The Home Office has announced increases to the maximum fees that can be charged for various listed immigration and nationality services from 9 April 2025, including Skilled Worker visa application fees, the Electronic Travel Authorisation fee and the Certificate of Sponsorship fee. We look at this and the other latest developments in UK business immigration this month.
The Home Office has recently announced increases to the fees that can be charged for certain immigration services from 9 April 2025. These include increases to visa application fees (for example, Skilled Worker applications) as well as the Electronic Travel Authorisation fee rising from £10 to £16 and the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) fee in the UK increasing significantly from £239 to £525. This CoS fee cannot be refunded should the application not proceed, or if the worker leaves employment early. The Government has indicated that it wants to reduce the reliance of the migration and borders system on taxpayer funding.
These increases in visa application and CoS fees mean that employers sponsoring workers face significantly higher costs throughout the sponsorship process.
The Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme is currently being rolled out and is part of the UK Government's broader programme of digitising the UK's border and immigration system. The ETA is a permission to travel in electronic form (linked to an individual's passport) and applies to people visiting the UK or transiting through the UK who do not need a visa, entry clearance or who do not hold existing immigration status in the UK. The ETA is similar to the ESTA scheme in the US and the EU's forthcoming ETIAS scheme. Many non-European nationalities are already on the list of nationalities who need an ETA before travelling to the UK. Most European nationalities will now need an ETA to travel to the UK on or after 2 April 2025 and can apply now.
The Home Office has announced that it has introduced a temporary exemption for airside transit passengers for the requirement to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA). The exemption will affect those transiting through Heathrow and Manchester airports and will be kept under review.
Revolut has now received a banking licence which is expected to significantly benefit start-ups seeking a sponsor licence in the UK. Start-ups frequently use Revolut for their banking needs but struggle to provide the necessary corporate documents to prove their operational presence in the UK, a requirement for the sponsor licence application. This challenge is due to their limited ability to evidence a UK operating footprint compared to more established companies. The availability of a corporate bank account with Revolut could simplify and expedite the process for these start-ups to establish and evidence their operational footprint, making it easier and quicker to obtain a sponsor licence.
The UK Home Office has established a temporary passenger support helpline for eVisas which is available Mondays to Fridays, from 8am to 6pm UK time. This helpline is intended to help people who are travelling or who have had trouble entering the UK due to its transition to eVisas. There is a free number to call which is +44 (0)800 876 6921 and a line for which you may have to pay +44 (0)203 337 0927.
The UK Home Office released a suite of 'how to' videos for eVisa support, available here which include the following:
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