The Employment And Immigration Intersection: Clawing Back Immigration Costs From Sponsored Workers

Businesses in the UK are facing soaring immigration-related costs, prompting some to look at mechanisms to share the load with their sponsored workers. This includes 'clawback' obligations, under which employees may be required to repay some of those costs to their employer. We explore the options and the associated risks.

This is part of a series on how to manage the employment law issues associated with hiring and managing migrant workers. For more information on the tensions between employment law and immigration law, including links to our other content, see The employment and immigration intersection.

The costs associated with sponsoring a worker in the UK are higher than ever before. The average cost for a 5-year Skilled Worker entry clearance application for a main applicant is currently around £12,000. The actual costs could be higher (e.g. if expedited processing services, English language testing, tuberculosis screening or criminal records certificates