The Home Office has confirmed rises across the board for immigration, nationality and passport applications from April 2025.
Immigration and nationality application fee rises
Fees for immigration applications are rising between 5 and 7% on average, but some are significantly higher. These affect applications submitted from 9:00 BST on 9 April 2025.
See the below table for a sample of fees most likely to impact businesses.
| Category | Current fee (GBP) | New fee (GBP) | % rise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sponsor licence (large sponsor) | 1,476 | 1,579 | 7 |
| Sponsor licence (small sponsor) | 536 | 574 | 7 |
| Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) – Worker (including Skilled Worker, Senior or Specialist Worker and International Sportsperson over 12 months) | 239 | 525 | 120 |
| CoS – Temporary Worker (including Creative Worker, Government Authorised Exchange, UK Expansion Worker, Scale-Up and International Sportsperson up to 12 months) | 25 | 55 | 120 |
| Skilled Worker/Senior or Specialist Worker entry clearance (CoS up to 3 years) | 719 | 769 | 7 |
| Skilled Worker/Senior or Specialist Worker entry clearance (CoS over 3 years) | 1,420 | 1,519 | 7 |
| Skilled Worker or Senior/Specialist | 827 | 885 | 7 |
| Worker permission to stay (CoS up to 3 years) | |||
| Skilled Worker/Senior or Specialist Worker permission to stay (CoS over 3 years) | 1,636 | 1,751 | 7 |
| Settlement | 2,885 | 3,029 | 5 |
| Naturalisation as a British citizen | 1,500 | 1,605 | 7 |
| Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) | 10 | 16 | 60 |
Click here for the full list of fees.
The increase to CoS fees will have a significant cost impact, and sponsors should consider assigning CoS where appropriate before the fee increase takes effect.
Sponsors of Skilled Workers are reminded that Certificate of Sponsorship costs, the sponsor licence fee and any associated administrative costs cannot be passed on to the sponsored worker. See our earlier article for more details. The restriction has not yet been extended to other work routes, however it is possible an expansion could be included in sponsor guidance due to be updated in April.
Passport application fee rises
Passport application fees will rise around 7% for applications submitted from 10 April 2025. A standard online application made in the UK for an adult passport rising from GBP 88.50 to GBP 94.50.
Individuals needing to renew a passport may wish to do so ahead of the rise, and as early as possible ahead of the usual pre-summer rush.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
