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International Sportsperson

UK visa route

Licensed sponsors
1,401
Visas issued, 2025
2,611
Change 2024→2025
+8.3%
Towns with sponsors
617
Sponsors1,401on 26 Oct 2026
Year by year
Data as at 26 Oct 2026
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Licensed sponsors

Organisations licensed for this route on the Home Office register, 26 Oct 2026.

Sponsors by town
  1. London72
  2. Nottingham24
  3. Manchester24
  4. Bristol19
  5. Stoke on Trent19
  6. Birmingham18
  7. Glasgow17
  8. Edinburgh17
  9. Sheffield17
  10. Bolton16
  11. Newcastle Upon Tyne14
  12. Oldham14
  13. Huddersfield13
  14. Belfast13
  15. Reading12
Sponsors by industry (Companies House SIC section)
  1. Arts, entertainment and recreation301
  2. Agriculture, forestry and fishing34
  3. Administrative and support service activities12
  4. Education12
  5. Professional, scientific and technical activities11
  6. Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles10
  7. Other service activities9
  8. Real estate activities5
  9. Accommodation and food service activities4
  10. Construction4
  11. Manufacturing4
  12. Financial and insurance activities2
Source: Home Office, Register of licensed sponsors: workers and students (26 Oct 2026). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0; Companies House, basic company data (1 Oct 2026)Data as at 26 Oct 2026

Entry clearance visas issued

Visas issued to main applicants and dependants, calendar years (Home Office). Includes earlier names of the route.

Visas issued by year

1,3062,6112009201120132015201720192021202320252026
1,3062,6112009201220152018202120242026
Data table
2009265
2010229
2011232
2012165
2013135
2014137
2015125
2016108
2017130
2018123
2019103
202047
2021197
20222,191
20232,198
20242,412
20252,611
20261,779
Visas issued 2024–2025 by nationality
  1. Argentina1,298
  2. India497
  3. Sri Lanka381
  4. Australia333
  5. Pakistan324
  6. South Africa310
  7. United States224
  8. Canada217
  9. New Zealand132
  10. France121
  11. Netherlands84
  12. Spain80
Source: Home Office, Immigration system statistics (year ending June 2026), Open Government Licence v3.0Data as at Jun 2026

Application fees

Main applicant fee from 8 October 2026 (outside and inside the UK), as listed by the Home Office.

FeeAmount
International Sportsperson, where a certificate of sponsorship has been issued or approval to sponsor under Sponsor a Worker has been given for 12 months or less - main applicant and dependants£340
International Sportsperson, where a certificate of sponsorship has been issued or approval to sponsor under Sponsor a Worker has been given for over 12 months - main applicant and dependants£819
International Sportsperson, where a certificate of sponsorship has been issued or approval to sponsor under Sponsor a Worker has been given for 12 months or less - main applicant and dependants£340
International Sportsperson, where a certificate of sponsorship has been issued or approval to sponsor under Sponsor a Worker has been given for over 12 months - main applicant and dependants£943
Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS), or approval under Sponsor a Worker for International Sportsperson route - Over 12 Months£525
Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS), or approval under Sponsor a Worker for International Sportsperson route - Up to 12 months or less£55
Source: Home Office immigration and nationality fees, 8 October 2026Data as at 8 Oct 2026

Official data, not advice. Visa Atlas publishes figures from government registers and statistics. It does not assess eligibility or give immigration advice; for advice, consult a regulated adviser. Read more