Certificate of Sponsorship
In order to sponsor an overseas migrant in the Skilled Worker category, the approved employer must hold an Employer Sponsor Licence. A Skilled Worker Certificate of Sponsorship may be allocated to a Licenced Sponsor following a successful request to the UKVI via the Sponsorship Management System. The Certificate of Sponsorship holds personal information and details about the job the overseas national will be undertaking here in the United Kingdom. Once awarded and available on a Licence, a Certificate may then be assigned to the migrant worker. Each Certificate of Sponsorship has a unique number specific to the employer and terms of employment.
When small mistakes in the process can cause long delays…
- Miscalculating overarching salary thresholds or working hours.
- Failing to keep track of revised salary expectations.
- Basing a job code or Standard Occupational Classification code on a preferential salary range, rather than the duties discharged by the appointment.
All of the above can raise questions of credibility and genuineness causing delays in the overall consideration of the CoS
How we can help
Our team of Business Immigration advisers specialise in sponsorship under Skilled Worker route, our aim is to streamline the end to end process, by extracting complex operational information and condensing it to meet UKVI criteria.
Explore
Exploring your options
- Initial ‘foundation’ virtual meeting to establish the overall intent and to identify any Human Resource compliance issues.
- Review the company to ensure they have adequate infrastructure and ability to employ and take on responsibility of the migrant.
Inform
Educating you on the steps
- Provide guidance on the appropriate Standard Occupational coding and salary requirements at the same time ensuring the role meets is a genuine vacancy.
- Advise on the right category of CoS and sponsorship term.
- Advise on specific timelines from recruitment of the individual to the start of their employment.
- Advise on the current processes for restricted Certificates of Sponsorship.
Prepare
Preparing your case
- Documents list.
- Provision of company documentation
- Draft application for a CoS
- Supporting document file
Support
Supporting you on the way
- Assist in the management of the CoS including Sponsor Notes and updates to the sponsorship of an individual.
- Respond to further UKVI requests or other anomalies associated with the Sponsor Licence.
- CoS aftercare whilst application is live.
Find out how we can help you.
When technical errors can cause significant delays in critical timelines and additional costs. Our way of dealing with these challenges are tried and tested.
Certificate of Sponsorship FAQ's
There are some visa routes which permit employment without the need for sponsorship. If the Migrant has a BRP card you can conduct a Right to Work Check to verify whether they can work. You must not employ anyone from overseas unless you have carried out the relevant Right to Work Checks and are satisfied that you have a statutory right of excuse.
The processing time for a CoS in the defined category varies depending on demand. Usually if you submit an application for a Certificate of Sponsorship at the beginning of the month you should hear back within a week of submitting the request.
The UKVI processing fee for a defined Certificate of Sponsorship is £199 (no VAT)
A defined CoS is typically used to support a migrants’ initial application for Skilled Worker at Entry Clearance level.
The undefined Certificate of sponsorship may be allocated through the sponsor management system on an annual basis to support ongoing sponsorship of existing migrants.
