How much does it cost to sponsor a teacher?

Many UK schools are currently facing challenges in recruiting teachers. With schools turning to teaching assistants to cover lessons, and being forced to pay additional costs for supply teachers, it could be an increasingly attractive option to recruit teachers from overseas. Here, we look at the costs associated with sponsoring a teacher under the Skilled Worker visa route.

The cost of sponsoring a teacher in the UK who is a non-UK national, or is not already settled in the UK, can be significant, and so it is important to be clear of the costs from the outset to ensure this is a viable option for independent schools wishing to recruit.

Sponsor Licence fees

The organisation that will sponsor the teacher will need to have a sponsor licence. In the first article of our series on independent schools, we explored how to apply for a Skilled Worker sponsor licence and what this entails.

Once the sponsor licence application and documents are in order, the application can be submitted online and at this point, the sponsor licence fee must be paid.

The fee payable for the sponsor licence application depends on the type of organisation. It is important that the correct fee is paid, as this could be a reason for the Home Office to reject the application.

The Home Office guidance on sponsor licence applications sets out how it determines the size and charitable status for an organisation.

An organisation will be considered as a small sponsor if at least two of the following apply, as set out within Section 382 of The Companies Act 2006:

• The company’s annual turnover is £10.2 million or less.
• The company’s total assets are worth £5.1 million or less.
• The company has 50 employees or fewer.

An organisation is a charitable sponsor if they are:

• a registered charity in England or Wales;
• a registered charity in Scotland;
• a registered charity in Northern Ireland;
• an excepted charity;
• an exempt charity; or
• an ecclesiastical corporation established for charitable purposes.

Many independent schools hold charitable status and therefore an independent school wishing to apply for a sponsor licence should check whether they can be considered as a charitable organisation.

It would be unlikely that a school cannot be classed as a small or charitable sponsor but, if so, it will be classed as a medium or large sponsor and will need to pay the higher fee.

The sponsor licence fee is currently £536 for a small or charitable organisation, or £1,476 for a medium or large organisation. This fee must be paid by the organisation when submitting the sponsor licence application.

The sponsor licence application process can be expedited for an additional cost of £500, under which a decision should be made within ten working days.

Certificate of Sponsorship and Immigration Skills Charge

Once a school has a sponsor licence, it will need to assign a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) to the teacher(s) it is wishing to sponsor. The cost of issuing a CoS is currently £239.

At the same time as assigning the CoS, the Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) will also need to be paid. This fee is not payable for individuals who are switching from the Tier 4/Student route into the Skilled Worker category, however it applies in the majority of other circumstances. The ISC fee is currently £364 per year of sponsorship (i.e. the visa length which is being applied for) for small or charitable organisations, and £1,000 per year for medium or large organisations.

This fee must be paid by the sponsoring organisation and cannot be passed to the teacher being sponsored.

Visa application fee and Immigration Health Surcharge

Once the CoS has been assigned to the teacher, the visa application can be submitted online. At this point, the visa application fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) will need to be paid.

A teacher can be sponsored for any length of time of up to five years, and after completing five years under the Skilled Worker route, they would qualify for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), also known as settlement, in the UK provided they meet the other requirements.

The visa application fee payable varies depending on the length of the visa and whether the sponsored teacher is applying from outside or inside the UK. If they are outside the UK, the visa application fee is £719 for a visa valid for up to three years, or £1,420 for a visa valid for more than three years. If the teacher is already in the UK (for example holding another type of visa), the visa application fee is £827 for a visa valid for up to three years, or £1,636 for a visa valid for more than three years.

The IHS will also need to be paid, and this fee was recently subject to a substantial increase in February 2024. The IHS fee is now £1,035 per year of sponsorship and, importantly, this is paid upfront for the total visa length being applied for.

The visa application fee and the IHS fee can be paid by the sponsored teacher if this is preferred. It is important to be clear at the outset on who is covering any fees.

The visa application process can be expedited for an additional £500 and the application should then be processed within five working days. The standard service processing time for an application made outside the UK is up to three weeks, and for applications made in the UK, the current processing time is up to eight weeks.

Apply to sponsor a teacher with Carter Thomas Solicitors

There are several requirements which need to be met to ensure an application to sponsor a teacher is successful. If an application does not meet the requirements and the Home Office refuse the application, certain fees would not be refunded by the Home Office. It is therefore essential that applications are prepared thoroughly and that each of the requirements are shown to have been met.

Our series on sponsorship and independent schools

Continue to follow our series on sponsorship and independent schools by subscribing to our legal updates here.

Coming up next in the series, we will be discussing how much a sponsored teacher needs to be paid, the types of roles that can be sponsored, the process to sponsor teachers from the UK and overseas, how to maintain a sponsor licence, and alternative options for employing teachers.

How our Immigration Solicitors can help

Here at Carter Thomas, we specialise in assisting independent schools with all aspects of immigration law, including Skilled Worker Sponsor Licence applications and visa applications. We provide expert guidance and assistance to schools throughout the process, to ensure a successful outcome.

If your school requires legal assistance, or if you wish to discuss your situation with one of our experts, please contact us or complete our enquiry form below.

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