The cheapest work visa in the world costs about EUR 23. The most expensive costs AUD 4,015, and then the same again for your partner. That is a factor of roughly one hundred and seventy five for the same basic thing: permission to work.
But the fee is rarely what makes a move expensive, and ranking countries by it will send you to the wrong one. Two tables here: what the paperwork costs, and then what the move actually costs, which is a different list in a different order.
What the paperwork costs
| Country | Application fees | Who pays |
|---|---|---|
| Poland | PLN 100 for a Type A work permit | Employer |
| Lithuania | EUR 121 work permit for up to a year, EUR 34 for seasonal work up to six months, plus a EUR 60 national visa | Employer pays the permit, you pay the visa |
| Canada | CAD 155 work permit, CAD 85 biometrics, CAD 100 more for an open permit | You |
| Portugal | About EUR 90 for the visa and EUR 83 for the residence permit | You |
| Germany | EUR 75 national visa, EUR 100 for the first residence title | You |
| Netherlands | EUR 423 for a highly skilled migrant application | Usually the employer |
| United Kingdom | Roughly GBP 950 up to three years, GBP 1,900 over three. Health and Care Worker visa: GBP 324 and GBP 628 | You, though the employer pays the sponsorship costs |
| Australia | AUD 4,015 for the subclass 482 from 1 July 2026, and AUD 4,015 again for each dependant aged 18 or over | Varies. The employer must pay the nomination and the skills levy |
Two things stand out. The first is that Lithuania and Poland put the permit fee on the employer, which means the cost of hiring you is trivial to them. That is worth saying out loud in an application, and it is the argument our guide to finding employers who sponsor is built on.
The second is Australia. AUD 4,015 per adult means a couple pays over AUD 8,000 in application charges alone, and that figure rose from AUD 3,210 on 1 July 2026. It is the outlier on this list by a long way.
What the move actually costs
Now the table that decides your budget. None of these are visa fees and all of them are larger.
| Cost | Where it bites | How much |
|---|---|---|
| Health surcharge | United Kingdom | GBP 1,035 per person per year, payable up front for the whole visa. A family of four over five years pays GBP 20,700 |
| Proof of funds | Germany, most job seeker routes | The Opportunity Card asks for EUR 1,091 a month, about EUR 13,092 for a year, in a blocked account. You get it back, but you need it first |
| Qualification recognition | Germany, Nordics, regulated trades and healthcare everywhere | Usually a few hundred, sometimes over a thousand, and it takes months. This is the step that delays people, not the visa |
| Professional registration | Nursing, medicine, teaching, engineering | Separate from immigration, separately priced, and on its own timetable |
| Skills levy | Australia | Paid by the employer, but it is the reason some employers decline to sponsor at all |
Set the two tables against each other and the ranking inverts. The UK has mid-range fees and by far the highest total cost. Germany has almost the cheapest fee in Europe and asks you to park EUR 13,000 before you go. Lithuania and Poland are cheap on both counts, which is genuinely unusual.
The cheapest route of all is free
Worth knowing before you compare anything: the UK Health and Care Worker visa is completely exempt from the health surcharge, dependants included, and its application fee is about a third of the general route. For a nurse with a family, that single distinction is worth more than every fee in the first table combined.
The same logic applies more widely. Being on a shortage list, holding a recognised qualification, or qualifying for a reduced salary threshold all save more than choosing a cheap country does. The EU Blue Card reduced rates are the clearest example in Europe.
The genuinely cheap way in is seasonal
If cost is the binding constraint rather than a preference, the cheapest entry into Europe is not a skilled route at all. Lithuania charges EUR 34 for a seasonal work permit of up to six months, and the employer pays it. Several other countries run comparable schemes at comparable prices.
The trade-off is honest and worth stating: seasonal permits are short, tied to one employer and one sector, and most do not lead anywhere by themselves. What they do give you is a legal work history in the country, a local reference, and in some cases a route to switch. People who move up from seasonal work usually do it by getting a qualification recognised while they are already there.
The options: 11 European countries with seasonal work visas, the UK seasonal worker visa and working holiday visas as a route into shortage work.
How to actually keep the cost down
- Price the surcharge and the funds requirement first, then the fee. You will pick a different country.
- Check who pays. In Lithuania and Poland the employer pays the permit. In the UK the employer pays the sponsorship certificate. You should never be paying either.
- Start qualification recognition now. It is the longest and most easily forgotten cost, and it does not wait for the visa.
- Check for an exemption before an economy. One exemption, healthcare in the UK, a shortage occupation in Germany, outweighs any fee saving.
- Never pay for a job offer. In every legitimate route the employer carries the sponsorship cost, so a fee charged to you for an offer is the shape of a fraud. Our explainer on what visa sponsorship is goes through the rest of the signs.
Related: Lithuania’s shortage occupations, the Polish work visa and the German Opportunity Card. Browse shortage jobs with visa sponsorship on our board.
Last checked September 2026. Fees are set nationally and revised on national timetables: Australia’s rose on 1 July 2026 and the UK revises most Aprils. Confirm on the government site before budgeting.
