UK sponsorship is the most expensive immigration process in Europe for the employer and the most precisely priced. This page lists every Government fee and processing time that a Filipino hire incurs in 2026, who is allowed to pay it, and what a three-year welder costs in Government charges alone — so that the business case is built on the published numbers rather than a quote.
A UK employer that does not yet hold a sponsor licence applies online, pays £611 as a small sponsor or £1,682 as a medium or large one, and waits up to eight weeks — about ten working days with the £750 pre-licence priority service, which is rationed daily. Each worker then needs a Certificate of Sponsorship (£525) and attracts the Immigration Skills Charge — £1,320 for every twelve months of sponsorship for medium and large sponsors, £480 for small sponsors and charities, in six-month bands, under the regulations in force since 16 December 2025. The worker's visa fee from 8 April 2026 is £819 for up to three years or £1,618 for longer on the Skilled Worker route, £628 or £1,235 for Immigration Salary List roles, £324 or £628 on the Health and Care Worker visa; the Immigration Health Surcharge is £1,035 per year of visa, paid in full at application, with Health and Care Worker applicants exempt. Before applying, the worker takes a tuberculosis test at an approved clinic in the Philippines (IOM Manila and regional clinics; valid six months; met by the employer under the employer-pays principle) and, unless exempt, an approved English test; biometrics are recorded at VFS and the decision usually arrives within three weeks.
Sponsor guidance is strict about allocation. The sponsor licence fee, the Certificate of Sponsorship fee and the Immigration Skills Charge must be paid by the sponsor and may not be recouped from the worker — recovering the Skills Charge is a ground for licence revocation. Visa fees and the health surcharge may lawfully be paid by either party, but any amount the sponsor later recovers from the worker, including through loans or deductions, is subtracted from the salary when the salary threshold is assessed (SW 14.2A), and payments towards immigration costs cannot count towards it. On the Philippine side, DMW rules forbid charging the worker for recruitment, so a compliant programme places the Government costs and the agency's work with the employer. We state this before an engagement, because the alternative is a sponsor-licence problem that surfaces at the first compliance visit.
Since 22 July 2025 the Skilled Worker route is a graduate-level route: a role must be at RQF 6 unless it sits on the Temporary Shortage List or the Immigration Salary List, and both lists apply only to Certificates of Sponsorship issued before 31 December 2026 (last issue date 30 December 2026) unless the Government renews them. Pay must reach £41,700 a year or the going rate for the occupation code, whichever is higher; Immigration Salary List roles qualify from £33,400 plus the going rate, and nurses and other listed health occupations on national pay scales from £25,000 plus the going rate. The salary counted is basic gross pay for up to 48 hours a week — no allowances, overtime, bonuses or payments towards immigration costs — and since 8 April 2026 it must be met in every pay period. New applicants prove English at CEFR B2. The sponsor pays the Immigration Skills Charge of £1,320 a year (£480 for small sponsors and charities) and may not recover it. Workers sponsored in sub-graduate roles on either list cannot bring dependants, and the Government has consulted on lengthening the path to settlement from five years to ten or more, without deciding at the time of review.
Illustrative, Government charges only, medium sponsor, three-year Certificate on the Temporary Shortage List, no dependants, 2026 rates: Certificate of Sponsorship £525; Immigration Skills Charge 3 × £1,320 = £3,960; visa fee £819; Immigration Health Surcharge 3 × £1,035 = £3,105; plus the tuberculosis test at an approved clinic and the English test (clinic and test-centre charges, met by the employer under the employer-pays principle). Government and test costs of roughly £8,700 before salary, travel and housing — plus a one-off licence fee of £1,682 for a new sponsor. A nurse on the Health and Care Worker visa costs less in fees (visa £324, no surcharge) and more in registration (NMC £1,226 from 1 October 2026). Recruitment, trade testing and the Philippine process are a separate engagement with us and are not quoted on this site.
Recruitment runs through our own DMW-licensed agency, Prime Search Manpower Agency Inc. in Makati (licence DMW-027-LB-11182024): your company is accredited at the Migrant Workers Office at the Philippine Embassy in London, which has jurisdiction for the United Kingdom and Ireland, the job order is registered with the DMW, and every worker leaves Manila with a verified contract, medical clearance, pre-departure orientation and an Overseas Employment Certificate. Recruitment follows the employer-pays principle: no applicant pays for an interview, a trade test or a place on a shortlist, and UK sponsor guidance itself forbids passing the Immigration Skills Charge or the sponsor-licence costs to the worker. Your company is the sponsor and the employer from day one; we never employ or lease the workers.
Everything here is subject to the Immigration Rules in force on the day the Certificate of Sponsorship is assigned (Appendix Skilled Worker, Appendix Skilled Occupations, Appendix Immigration Salary List), Home Office sponsor guidance, the professional regulators and Philippine DMW rules.
Up to eight weeks; about ten working days with the £750 pre-licence priority service, which has limited daily slots.
No — it is a sponsor cost that cannot be passed on, and recovering it is a ground for losing the licence. The same applies to the licence and Certificate fees.
No — Health and Care Worker applicants and their dependants are exempt from the Immigration Health Surcharge.
Usually within three weeks of biometrics at VFS; the £500 priority service aims at about five working days when available.
General information for employers, not legal or migration advice. Rules change; we re-verify before each hire.