The rules changed sharply in July 2025. A role you could sponsor in 2024 may not be sponsorable now, and the salary floor rose with it.
This is where most employers stop, and the rules tightened significantly on 22 July 2025.
| Requirement | Position as at September 2026 |
|---|---|
| General salary threshold | £41,700 a year, or the occupation's going rate, whichever is higher |
| Minimum skill level | RQF Level 6 — degree level |
| Previous position | £38,700 and RQF Level 3 |
The RQF 6 change removed around 180 occupations from eligibility overnight. A role that was sponsorable in 2024 may not be now.
Lower thresholds that may apply:
Medium-skilled occupations (RQF 3–5) are eligible only if on the Immigration Salary List, on the Temporary Shortage List, or the prison officer exception applies.
Care workers: the route closed to overseas applicants on 22 July 2025 for SOC 6135 and 6136. In-country switching runs until 22 July 2028 for people already lawfully in the UK, who must have been lawfully employed by their sponsor for at least three months before applying.
£611 for a small or charitable sponsor, £1,682 for a medium or large one. Typically under eight weeks, or ten working days with the £750 priority service.
Full detail in how to apply for a UK sponsor licence in 2026.
The licence fee is the smallest cost. For one Skilled Worker on a five-year CoS:
| Item | Small/charitable | Medium/large |
|---|---|---|
| Sponsor licence | £611 | £1,682 |
| Certificate of Sponsorship | £525 | £525 |
| Immigration Skills Charge, 5 years | £2,400 | £6,600 |
| Total | £3,536 | £8,807 |
Plus legal fees. None of it can lawfully be recovered from the worker — doing so risks revocation.
Note the near-tripling between small and large. The small sponsor test is: at least two of turnover £15m or less, assets £7.5m or less, 50 employees or fewer.
Defined CoS for a candidate applying from outside the UK — requested individually, usually granted within one working day.
Undefined CoS for someone applying from inside the UK — drawn from your annual allocation. Running out means up to twelve weeks to top up, or £350 for the five-working-day priority service.
The worker must apply within 3 months of assignment, and no more than 3 months before the start date on the CoS.
The details on the CoS must match the actual job. Revocation is mandatory where the role does not match the occupation code or job description.
A statutory duty independent of sponsorship. A compliant check must be completed before employment begins to establish a statutory excuse, with follow-up checks before time-limited permission expires.
Failure: civil penalty of up to £60,000 per illegal worker, licence revocation, criminal prosecution, director disqualification.
Report within 10 working days: worker fails to start within 28 days of the expected start date · absent without permission for more than 10 consecutive working days · unpaid or reduced-pay absence exceeding 4 weeks in a calendar year · salary reduced below the CoS level · change of work location · employment ends.
Report within 20 working days: changes to key personnel · change of address or branches · changes to organisational structure · changes to registration or accreditation · insolvency proceedings · mergers, takeovers or de-mergers · relevant criminal convictions · the business ceasing to trade.
Report immediately: suspicion that a worker is breaching their conditions, or of involvement in terrorism or criminal activity.
Keep the Appendix D records for each sponsored worker: right-to-work evidence, current contact details and address, National Insurance number, contract, evidence of the recruitment process and why the worker was selected, absence records, and evidence of the salary actually paid.
The Temporary Shortage List expires on 31 December 2026, and so do most Immigration Salary List entries.
The Migration Advisory Committee published its stage 2 review on 23 July 2026, recommending a slimmed-down list of 28 occupations for 18 months and the removal of 18 others.
The Home Office has not published its response or the replacement list. Transitional arrangements for workers in occupations being removed are expected but unconfirmed. If you are sponsoring anyone in an RQF 3–5 role, this is the open question for your 2027 planning.