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Posted on November 20 2020

The UK updates Certificate of Sponsorship numbers

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By  Editor
Updated April 02 2024

From January 1, 2021, employers in the UK will be required to have a sponsor licence for the purpose of recruiting any worker from outside the UK – this includes EEA, EU and Swiss citizens. 

 

This is in keeping with the implementation of the new UK points-based immigration system that seeks to provide an equal opportunity to all, regardless of their nationality.

 

Basic step-wise process for securing a sponsor licence

STEP 1: Checking if the business is eligible
STEP 2: Choosing the kind of licence – restricted or unrestricted – that the employer would want to apply for
STEP 3: Deciding as to who would be managing the sponsorship within the business
STEP 4 : Applying online and paying the fee
STEP 5: If application successful, a licence rating will be given
STEP 6: The employer can then issue certificates of sponsorship [CoS], provided they have jobs that require sponsorship

 

While the licence will be valid for a period of 4 years, the licence might be lost if the UK employer is unable to meet their responsibilities as a sponsor.

 

A certificate of sponsorship will have to be assigned by the employer to each of the foreign workers that they would be employing.

 

The sponsorship certificate is an electronic record and not a physical document as such. Each of the CoS has a unique number that can be used by the foreign worker for applying for a visa.

 

A certificate will be to be used within 3 months of their being assigned by the UK employer.

There are two kinds of certificates –

 

Unrestricted certificates Referred to as ‘unrestricted’ certificates as the employer can get as many as required by their business.   Evidence will have to be provided by the employer for proving a requirement for the number of certificates asked for.   Restricted certificates These are for –
  • Tier 2 [General] workers currently overseas, to be paid less than £159,600 a year
  • Dependents of Tier 4 migrants that are switching over to a Tier 2 visa
Only a limited number of restricted certificates are available each month.

 

Once the certificate has been secured, the foreign worker can then proceed to submitting their visa application. Applications are to be considered on the first working day that follows the 10th day of the month. This is the “allocation date”.

 

Those applying after the 5th day of the month will have their applications put on hold until the following month’s allocation date.

 

The details for the “Allocations of restricted certificates of sponsorship” are regularly updated by UK Visas and Immigration.

 

The most recent update of the same was on November 11, 2020.

 

The document lists the monthly allocation of restricted certificates of sponsorship as per the limit on migration through Tier 2.

 

While the latest allocation meeting was held on November 11, 2020, the details of the same will be updated in December.

 

Allocations of restricted certificates of sponsorship in 2020 so far

 

  Date of allocation meeting
  October 12, 2020 September 11, 2020 August 11, 2020 July 11, 2020 June 11, 2020 May 11, 2020 April 11, 2020 March 11, 2020 February 11, 2020 January 11, 2020
Number of certificates of sponsorship from annual limit set aside for allocation meeting in the month 1500 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2200 100 1500 1500
Balance of certificates of sponsorship carried over from previous month 6055 5305 2897 2897 2051 1121 0 1581 1797 1196
Number of certificates returned during previous month 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Number of certificates reclaimed as not used within three months 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 2 254
Number of certificates granted by exceptional consideration outside of monthly allocation during previous month. 21 42 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5
Total number of certificates of sponsorship available for allocation this month. 7534 7263 4897 4897 4053 3122 2200 2582 3301 2945
Minimum point score for successful applications this month. 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40
Total number of certificates of sponsorship granted this month. 1229 1208 1204 1204 1156 1071 1079 1663 1720 1148
Tier 2 [General – New hires under £159,600] 1204 1178 1194 1194 1144 1053 1071 1648 1706 1132
Tier 2 [General - Tier 4 dependant switching to Tier 2] 25 30 10 10 12 18 8 15 14 16
Balance of certificates of sponsorship carried over to next month. 6305 6055 4693 4693 2897 2051 1121 NA 1581 1797
Number of certificates of sponsorship available for allocation in next month. 7805 7555 5693 5693 4897 4051 3122 NA 2581 3297

 

If you are looking to Study, Work, Visit, Invest or Migrate to the UK, talk to Y-Axis, the World’s No.1 Immigration & Visa Company.

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