A self-sponsorship visa in the UK costs roughly £12,000 to £20,000 in total. That covers forming your company, registering it with the CQC, the Home Office sponsor licence fee, the Certificate of Sponsorship, your Skilled Worker visa fee and Immigration Health Surcharge, plus making sure your own company can pay you the going-rate salary once it sponsors you.
The official Home Office and Companies House fees are the smaller part — around £4,000 to £6,000. The larger part is building a real, trading care business, and that is spread over six to eight months rather than paid all at once. This page breaks every cost down so you know exactly how much you need and when.
The proof: why this route works
Self-sponsorship is built on a fact that surprises most people: a Skilled Worker visa holder can register a private limited company at Companies House, be a company director, and own shares. What they cannot do is be self-employed or run that company as their main job — which is exactly why self-sponsorship exists. You own a UK company, that company obtains a Home Office Sponsor Licence, and it sponsors you on the Skilled Worker route to run it.
In care, the occupation that matters is SOC code 1232 — "Residential, day and domiciliary care managers and proprietors". This code is on the Home Office Immigration Salary List for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland until 31 December 2026. Being on that list means a reduced salary threshold — which directly lowers what your company has to pay you, and therefore lowers the cost of the whole route.
Moving from carer to owner means moving from the worker codes — 6135 (care workers and home carers) and 6136 (senior care workers) — up to the owner-manager code 1232. Full eligibility detail is on the official Skilled Worker visa page.
Self-Sponsorship Visa UK Cost: Full Breakdown
Here is every cost component of a UK self-sponsorship visa, from forming the company through to your company sponsoring you. The official fees are fixed; the business-build figures vary with how you run the service.
| Cost component | Typical cost | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Company formation | ~£50 | Registering your private limited care company at Companies House |
| CQC registration | £3,000–£6,000 | Full policy and procedure pack, registered manager, CQC application and fee, getting ready to care for clients |
| Sponsor licence fee | ~£574 (small sponsor) | Home Office licence that lets your company sponsor workers — including you |
| Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) | CoS assignment fee | The individual sponsorship record your company assigns to you for the SOC 1232 role |
| Skilled Worker visa fee | Per gov.uk | Your visa application fee (in-country switch or entry clearance) |
| Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) | £1,035 / year | NHS access charge, multiplied by the length of your visa |
| Going-rate salary capacity | Reduced via ISL | Your company must be able to pay you the SOC 1232 going rate — reduced because 1232 is on the Immigration Salary List |
Always check current fees
Home Office and Companies House fees are reviewed periodically. The live figures for the sponsor licence, CoS, visa and IHS are published on the official Skilled Worker visa page — check there before you budget.
The Official Fees vs the Real Cost
It helps to split the total into two buckets. The official fees — company formation, sponsor licence, CoS, visa and IHS — come to roughly £4,000 to £6,000 for a single applicant on a typical visa length. These are fixed, payable to the government, and unavoidable on any sponsored route.
The real cost that makes self-sponsorship different is building a genuine care business: the CQC policy and procedure pack, registering with the CQC, recruiting a registered manager, winning real clients and running the service for six to eight months. This is where most of the £12,000 to £20,000 sits — and it is also what creates the track record that lets your company legitimately sponsor you.
In other words, you are not just buying a visa. You are buying a trading care company that you own and run. The visa is the outcome of building something real.
The Salary Your Company Must Pay — and the Financial Requirement
The single biggest cost driver in any self-sponsorship plan is the salary your company commits to paying you. On the Skilled Worker route your company must be able to pay at least the going rate for your occupation. Because SOC 1232 is on the Immigration Salary List until 31 December 2026, it attracts a reduced salary threshold — so the wage your company must commit to is lower than for almost any other management occupation.
This is the financial requirement of self-sponsorship in plain terms: there is no fixed Home Office "minimum investment" figure as there was on old investor routes. Instead, your company must be a real trading business that can genuinely afford to pay you the going rate for 1232. The trading income your service earns in its first six to eight months is what demonstrates that affordability.
Genuine urgency: SOC 1232 sits on the Immigration Salary List until 31 December 2026. The reduced salary threshold makes self-sponsorship cheaper to run while the code remains listed — which is a strong reason to start the build now rather than later.
How the Cost Is Spread — Not Paid All at Once
The most reassuring fact about the cost is that it is staged. You do not write one large cheque on day one. Here is how a managed staged build spreads the cost across the journey:
A care company is registered at Companies House
Your private limited company is formed with the full CQC policy and procedure pack prepared. The upfront cost here is small — formation is around £50.
The company registers with the CQC and begins caring for clients
CQC registration is completed and the service starts trading. This is the biggest single build cost, but it is an investment into a real, revenue-generating business.
Six to eight months building a real track record
Real clients, real contracts, real income. During this period the business earns — which helps fund the running costs and demonstrates the company can pay your salary.
Your company sponsors you
That track record lets your own company obtain its sponsor licence, assign your CoS and sponsor you on the Skilled Worker route. The visa-stage fees fall here, not at the start.
You own and run your own service
You are now the owner-proprietor under SOC 1232, running a profitable care company that sponsors your own visa.
Because the build is staged, the cost lands in instalments aligned to each milestone — and the income from your trading service offsets part of it. That is what makes self-sponsorship achievable without one enormous upfront payment.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a self sponsorship visa cost in the UK?
A self-sponsorship visa in the UK typically costs between £12,000 and £20,000 in total. This covers forming your company, registering it with the CQC, the sponsor licence fee, the Certificate of Sponsorship, your Skilled Worker visa fee and Immigration Health Surcharge, plus the going-rate salary your own company must be able to pay you. The figure depends on whether you build the business yourself or use a managed staged build that spreads the cost over months.
What is the minimum investment for a self sponsorship visa UK?
There is no fixed minimum investment figure set by the Home Office for self-sponsorship, unlike older investor routes. In practice you need enough capital to set up and run a real trading care company, cover official fees of roughly £4,000 to £6,000, and show your company can pay the going rate for SOC 1232. Most people budget £12,000 to £20,000 to do it properly through to sponsorship.
What are the official Home Office fees for self-sponsorship?
The core fees are the sponsor licence application (around £574 for a small sponsor), the Certificate of Sponsorship assignment fee, the Skilled Worker visa fee, and the Immigration Health Surcharge at £1,035 per year of visa. Companies House incorporation is about £50. Current fees are published on gov.uk and should be checked before you apply because they are reviewed periodically.
What salary does my company need to pay me for self-sponsorship?
Your company must be able to pay you at least the going rate for SOC code 1232, residential, day and domiciliary care managers and proprietors. Because 1232 sits on the Immigration Salary List until 31 December 2026, it qualifies for a reduced salary threshold, which lowers the wage your company must commit to and makes self-sponsorship more affordable than for most other occupations.
Can I spread the cost of a self-sponsorship visa?
Yes. The largest part of the cost is building a real care business, which happens in stages rather than as one upfront payment. With a managed staged build, the company is registered, CQC registration is completed, and the service trades and earns for six to eight months before your company sponsors you — so the business-build cost is spread across that period and partly funded by the income the business generates.
What is the total cost once you are sponsored?
Once the company is trading and sponsors you, the visa-stage costs are the sponsor licence fee, the Certificate of Sponsorship, the Skilled Worker visa fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge — usually £3,000 to £5,000 depending on visa length and dependents. The earlier business-build costs (company formation, CQC registration and running the service) sit before this and are what create the track record that lets your company sponsor you.