Home Office Increases Priority Service Fees for Sponsors

In this section:
  • Sponsor Licence Application Priority Service
  • SMS (Sponsor Management System) Priority Service
  • How We Help

Alongside the other major immigration rule changes this year (which we've summarised in our key Skilled Worker visa changes for 2025-2026 post), the Home Office has just increased the price of speed.

In a targeted update, the government has significantly raised the fees for its sponsor-specific priority services, effective as of 11 November 2025. These "fast-track" services allow businesses to expedite applications for a new sponsor licence or urgent administrative changes to an existing one.

Here is a clear breakdown of the new costs.

Priority Service is an optional service new applicants can use to get an expedited decision on their sponsor licence application in 10 working days, bypassing the standard eight-week-plus processing time.

This fee is paid in addition to the main sponsor licence application fee (which remains £574 for small sponsors or £1,579 for large).

Service

Old Fee

New Fee

Priority service for expedited processing of sponsor licence applications

£500

£750

SMS (Sponsor Management System) Priority Service

This is the service existing A-rated sponsors use to fast-track administrative requests. It cuts the processing time from many weeks (or even months) down to just 5 working days.

This service is essential for urgent requests such as:

  • Adding an extra Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) allocation.
  • Changing your Authorising Officer (AO) or Key Contact (KC).
  • Reporting other significant changes of circumstance.

Service

Old Fee

New Fee

SMS Priority Service (Post-Licence)

£200

£350

How We Help

Getting a new sponsor licence quickly isn't just about paying the Home Office's new £750 priority fee. Applicants must also secure one of a limited number of daily slots. These slots are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis and fill up fast, meaning your team could be busy catching the service's "opening hours" only to find the quota is full, delaying your application.

Our team handles this for you. We manage the entire priority application on your behalf, navigating the system to secure your slot the moment it's available so your licence is processed without delay.

 

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