Highly skilled workers
How to pay inside the United Kingdom
This page explains how to pay the fee when you apply inside the United Kingdom under the highly skilled worker category (Tier 1 General) of the points-based system to work in the United Kingdom.
What payment types we accept
The payment slip must be filled in fully and accurately.
Payment may be made by:
- a cheque in sterling on a United Kingdom bank account (this should be made payable to Home Office, have your full name and date of birth written on the back and be attached to the front of the completed payment slip);
- United Kingdom postal order (this should have your full name and date of birth written on the back and be attached to the front of the completed payment slip); or
- credit or debit card including MasterCard and Visa. We will only accept Delta, Switch and Maestro (including Electron and Solo) if issued in the United Kingdom. Include the card number, the amount paid, the payer's name as it appears on the card, valid from and expiry dates, card verification value (CVV) code, signature and date. The issue number is also needed for Switch and Maestro cards.
Payment by any other method is not accepted.
You must send the full amount to cover the total cost of the application, or we will not consider your application and will return both the application form and part payment to you.
We start considering the application when the payment has cleared. Clearance takes place:
- after five working days for cheques;
- after one working day for credit or debit cards; and
- immediately for postal orders.
Using a payment handling service
You can use a government-approved payment handling service to help with your application. It will check that:
- a payment is needed;
- the payment slip is completed correctly;
- the payment method is correct;
- the application has been marked correctly as paid or free from charge; and
- the payment has cleared.
The payment handling service is independent from us and does not process any applications.