The UK government last week published details of a range of changes to the immigration system on which you might need to take urgent action.
These changes could affect you, as a sponsor licence holder or a business currently in the process of obtaining a sponsor licence, and your current or future sponsored workers.
We have set out a summary of the most relevant changes here. If you’d like more detail or to discuss the implications of any of this, please get in touch with us.
Immigration Skills Charge: 32% increase takes effect from 16 December 2025
The Immigration Skills Charge you pay when you assign a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) to most Skilled Workers, is increasing by a massive 32% from 16 December 2025. This means the small company fee will increase from £364 to £480 and the large company fee from £1,000 to £1,320, both charged per year of sponsorship.
What should you do?
- If you are planning to sponsor any new employees or even extend the visas of current sponsored workers, you might save money by bringing forward their sponsorship to pre-16 December 2025. We can work out precisely what difference it will make for you, so please contact us and we will calculate the figure.
- Have a look at which of your sponsored workers are likely to need visa extensions in 2026 and see if bringing forward their application is feasible. This is one to check up on sooner rather than later as the holidays approach.
- As a first step, you might need to request an increased CoS allocation – we are expecting a sudden spike in demand for UKVI’s priority service for CoS requests, so please allow plenty of time!
Increased English language requirement for Skilled Workers to B2, from 8 January 2026
The level of English language competence for those applying for a Skilled Worker visa is set to increase from B1 to B2 with effect from 8 January 2026. The new level won’t apply to those who already have Skilled Worker visas, only to people applying for their first Skilled Worker visa.
If you are planning to sponsor anyone in Q1 of 2026 who might struggle to reach this higher standard, you could consider bringing forward their visa application to before 8 January 2026.
Graduate visa length to be reduced to 18 months from 1 January 2027
Students who apply for the Graduate visa from 1 January 2027 will normally only be given permission that lasts for 18 months, rather than the current 2 years.
If you are recruiting graduates from UK universities, you might like to suggest to them that they apply before the end of 2026 if they are eligible.
Proposed ILR timeframe increase from 5 to 10 years
The changes above don’t relate to the anticipated increase to the timeframe needed to qualify for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) from 5 to 10 years. This change is expected to follow soon though, once the Government has carried out the public inquiry, ‘Routes to Settlement’. This inquiry is now open to submission of evidence until 2 December 2025. If you would like to submit evidence, you can find more information on this page.
The best advice is that anyone who is eligible now, should go ahead and apply as soon as they can.