Everything You Need To Know About The Certificate Of Sponsorship

Whether you too are in the race of applying for a work permit overseas or you’re hiring immigrants, you must’ve heard about Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS). This is an electronic document carrying a unique reference number and is also a prerequisite for the visa application process via the following routes- Skilled Worker Visa Intra-Company Transfer Visa Some T2 & T5 routes Tier 2 (General) Visa Older Tier 5 route

PURPOSE DECODED

Besides, being a basic requirement, Certificate of Sponsorship has one more implication. It puts forward the employment conditions proposed by the employer.

Strict laws guide the issuance and use of this certificate that has to be taken care of from the employer’s and employee’s side as well. Otherwise, can face the wrath of the Home Office in the form of license downgrading or even revocation.

WHO HAS THE AUTHORITY TO ISSUE THIS CERTIFICATE?

The Certificate of Sponsorship has to be issued by the sponsor license holder who has got the approval of the UK government and has access to the Sponsor Management System (SMS). After providing the relevant details, a unique reference number would be assigned and once it gets approved by the concerned authority, it will appear in the SMS account.

Once done with this, the sponsor licence holder (or the employer) can assign the certificate to the worker who then uses it in the visa application process.

TYPES OF CERTIFICATE OF SPONSORSHIP

CoS is an essential requirement in the process of visa application. It is categorised into two categories-

Defined CoS Undefined CoS

Defined CoS (earlier known as restricted CoS), is issued to those applying for Skilled Worker visa from abroad. The pay scale of the worker who gets this type of CoS is less than £159,600 per year.

The sponsor can apply for the defined CoS as and when they need it for further issuance to the employee.

The certificate is valid for 3 months from the date of issuance. The worker must apply for the visa within this time period, otherwise a will have to apply for a fresh CoS again.

Undefined CoS (formerly known as unrestricted CoS), is for those who are already working in the UK but wish to switch to another visa category. The pay scale of Skilled Workers who are earning higher than £159,600 per year get this CoS.

The employer enjoys the privilege to apply for the total number of undefined certificates needed collectively.