Certificate of Sponsorship UK

Defined Certificates of Sponsorship UK

Foreign nationals applying for a Skilled Worker visa from outside the UK will require a defined certificate, previously known as restricted certificates.

As the sponsoring employer, you will have to apply for defined certificates for these employees through the sponsorship management system (SMS).

Defined certificates will appear in your SMS after approval. You can then proceed with assigning them to your foreign national employees.

Undefined Certificates of Sponsorship UK

Undefined certificates (formerly called unrestricted certificates) are for foreign nationals applying for a Skilled Worker visa from within the UK or applying for any other type of work visa.

During the application process of your sponsorship licence in the UK, you must provide the Home Office with an estimate of how many undefined certificates you might need for Workers and Temporary Workers in the first year after obtaining the licence.

Overview

After obtaining a valid sponsor licence and access to the SMS, you can start allocating CoS to your foreign national recruits, to apply for a suitable work visa in the UK.

Key personnel in your company appointed as level 1 or level 2 users on the SMS will be able to request and issue a CoS. The process will vary from defined CoS to undefined CoS.

The sponsoring employer will have to apply for a defined CoS first. Defined certificates are allocated on an individual basis for each specific role and worker.

On the other hand, sponsoring employers will have an allocated number of undefined CoS, which they can issue to any foreign national employee meeting the eligibility requirements.

The undefined CoS allocated to an employer will be valid for a period of 12 months from the date of approval of their sponsor licence. Sponsors are usually required to submit a renewal request for bulk undefined CoS allocation every year, although some of the licensed companies may receive an annual automatic allocation of undefined CoS in April every year.

Applying for a Defined CoS

The step-by-step process of applying for a defined CoS on the SMS is as follows:

• Login to SMS as a level 1 or level 2 user
• Select ‘Defined CoS’ from the ‘Workers’ screen
• Select ‘Apply for defined CoS’ from the ‘Apply for defined CoS’ screen
• Fill in the total number of defined CoS required, then select ‘Next’ (it is possible to apply for more than one CoS in a single application when the employment details on each CoS are the same)
• Provide the employment details on the ‘Application for defined CoS – employment details screen’ and select ‘Next’
• Check whether the provided information is correct or not, and verify that the information is accurate on the confirmation screen
• On the next screen read the declaration and then agree that you have read, understood, and consented to all of the terms and conditions indicated
• Click ‘Submit’

Your request will now appear on the ‘Application for defined CoS – submitted’ screen of the SMS.

Creating and Assigning a Defined CoS

Defined certificates will appear in the SMS account once they have been approved. You will then have to create and assign a defined CoS to your foreign national employees through the SMS, which they can then use within three months to apply for their UK work visa.

Any Level 1 user in your company can create and assign a defined CoS. They will have to:

• Login to SMS
• Select ‘Granted applications – create and assign defined CoS’ from the ‘Apply for defined CoS’ screen
• Select the relevant radio button from the ‘Granted applications – create and assign defined CoS screen’, and then select ‘Next’
• Review the application summary from the ‘Granted applications – create and assign defined CoS screen’, then select ‘Create’ (if more than one CoS have been applied for in the same application, they must repeat the following steps for each CoS)
• Fill in the migrant’s details from the ‘Create a CoS’ screen, then select ‘Save’
• Select ‘Assign’ from the ‘Confirmation of saved CoS’ screen
• Review the details from the ‘Confirm CoS details before assigning’ screen
• On the next screen read the declaration and then agree that they have read, understood, and consented to all of the terms and conditions indicated
• Click ‘Submit’
• On the ‘Online payment’ screen, select OK to pay the CoS fee and immigration skills charge (if applicable)

The CoS reference number will be displayed on the ‘Single CoS assigned’ screen, which you will need to share with your foreign national employee for their UK work visa application.

Creating and Assigning an Undefined CoS

The step-by-step process of creating and assigning an undefined CoS on the SMS is as follows:

• Login to SMS
• Select ‘Create and assign’ from the ‘Workers’ screen
• Select the route of the CoS you wish to create using the ‘Select the route’ drop-down menu on the ‘Create and assign CoS’ screen, then click ‘Next’
  • If you have selected the ‘Skilled Worker and Global Business Mobility Routes’, an additional drop-down menu will be displayed. Please select the relevant category of the CoS using the ‘Select the category’ dropdown menu
• Select the radio button next to ‘Create new single certificate’ from the ‘Create and assign CoS’ screen, and select ‘Next’
• Provide your foreign national employee’s personal details, work that you intend them to do in the UK, and other relevant details from the ‘Create a CoS’ screen, and select ‘Save’
• Select ‘Assign’ from the ‘Confirmation of saved CoS’ screen
• On the ‘Confirm CoS details before assigning’ screen, check whether the provided information is correct or not, and verify that the information is accurate on the confirmation screen
• On the next screen read the declaration and then agree that you have read, understood, and consented to all of the terms and conditions indicated
• Select ‘Assign CoS’
• On the ‘Online payment’ screen, select OK to pay the CoS fee and immigration skills charge (if applicable)

The CoS reference number will be displayed on the ‘Single CoS assigned’ screen. Please share this unique number with your overseas workers.

Please note that a CoS is not transferable. Reassigning the same CoS to another worker amounts to a breach of your sponsorship licence duties, which will attract enforcement action from the Home Office.

If you are sponsoring a UK Expansion Worker and you have a sponsor licence that has a provisional rating, only one CoS can be assigned to your authorising officer, to allow them to enter the UK. You will then have to upgrade your licence to an A-rating, before you are able to request up to four additional certificates using the SMS.