Can I fill in my own Skilled Worker visa application and still have the company pay the application and IHS fees?

Hi all,

I’ll soon be applying for a Skilled Worker visa with a new employer who has agreed to sponsor me and cover all the visa-related costs (for which I’m super grateful!). I’d prefer to complete the actual online visa application form myself on the gov.uk website. The reason is that the form includes some personal information (such as immigration history, dependants, financial info, etc.) that I don’t necessarily want to share with the company or their legal team.

However, at the final step of the form, you’re required to pay the application fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) before you can submit it.

My question is: if the employer is covering the cost of the visa, does that mean they have to fill in the application on my behalf in order to make the payment? Or is there a way for me to complete and control the form myself and still have the company pay the fees?

Has anyone had experience with this? Is there a workaround, like getting reimbursed later, or can they pay directly without accessing my full application?

Would appreciate any advice. Thanks!

For someone else to pay they need to access your application and then be transferred to the payment portal.

If you don't want the employer to do this, the only way is completing yourself everything and then they reimburse the money - provided they offer this option (some companies in the UK do). Again, this is something more related to company hiring policies, you need to discuss with them.