Explanatory note

These Regulations are made under section 70A of the Immigration Act 2014 and provide that a sponsor, subject to certain exemptions, must pay a charge each time that it assigns a certificate of sponsorship to a skilled worker.

The amount of the charge payable depends on the size and nature of the sponsor, and the length of the period of prospective employment in respect of which the certificate of sponsorship is assigned. These Regulations provide that the Secretary of State may waive or refund part or all of the charge.

The obligation to pay a charge in regulation 3 is subject to a number of exceptions outlined in regulation 4. Regulation 5 provides that any purported assignment of a certificate of sponsorship is invalid whilst the obligation to pay the charge is outstanding, subject to the Secretary of State’s discretion to waive all or part of the charge outlined in regulation 6. Additionally, regulation 7 provides that the obligation to pay a charge does not apply in certain circumstances where a skilled worker was issued a certificate of sponsorship before these Regulations came into force.

A full regulatory impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument. The immigration skills charge is classified as a tax and is therefore out of scope of the Better Regulation Framework.