Certificate of sponsorship

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Understanding the certificate of sponsorship

A certificate of sponsorship is an electronic document. It has:

• A unique reference number
• Information about a worker
• Information about a job offer

There are two types of certificates of sponsorship you can give to skilled workers:

• Defined
• Undefined

It’s important that you give the right certificate to your workers. If you give the wrong certificate, you might have problems. For example, you could lose your sponsorship licence.

Defined certificate of sponsorship

A defined certificate is for workers applying for a visa from outside the UK.

You can apply for a defined certificate of sponsorship through sponsorship management system (SMS) (gov.uk)

An application for a defined certificate of sponsorship must be approved by UKVI before you can give it to someone.

Undefined certificate of sponsorship

An undefined certificate is for people applying for a visa from inside the UK.

You’ll need to estimate how many undefined certificates you need in the first year. If you do not have enough, you can apply for more.

Giving a certificate of sponsorship

Getting an A-rated Home Office sponsor licence means you can give certificates to a worker.

B-rated sponsors cannot give certificates. That is unless a worker is applying for a visa from inside the UK and you sponsored their last immigration status.

You can apply for both types of certificates on your Sponsorship Management System (SMS) account.

You can only give a defined certificate to a worker for the job you have a need for. You cannot give it for any other job.

If you need an undefined certificate, you can use your yearly allowance.

If you’ve used all your certificates, you’ll need to:

• Apply for more
• Explain to the Home Office why your business needs more certificates

A certificate is valid if it meets the requirements in Appendix Skilled Worker (gov.uk)

Understanding the fees

There’s a fee for each certificate of sponsorship you give to a worker. The amount depends on the type of worker you sponsor. Check the current fees (gov.uk)

You may need to pay an Immigration Skills Charge for each worker you sponsor. That is unless there is no charge for a specific job code. The fee depends on:

• The size and type of your organisation
• The length of employment

For small or charitable organisations, there’s a fee of £364 for a job of up to 12 months. There’s a fee of £182 for each six-month period after that.

In medium and large organisations, there’s a fee of £1000 for up to 12 months. There’s a fee of £500 for each six-month period after that.

Sponsor duties

You must follow your sponsor duties.

This means:

• Keeping correct human resources records
• Reporting any changes
• Checking the welfare of your workers

Read about sponsorship duties.

Making the most of your certificate of sponsorship

Once you have given a certificate of sponsorship, a worker must use it within three months to apply for a UK work visa. After three months, a certificate of sponsorship will expire and you will need to apply for a new one and pay extra fees.

A worker cannot apply for a visa more than three months before the start date on their certificate. If they do, the Home Office will refuse their application.

The certificate must show the right job offer and the qualifications of the worker.