In a pre-Christmas notice, immigration advisers Five Star International revealed that the Home Office plans to hike a suite of immigration and nationality fees in early 2026. The cost of the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA)—set to become mandatory for visa-exempt visitors in February 2026—will rise from £10 to £16. Employers will feel a far bigger jolt: the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) fee for Skilled Worker visas is slated to jump from £239 to £525, more than doubling the price of bringing in each overseas hire. Naturalisation fees will also increase, with British citizenship applications moving from £1,500 to £1,605 and British Overseas Territories citizenship from £1,000 to £1,070.
The Home Office says the measures are aimed at “reducing reliance of the migration and borders system on taxpayer funding” and could generate an extra £269 million annually. Critics argue that layering higher transactional costs onto an already expensive system risks deterring smaller employers from sponsoring talent, particularly in sectors such as tech start-ups and regional SMEs outside London.
![Home Office proposes sharp rises in ETA, sponsorship and citizenship fees]()
For anyone scrambling to keep on top of the coming price rises—whether employers managing bulk CoS allocations or travellers needing the new ETA—VisaHQ can smooth the process. Via its UK platform (https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/) the service offers quick online applications, live fee updates and corporate dashboards that let HR teams submit multiple cases at once, reducing administrative headaches and helping budget accurately.
For global mobility teams the CoS hike is the real budget buster. A mid-sized company transferring 25 staff per year under the Skilled Worker route would see direct certificate costs leap from £5,975 to £13,125—before visa fees, Immigration Health Surcharge or legal expenses. Businesses with volume hiring pipelines are therefore rushing to assign unused CoS before the new tariff takes effect.
Travel managers must also factor in ETA surcharges for visiting clients and short-term assignees; for a multinational that sends 800 non-visa nationals to the UK each year, the additional £6 per traveller equates to £4,800 in new direct costs, plus administration time. Advisors recommend budgeting for the increases from Q2 2026 and reviewing assignment cost projections now, particularly for projects bid on a fixed-fee basis.
The Home Office says the measures are aimed at “reducing reliance of the migration and borders system on taxpayer funding” and could generate an extra £269 million annually. Critics argue that layering higher transactional costs onto an already expensive system risks deterring smaller employers from sponsoring talent, particularly in sectors such as tech start-ups and regional SMEs outside London.
For anyone scrambling to keep on top of the coming price rises—whether employers managing bulk CoS allocations or travellers needing the new ETA—VisaHQ can smooth the process. Via its UK platform (https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/) the service offers quick online applications, live fee updates and corporate dashboards that let HR teams submit multiple cases at once, reducing administrative headaches and helping budget accurately.
For global mobility teams the CoS hike is the real budget buster. A mid-sized company transferring 25 staff per year under the Skilled Worker route would see direct certificate costs leap from £5,975 to £13,125—before visa fees, Immigration Health Surcharge or legal expenses. Businesses with volume hiring pipelines are therefore rushing to assign unused CoS before the new tariff takes effect.
Travel managers must also factor in ETA surcharges for visiting clients and short-term assignees; for a multinational that sends 800 non-visa nationals to the UK each year, the additional £6 per traveller equates to £4,800 in new direct costs, plus administration time. Advisors recommend budgeting for the increases from Q2 2026 and reviewing assignment cost projections now, particularly for projects bid on a fixed-fee basis.
