In our previous ‘Are you and your EU employees prepared for Brexit’ blog post, we outlined everything UK employers need to know about obtaining a sponsor licence so that they can employ international workers. Next up, is this blog post about assigning a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS).
Once an employer’s sponsor licence is approved, a Certificate of Sponsorship must be assigned to any international workers they wish to employ.
In this guide, we will take a look at everything you need to know about the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS).
A CoS is created through your Sponsor Management System (SMS). It can only be assigned by a person who has access to the SMS as a Level 1 or Level 2 user.
Once assigned, each CoS has its own number which will be used by the worker when they are applying for their visa.
A CoS is valid for 90 days after it is issued. If the worker does not apply for a visa within the 90 days, they will need a new certificate.
Please note, workers must not apply for a visa more than 3 months before the start date of the job listed on the certificate.
Before you assign a CoS to the worker, you must:
A CoS is free for citizens of certain countries, such as:
For others, the fee per CoS depends on the type of certificate. If it’s for a worker, the cost is £199 and if it’s for a temporary worker, the cost is £21.
However, you may also have to pay the immigration skills charge if you assign a certificate of sponsorship to a worker on a Skilled Worker or Intra-Company Transfer visa.
You must pay the charge if the worker is applying for a visa from outside the UK to work in the UK for 6 months or more or if they’re applying from inside the UK for any length of time.
You do not have to pay the immigration skills charge if you’re sponsoring someone on an Intra-Company Graduate Trainee Visa or a visa to study in the UK if they switch to a Skilled Worker or Intra-Company Transfer Visa.
Also, if you are sponsoring someone with an occupation code, such as a physical scientist (2113), sports player (3441) and many more, you will not have to pay the immigration skills charge.
Another important thing to note is that you do not need to pay the charge for any of the worker’s dependents, such as their partner or child.
The cost for the immigration skills charge depends on the size of your organisation and how long the worker will work for you (using the start and end dates on their sponsorship certificate).
If you are a small or charitable sponsor, it will cost £364 for the first 12 months that the worker will work for you and an extra £182 for each additional six months.
If you are a medium or large sponsor, it will cost £1,000 for the first 12 months that the worker will work for you and an extra £500 for each additional six months.
Please note that you will need to pay for 12 months if the worker will be in the UK for longer than six months but for less than a year.
You will have 10 working days from when the CoS was granted to pay the charge – if you do not pay it on time, the worker’s visa application will not be approved.
If a worker you are sponsoring moves to a new job in your organisation, you will need to assign them with a new certificate. They can then use this to apply for a new visa.
It’s important to note, you will only need to assign a new CoS if the new job has a different occupation code.
Also, if the end date on their new visa is later than the end date on their existing visa, you will need to pay the immigration skills charge again.
You could be entitled to a full or partial refund for a number of different reasons.
If the worker’s visa application is refused or withdrawn, you will get a full refund. Also, if their visa application is successful, but they don’t come to work for you, you will get a full refund.
You will be entitled to a partial refund if:
Normally, a refund will be issued within 90 days of:
The worker can ask for an ‘administration review’, i.e. for the decision to be reviewed, if their visa application is refused.
However, you will receive a refund within 90 days if they do not ask for an administration review by the deadline to apply for one.
If the worker was unsuccessful and the administrative review was dismissed, you will receive a refund within 90 days.
Yes, there are two different types of CoS.
The first is a ‘defined certificate’ which is for workers applying for a skilled worker visa from outside the UK. The second type is an ‘undefined certificate’ which is for people applying from inside the UK, and all other workers applying for other visas.
When you apply for your sponsor licence you will be asked to estimate how many undefined certificates you will require for international workers in the first year.
Once a decision is made on your CoS allocation, they will be allocated to your SMS account and you will have 12 months to use them, i.e. your CoS or allocation year.
So, you must assign any undefined CoS you require from your annual allocation.
There is no annual allocation for defined CoS, you must apply for them separately, each time you need one.
Unfortunately, you cannot carry over any unused CoS to your next allocation year. So, any CoS that is unused will be removed from your SMS account.
In your SMS account, you can submit a manual request to receive automated annual allocations. You can set this up to three months before the end of your CoS year.
It usually only takes one working day for applications to be approved. However, it could take longer if the UKVI needs to review and make further checks on the information in your application.
If your licence is rated A, A (Premium) or A (SME+), you can confirm that this requirement is met by checking the ‘maintenance’ box on the worker’s CoS. If you certify maintenance, i.e. agree that you will maintain and accommodate the worker up to the end of their first month of employment in the UK, the worker does not need to provide evidence of their finances.
Visa First provides visa processing and immigration services. We take care of the tricky application forms and documents associated with arranging travel visas and permits for you.
Once you have assigned a Certificate of Sponsorship to an international employee, they can apply for their UK work visa.
Visa First can help your employees to apply for both, Skilled Worker Visa (Tier 2) and the Seasonal Worker visa.
They can simply fill out our short UK visa application form and our visa specialists will take care of the rest!
When you are planning the trip of your dreams, visa application paperwork can often be a thorn in your side. There are many factors to consider and the reality is harsh – if you’ve made a mistake on your visa application, it will be refused. End of story.
You probably already know what a Working Holiday is and how to get an Australian working holiday visa. We write about it all the time! However, there is one very important question which you might ask yourself – Why? Why work in Australia, why travel to Australia? Why Australia? That is actually a very easy question […]
Comments