not their family members. The current costs for the immigration skills charge are as follows:
Small or charitable sponsors
First-year - £364
Each additional six months: £182
Medium or large sponsors
First 12 months: £1,000
Each additional six months: £500
Employers need to pay the immigration skills charge for the whole duration of the visa. For a person being hired for three years, the cost would be 3 x £364 = £1,092 for a small or charitable sponsor, or 3 x £1,000 = £3,000 for a medium or large sponsor.
Fee Paid When Issuing A Certificate Of Sponsorship
Employers also need to pay £199 for each Skilled Worker CoS which is issued. Again, this cost cannot be passed on to the employee.
Final words
For UK employers considering recruiting staff from outside of the UK, it is essential to understand the cost of doing so. While the employee and employer each have their own costs to pay, employers will need to weigh up whether expecting the sponsored staff member to pay both the application fee and healthcare surcharge would make moving to the UK to work untenable. If so, they may wish to consider offering some assistance to cover some or all of these costs.
