Specialist consultancy Five Star International reports that the Home Office intends to raise a range of immigration and nationality fees over the coming months. The Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) charge is set to increase from £10 to £16, while the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) fee would jump from £239 to £525. Naturalisation applications are expected to climb to £1,605 for British citizenship and £1,070 for British Overseas Territories citizenship.
Although implementation dates have not yet been confirmed, the proposals are forecast to generate an extra £269 million annually, reducing the system’s reliance on general taxation. For corporations that sponsor multiple skilled-worker visas, the uprated CoS fee alone could add thousands of pounds to annual mobility budgets; HR departments should therefore review 2025 recruitment pipelines and, where feasible, lodge sponsorship requests before the increases take effect.
![Government proposes 2025 immigration-fee hikes including ETA rise to £16]()
Higher ETA costs will affect millions of short-term visitors from visa-waiver countries once the scheme becomes mandatory for Europeans and others on 2 April 2025. Travel managers may face pushback from frequent flyers who must absorb, or expense, the new charge every two years.
To mitigate that friction, online visa-services platform VisaHQ can help organisations and travellers stay ahead of the rule changes. Through its dedicated UK portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/), users can verify current fees, file ETA or sponsorship paperwork, and schedule reminders, ensuring compliance while keeping budget forecasts precise.
Because fee orders require secondary legislation, final figures could change during parliamentary scrutiny, but employers are advised to ring-fence additional funds now and to communicate the impending hikes to relocating staff.
Although implementation dates have not yet been confirmed, the proposals are forecast to generate an extra £269 million annually, reducing the system’s reliance on general taxation. For corporations that sponsor multiple skilled-worker visas, the uprated CoS fee alone could add thousands of pounds to annual mobility budgets; HR departments should therefore review 2025 recruitment pipelines and, where feasible, lodge sponsorship requests before the increases take effect.
Higher ETA costs will affect millions of short-term visitors from visa-waiver countries once the scheme becomes mandatory for Europeans and others on 2 April 2025. Travel managers may face pushback from frequent flyers who must absorb, or expense, the new charge every two years.
To mitigate that friction, online visa-services platform VisaHQ can help organisations and travellers stay ahead of the rule changes. Through its dedicated UK portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/), users can verify current fees, file ETA or sponsorship paperwork, and schedule reminders, ensuring compliance while keeping budget forecasts precise.
Because fee orders require secondary legislation, final figures could change during parliamentary scrutiny, but employers are advised to ring-fence additional funds now and to communicate the impending hikes to relocating staff.
