FKINP A UK sponsor is due a full Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) refund after a visa refusal, application withdrawal or successful application followed by a non-start; shortened sponsorship can qualify for a partial refund.[1] To reconcile it, link the event to the original sponsorship payment, check the expected amount and compare it with credits received.
Identify the original sponsorship payment
ISC is the sponsor charge paid when assigning a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) for an applicable Skilled Worker or Senior or Specialist Worker application.[1] Keep visa, Immigration Health Surcharge and certificate-fee entries outside this reconciliation.
Link the CoS to the Sponsor Management System (SMS) payment record, Worldpay confirmation and bank/card statement. JRI Law recommends these as useful evidence, not a mandatory government checklist.[3]
Use a working record with these fields:[1][3][4]
- Worker, sponsor-licence number and CoS reference.
- CoS assignment date, sponsored start/end dates, visa route and sponsor category.
- Original ISC amount, payment details, event date and supporting evidence.
- Expected refund, matched credits and outstanding difference.
Match the event to the refund conditions
Use the following categories and attach the relevant event evidence to the payment record:
- Visa refusal or application withdrawal — full refund. Retain the decision or withdrawal confirmation.[1]
- Successful application, but the worker does not come to work for the sponsor — full refund. Retain the visa decision and non-start record.[1]
- Less visa time granted than sponsored — partial refund. Compare the grant details with the CoS dates.[1]
- Worker starts, then changes sponsor or leaves before the CoS end date — partial refund. Record the leaving date and sponsor change where relevant.[1]
- Sponsor-size overpayment — partial refund. Check for evidence that UKVI was notified of small or charitable status before CoS assignment, but the medium/large rate was paid.[1]
WorkPermitCloud and Richmond Chambers list role changes with the same sponsor, route changes while remaining in the same job, TUPE and licence dormancy or revocation as events that do not themselves qualify for refunds. They link refunds following permission cancellation to non-start or early termination.[6][8]
WorkPermitCloud also lists withdrawal of an unused CoS, or its expiry before use in a valid application, as full-refund events. These are distinct from withdrawing a visa application.[6]
For a non-start or early departure, check the event was reported through SMS. Sterling & Wells and WorkPermitCloud say these reports commonly trigger automated refunds.[4][6] Keep the submission date with the event evidence.
Check the original rate and expected refund
Use the CoS assignment date—not today’s rates, alongside the sponsor category and CoS start and end dates.[1][6] WorkPermitCloud identifies 16 December 2025 as the rate-change boundary: the current schedule applies to assignments on or after that date; lower historical rates apply before it.[6]
Under the current schedule, the first 12 months cost £480 for small or charitable sponsors and £1,320 for medium or large sponsors; each additional six months costs £240 and £660 respectively.[1][6] Use the original SMS payment record and Worldpay confirmation to verify the amount paid.[3]
For a qualifying full refund, compare the credit with the original ISC payment, not the combined application expenditure.[1]
For shortened sponsorship, WorkPermitCloud and Richmond Chambers describe partial refunds based on complete unused six-month periods after the first 12 months, which are retained in these cases.[6][8] An early departure therefore may not leave a refundable block.
Time-based expected refund = qualifying complete unused six-month blocks × the applicable originally paid six-month rate.[6][8]
For example, if eligibility and the block count have been established, two qualifying blocks at an originally paid rate of £660 give 2 × £660 = £1,320.[6]
Keep any eligible sponsor-size overpayment separate from the time-based calculation. Its eligibility depends on having notified UKVI of the change to small or charitable status before assigning the CoS.[1] Avoid counting the same overpayment twice; flag any allocation the records cannot substantiate for UKVI clarification.
Match credits and isolate the difference
Check the original payment card/account and Worldpay records. WestBridge reports refunds returning through Worldpay to the original card; Richmond Chambers notes an exception where the sponsor advises the Home Office of a different payment arrangement.[5][8]
Record each matched credit, its date and its supporting evidence against the CoS. Do not allocate a credit solely because its amount looks plausible.
Supported expected refund − total matched credits = unreconciled difference. This accounting check identifies the amount to investigate; it does not establish that payment is overdue.
Check the waiting period before following up
Use the event-specific timing on GOV.UK. The usual refund period is 90 days, but the starting point is different for a visa refusal because an administrative review may still be available.[1]
Visa refusals: apply the administrative-review rule
- No administrative review requested: count the usual 90 days from the deadline for applying for that review, rather than simply from the refusal date.[1]
- Administrative review requested and unsuccessful: count from the date the review is dismissed.[1]
If the review remains pending or succeeds, obtain confirmation of the resulting visa and refund position before treating the charge as an overdue refund. Keep the refusal, review deadline and any review decision with the payment record.[1]
Other events: identify the applicable starting point
GOV.UK lists these starting points for its usual 90-day period:[1]
- The date you tell UKVI that the worker did not come to work for you.
- The expiry date of a CoS that was not used to apply for a visa.
- The date a visa application is withdrawn.
- The CoS assignment date, where UKVI had already been notified that you had become a small or charitable sponsor.
The same GOV.UK list mentions refusal dates, but its more specific administrative-review instructions govern the refusal scenarios above. Do not use the general list to skip that review period.[1]
GOV.UK does not list the worker’s leaving date as a general starting point. For an early-departure refund, retain the SMS reporting record and ask UKVI to confirm the applicable timing if it is unclear.[1]
These are usual timescales rather than guaranteed payment dates. Contact UKVI if the refund has not arrived after the relevant 90-day period; include the event and date used to calculate it.[1]
Follow up with UKVI
For an absent refund after the relevant waiting period, contact UKVI.[1] Sterling & Wells lists [email protected] and the telephone details in the sponsor’s SMS account as follow-up channels.[4]
Include the following details, which Sterling & Wells recommends:[4]
- Sponsor-licence number.
- CoS reference and assignment date.
- Original ISC amount and payment-method details.
- Trigger event and date.
For a refusal, add the administrative-review deadline or unsuccessful review dismissal date to show the timing basis.[1] For an absent or apparently short refund, include the expected amount and workings, credits received and unresolved difference.
Attach relevant CoS, SMS payment, Worldpay, bank and event evidence as a practical evidence pack, not a mandatory document list.[3][4] Ask UKVI to confirm the refund position and explain any difference from the calculation, then retain its response with the reconciliation record.
References
- UK visa sponsorship for employers: Immigration skills charge – GOV.UK (gov.uk)
- Claiming Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) Refunds: A Guide for UK Sponsors – JRI Law (jrilaw.co.uk, 2025)
- Immigration Skills Charge Refunds for Employers/Sponsors (sterlingandwells.com, 2026)
- Understanding Immigration Skills Charge Refund (ISC) – WestBridge Immigration Services (wbbi.co.uk)
- Immigration Skills Charge: Rates, Exemptions and Refunds | Work Permit Cloud (workpermitcloud.co.uk)
- Immigration Skills Charge – A Guide for Employers – Richmond Chambers (immigrationbarrister.co.uk, 2025)
