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Skip to content Complex regulations put firms at risk of noncompliance when it comes to issuing Certificate of Sponsorship to sponsored workers. If you require any information or help related to Certificate of Sponsorship UK you can get help from our immigration solicitors.
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A Certificate of Sponsorship is a reference number that a person who wants to get a supported work visa is given by the person who wants to sponsor them. It is not a physical document, but a computer record.
The CoS is needed before you can apply for a visa in the Worker and Temporary Worker categories. These include the Skilled Worker, Senior or Specialist Worker, and Scale Up Worker paths.
When a sponsor gives a CoS to a person, they are telling the Home Office that the planned job conditions meet the needs of the relevant visa route.
There are a lot of strict rules about how to give out the CoS. Take the CoS as an example. The worker must use it to apply for a visa within 3 months of getting it. However, the worker must submit their visa application no later than three months prior to the start date of the job specified on the COS.
The Home Office changed the visa rules in December 2020 so that “restricted” and “unrestricted” CoS could no longer be used. These were changed to “defined” and “undefined” CoS.
Defined certificates are only for people seeking a Skilled Worker visa from outside the UK. If you have a sponsor licence and want to give out a set CoS, you will need to apply through the online Sponsorship Management System (SMS). If UKVI agrees with the application, it can be given to the foreign worker so that they can apply for a visa. Usually, applications for defined CoSs are handled within one business day.
If you are looking for a Skilled Worker visa from inside the UK, or for any other type of sponsored visa, you will need an undefined certificate. When you apply to be a sponsoring company, you will be asked to guess how many undefined certificates you will need in the first year of sponsorship. It is possible to get this number raised by sending a request through SMS.
People who want to join or stay in the UK on a sponsored work visa must have a Certificate of Sponsorship. This includes:
CoS allocation means that you can only issue a certain number of certificates each year. According to UKVI, when you apply for your sponsor licence for the first time, they will ask you to guess how many Undefined CoS you will need in the first year for each route you have a licence for. You will have to explain why you think you will need that many as part of this process. This is how much CoS you will get for the first year if your request is approved. You have one year to use your certificate. After that, this can be extended every year.
There is no limit to the amount of undefined sponsorship certificates that can be obtained.
If your situation changes during the year, you can renew your yearly allocation or ask for more Undefined Certificates of Sponsorship at any time. Some situations where you might need an extra Certificate of Sponsorship are when a sponsored worker needs to move to a different type of visa or when they need to stay in the UK longer.
If you want to sponsor people from outside of the country, they need a Defined Certificate of Sponsorship and follow a different process, so you don’t need to include them in the estimate.
These certificates are available in unlimited numbers, unlike the old CoS rules. Sponsors also don’t have to apply on the first business day after the fifth of every month.
You can apply for a CoS at any time for a foreign worker who needs one.
When you ask for a COS allocation, you need to clearly state the job openings you want to fill, include any relevant information about the worker, and explain how they were chosen for the role.
Your company needs to have a current sponsor licence and be able to access the Sponsor Management System (SMS) in order to give out a Certificate of Sponsorship.
The sponsor’s chosen Level 1 or Level 2 user should send the job information through SMS, and a unique reference number (the CoS) will be sent back to them.
Most applications for a defined certificate are approved within one business day. However, it may take longer if the UKVI needs to check more details in the application.
Once defined certificates have been accepted, they will show up in your SMS account. You can then give them to your worker.
After three months, the worker uses the Certificate of Sponsorship to apply for a visa.
Transferring a Certificate of Sponsorship is not possible. If you gave the CoS to someone else, you would be breaking the terms of your sponsorship licence, and the Home Office could take action against the organisation.
Want to get a specific Certificate of Sponsorship? You need to have an A-rated licence.
The steps needed to give a defined CoS are spelled out in the Home Office SMS Guide 12:
The steps needed to give a undefined CoS are spelled out in the Home Office SMS Guide 8:
When an employer has a licence with a provisional rating, they can only give one proof of sponsorship to the person who is letting them into the UK. After that, you should get an A-rating for your licence and use the SMS to ask for more sponsorship certificates.
Every year, a supporter licence is given out for 12 months. This starts from the date the licence was issued or the date the last renewal application was approved.
When you apply for the licence, you will need to guess and ask for how many undefined CoS you will use in the next 12 months. You may need to give more information to back up your request and explain why this number is important.
If accepted, the Home Office will issue the COS to your SMS. You have 12 months to use these within that time frame. You can ask for more CoS if you use up all of your supply.
It is not necessary to upload papers to the Sponsorship Management System (SMS) when asking for or assigning Certificates of Sponsorship. Instead, you will need to fill out a CoS application form straight in the SMS, which asks for information about your job, such as:
Please keep in mind that you need a current sponsor licence to ask for the Certificate of Sponsorship in an SMS. Check out our Sponsor Licence page to see what paperwork you need to apply for a Sponsor Licence.
Sponsors must pay a fee in order to give a worker a Certificate of Sponsorship. The amount of the fee will depend on factors like the type of visa being sought and the length of time the COS is in place. For instance, a Skilled Worker visa COS costs £239, while a Temporary Worker visa COS costs £25.
Here is a table with the most up-to-date CoS fees for sponsors:
Licence Type | Cost of CoS |
Premium Sponsor Service (12 months) Worker sponsor and Temporary worker sponsor – large sponsors | £25,000 |
Premium Sponsor Service (12 months) Worker sponsor and Temporary worker sponsor – small sponsors | £8,000 |
Premium Sponsor Service (12 months) Student sponsors | £8,000 |
A worker sponsor or temporary worker sponsor can ask for their sponsorship management request to be processed more quickly. | £200 |
Priority service for faster handling of applications for sponsor licences | £500 |
Worker sponsor licence (large sponsor ) | £1,476 |
Worker sponsor licence (small sponsor) | £536 |
Temporary Worker sponsor licence | £536 |
Student sponsor licence | £536 |
Worker and Temporary Worker sponsor licence (large sponsor) | £1,476 |
Worker and Student sponsor licence (large sponsor) | £1,476 |
Temporary Worker and Student sponsor licence | £536 |
Worker, Temporary Worker and Student sponsor licence (large sponsor) | £1,476 |
Sponsor action plan | £1,476 |
Worker sponsor licence (large sponsor), where sponsor currently holds a Temporary Worker and/or Student Sponsor Licence | £940 |
Endorsement fee for a Scale-up sponsor licence under Endorsing Body Pathway (payable to the endorsing body) excluding VAT | £1,500 |
Confirmation of Acceptance for Study (CAS) for student, child student | £25 |
Student sponsor basic compliance assessment | £536 |
Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS): T2 Minister of Religion, Skilled Worker, Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker | £239 |
Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) for International Sportsperson route – Over 12 Months | £239 |
Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) – Temporary Worker including Global Business Mobility – Graduate Trainee, Service Supplier and Secondment Worker route, UK Expansion Worker, and Scale-up route | £25 |
Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) for International Sportsperson route – Up to 12 months or less | £25 |
Depending on the type of application, there may be extra fees, such as the Immigration Health Surcharge and the visa application fee.
It usually takes one working day to get approval for a specific COS, but it can take longer if the Home Office needs more information to be clarified.
Employers who have a provisional sponsor licence can only give one proof of sponsorship to their designated Authorising Officer at first so that person can come to the UK. Once they have their visa, the company’s licence can be raised to an A-rating, and the SMS can be used to ask for up to 4 more certificates of help.
With the SMS, you can cancel a Certificate of Sponsorship that has been given. Under “Sponsorship duties,” the sponsor should go to “Manage live CoS,” enter the necessary CoS information, and then click “withdraw CoS.” Therefore, the CoS will be cancelled in cases where the person no longer needs it.
Sponsor Management System (SMS) is used by all companies that have been given a sponsor licence by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) to make sure they follow the rules for their sponsor licence.
The Home Office runs a safe online portal that only certain people in the organisation are allowed to view.
Sponsor licence holders have to follow a strict set of tasks and responsibilities, which include reporting, keeping records, and keeping an eye on things. The main goal is to stop illegal work.
Sponsors can use the SMS to ask for and give Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) to workers they are sponsoring and to let the Home Office know about any changes.
As a sponsor licence user, you must use the SMS correctly for what it was made for. If you don’t, your sponsor licence could be downgraded, suspended, or taken away. Because of this, you might not be able to hire foreign workers anymore. You could also face criminal charges or a fine of up to $500 per breach if it turns out that you hired someone who wasn’t authorised to work for you.
The SMS can only be accessed and used by a small group of people. The names for these are:
Authorising Officers: This is the highest-ranking person in your company who is in charge of hiring foreign workers and meeting sponsor responsibilities. The Authorising User also decides who can see the SMS, how much access they should have, and what steps other SMS users can take.
On a practical note, level 1 and level 2 users are the only ones who can normally receive the SMS. But if needed, they can give the Authorising Officer or Key Contact level 1 or level 2 access.
External third parties, like immigration lawyers helping with sponsor licence compliance, can also be given access to Level 1.
Our highly skilled immigration solicitors can help you get a Certificate of Sponsorship. We provide services to assist you apply for a Sponsor Licence and advice to make sure you do what you need to do as a sponsor.
Call us today at 02033844389 or send us an online message to learn more about our services or get help with your situation. Our offices are spread out across the UK, in cities like London, Manchester, and Birmingham. Looking forward to speaking to you.
