UK Sponsorship Updates: New Immigration Skills Charge and Language Rules

Author: Flora McCarthy 

Following recent announcements from the Home Office, upcoming changes may affect your business as a sponsor, namely the increase of the Immigration Skills Charge and increased English Language requirements for overseas individuals coming to work in the UK. If you have any questions, or would like any assistance with adapting to these changes, please don’t hesitate to get in contact, and the team would be happy to help.

Increase in the Immigration Skills Charge (ISC)

From the 16 December 2025, the Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) will increase by 32%. The Immigration Skills Charge is the fee an employer pays when sponsoring each overseas worker in the UK under either the Skilled Worker, or the Global Business Mobility (Senior or Specialist Worker) routes (noting certain occupations, although limited in number, are exempt from this fee). This fee, which cannot be passed onto the worker themselves, is paid by the employer at the time of assigning the Certificate of Sponsorship. The ISC varies depending on the size and nature of the sponsoring organisation. The current, lower ISC figures, and the new, post-16 December 2025 ISC figures are outlined below.

Employers issuing Certificates of Sponsorship on or after 16 December 2025 will be subject to the new, increased ISC. Employers issuing Certificates of Sponsorship before 16 December 2025 will pay the current lower rate. This applies even if the associated visa application is submitted after the date of ISC increase. It may therefore be advisable to bring forward any planned Certificate of Sponsorship issuance to benefit from the lower rate.

Increased English Language Requirement

The Home Office has also announced that from 8 January 2026, new applicants for the Skilled Worker, Scale-up and High Potential visas will be subject to a higher English language requirement. The current requirement of level B1(Intermediate) on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) will increase to level B2 (Independent user), requiring the ability to speak fluently and spontaneously with native speakers. For individuals already on one of the above visas, seeking to extend their visa, will remain subject to the level applicable to when their visa was first granted. 

There is currently no English language requirement for dependants of individuals on work visas. However, the Home Office has announced plans to impose a level A1 (Basic User) English language requirement on dependants in the future. The implementation date of this change is still yet to be announced.

If you would like any further information or assistance with the changes, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the UK Business Immigration team with questions.