The sponsor licence application fee
The Home Office charges a one-off fee to apply for a Sponsor Licence. As of April 2026 the fees are:
Small sponsors and charities: £574
Medium and large sponsors: £1,579
These fees are paid to the Home Office at the point of submitting the licence application and are in addition to any Borderless service fees for managing the application.
Is there VAT on the sponsor licence fee?
No. Home Office visa and sponsorship fees are statutory government charges and are not subject to VAT. If you are invoiced for the government fee itself, there should be no VAT line on that portion of the invoice. VAT may apply to professional services fees charged on top (for example Borderless's own management fee), but not to the statutory Home Office charge.
What the fee does and does not cover
The application fee covers the processing of your Sponsor Licence application by the Home Office. It does not cover the cost of assigning CoS, the Immigration Skills Charge, or any individual visa application fees. It also does not guarantee approval: if the application is refused, the fee is not refunded.
Government guidance: https://www.gov.uk/uk-visa-sponsorship-employers/apply-for-licence