Workers and Temporary Workers:

guidance for sponsors

Part 2: Sponsor a worker – general

information
Version 07/25

This document forms part of the collection ‘Workers and Temporary Workers:
guidance for sponsors’ and provides information on how to sponsor an overseas
worker on the Worker and Temporary Worker immigration routes.

This version of the guidance is valid from 22 July 2025.

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Contents
About this guidance ................................................................................................ 6
If you are a Government Authorised Exchange ‘PB1 sponsor’ ............................... 6
Other guidance you must read ................................................................................ 7
Glossary .................................................................................................................. 7
Contacts .................................................................................................................. 8
Version number and publication .............................................................................. 8
Changes to this guidance........................................................................................ 8
S1. Sponsoring a worker: overview ......................................................................... 10
Who needs to be sponsored ................................................................................. 10
Definition of ‘settled worker’................................................................................10
People with other immigration permission allowing them to work .......................12
Who can sponsor workers..................................................................................... 13
How you sponsor a worker.................................................................................... 13
Check the role is eligible.....................................................................................13
Pay and conditions .............................................................................................14
Check the worker is eligible ................................................................................14
Employment relationship between sponsor and worker ........................................ 14
Working on a contract basis .................................................................................. 15
Right to work checks ............................................................................................. 16
Understand your sponsorship duties ..................................................................... 16
S2. Certificates of Sponsorship................................................................................ 18
What is a Certificate of Sponsorship? ................................................................... 18
Types of CoS ........................................................................................................ 19
CoS fees ............................................................................................................... 19
Your CoS allocation .............................................................................................. 20
Deciding your allocation .....................................................................................20
Your CoS year ....................................................................................................21
Reducing your allocation ....................................................................................21
Increasing your allocation during the CoS year ..................................................21
Renewing your annual CoS allocation ................................................................21
S3. Assigning a CoS ................................................................................................ 23
Technical guidance on assigning a CoS ............................................................... 23
Your sponsor rating ............................................................................................... 23
Restrictions on who a CoS can be assigned to ..................................................... 24
Information you must include on the CoS ............................................................. 24
Start date on the CoS .........................................................................................25

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 End date on the CoS ..........................................................................................27
Occupation code ................................................................................................28
‘Multiple-entry’ CoS ............................................................................................29
Group CoS for Creative Workers ........................................................................29
Amending or updating a CoS ................................................................................ 29
Correcting a minor error on a CoS .....................................................................30
Significant error on the CoS ...............................................................................30
S4. Pay and conditions for sponsored workers ........................................................ 31
How much you have to pay your workers ............................................................. 31
Compliance with National Minimum Wage and the Working Time Regulations .... 32
National Minimum Wage ....................................................................................32
Working Time Regulations .................................................................................32
Salary information you must include on a CoS ..................................................... 33
Period the salary must cover ..............................................................................33
How you can pay your workers ............................................................................. 34
Absence from work without pay or on reduced pay .............................................. 34
Valid exception reasons: permissible absences .................................................35
Salary otherwise reduced...................................................................................... 36
Salary reductions: exceptions .............................................................................36
S5. Immigration Skills Charge.................................................................................. 38
About the charge ................................................................................................... 38
When you have to pay .......................................................................................... 39
When you don’t have to pay.................................................................................. 39
‘Valid permission for the purpose of study’ .........................................................40
Consequences of non-payment ............................................................................ 41
Refunds and ‘top-up’ charges ............................................................................... 41
Partial refund ......................................................................................................41
Full refund ..........................................................................................................42
How soon decisions on refunds are made..........................................................42
Circumstances in which no refund will be made .................................................42
Top-up charges ..................................................................................................43
How TUPE or similar protection affects the Immigration Skills Charge ................. 43
S6. After you have assigned a CoS ......................................................................... 45
Using the CoS in an immigration application......................................................... 45
How to make an immigration application ............................................................46
Cancelling or withdrawing a CoS .......................................................................... 46

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 Providing immigration advice or immigration services to your sponsored workers or
students ................................................................................................................ 47
What you can do ................................................................................................48
Immigration advice or services provided to eligible family members ..................49
What you cannot do ...........................................................................................50
S7. Immigration requirements .................................................................................. 51
Relevant Immigration Rules .................................................................................. 51
Applying from outside the UK: entry clearance ..................................................... 52
Applying from inside the UK: permission to stay ................................................... 52
Switching immigration route while in the UK.......................................................52
Permission to work while a switching application is pending ..............................54
Former government-sponsored students .............................................................. 54
Genuineness requirement ..................................................................................... 54
Financial requirement ........................................................................................... 54
ATAS requirement ................................................................................................ 56
Who needs an ATAS certificate? ........................................................................56
Action for you as the sponsor .............................................................................57
English language requirement .............................................................................. 58
Age requirement ................................................................................................... 59
Decision on application: proof of immigration status ............................................. 59
If the application is granted.................................................................................60
If the application is refused .................................................................................62
Leaving and returning to the UK ........................................................................... 62
Further information on immigration requirements ................................................. 63
S8. Conditions of stay .............................................................................................. 64
Overview ............................................................................................................... 64
No access to public funds ..................................................................................... 64
Employment restrictions ........................................................................................ 64
Additional employment for Scale-up Workers.....................................................65
Working out a contractual notice period .............................................................65
Supplementary employment ...............................................................................65
Secondary employment (employment with a second CoS) ................................68
Employment as a sportsperson or sports broadcaster .......................................68
Voluntary work ....................................................................................................68
Study ..................................................................................................................... 69
ATAS condition ...................................................................................................69
S9. Extension of permission, change of employment and settlement ...................... 70

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 Overview ............................................................................................................... 70
Extension of permission to stay ............................................................................ 70
Different role in the same occupation code ........................................................71
Change of employment ......................................................................................... 72
Exceptions: change of employment application not required ..............................72
Settlement ............................................................................................................. 73
Annex S1: further information on the ATAS requirement .......................................... 75
Relevant occupation codes ................................................................................... 75
Relevant subject areas.......................................................................................... 75
Exempt nationalities .............................................................................................. 77

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About this guidance
This document provides information for licensed sponsors on how to sponsor a
person on the ‘Worker’ and ‘Temporary Worker’ immigration routes.

For sponsorship purposes, the ‘Worker’ routes are:

• Skilled Worker
• Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker
• T2 Minister of Religion
• International Sportsperson

For sponsorship purposes, the ‘Temporary Worker’ routes are:

• Charity Worker
• Creative Worker
• the following Global Business Mobility (GBM) routes:
o Graduate Trainee
o Secondment Worker
o Service Supplier
o UK Expansion Worker
• Government Authorised Exchange
• International Agreement
• Religious Worker
• Scale-up
• Seasonal Worker

If you are a Government Authorised Exchange ‘PB1

sponsor’
If you are a Government Authorised Exchange sponsor who has been
invited to take part in the initial roll-out phase of the new sponsorship service
(Sponsor UK), you must refer to Annex GA1 of Sponsor a Government
Authorised Exchange worker for detailed guidance on how to sponsor a
worker using that service. We refer to these sponsors in this guidance as
‘PB1 sponsors’.

Except where stated otherwise, the general rules on sponsoring workers in

this guidance also apply to PB1 sponsors.

Unless otherwise stated (or the context otherwise requires), any reference
relating to the process of assigning a Certificate of Sponsorship to a worker
includes the process of sponsoring a worker using the Sponsor UK service.

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Other guidance you must read
To make sure you meet all of the relevant requirements and fulfil your sponsorship
duties, you must read the following parts of the sponsor guidance, in addition to this
document:

• Part 1: Apply for a licence – this contains detailed information on how to apply for
a sponsor licence and how we assess applications
• Part 3: Sponsor duties and compliance – this contains detailed information about
your duties as a licensed sponsor and the action we can take if you fail to meet
these duties
• any relevant annexes or appendices referred to in the above documents
• the relevant route-specific guidance for the route, or routes, on which you intend
to sponsor workers

You can access all of these documents, and other information on sponsorship, on the
Sponsorship: guidance for employers and educators page on GOV.UK.

This guidance is subject to change. If you have printed or downloaded a copy of this
guidance, check the version number and date on GOV.UK to ensure you are using
the most up-to-date version.

Glossary
There is a glossary of terms used throughout the sponsor guidance in Part 1: Apply
for a licence.

For definitions of the following terms (and other terms related to Sponsor UK), see
the Glossary in Annex GA2 of Sponsor a Government Authorised Exchange worker:

• PB1 sponsor
• sponsorship submission
• Sponsor UK

The following additional terms are used in this document:

Occupation code

Unless the context indicates otherwise, this means the relevant SOC 2020
occupation code.

SOC 2010 occupation code

This means the relevant 4-digit code in the Standard Occupational Classification
(SOC) 2010 system, published by the Office for National Statistics. SOC 2010
occupation codes are no longer eligible to be sponsored for Certificates of
Sponsorship assigned on or after 4 April 2024.

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SOC 2020 occupation code

This means the relevant 4-digit code in the Standard Occupational Classification
(SOC) 2020 system, published by the Office for National Statistics. Certificates of
Sponsorship assigned on or after 4 April 2024 must use the SOC 2020 system.

Contacts
If you think the guidance has factual errors or broken links, you can email the
Business Helpdesk.

If you have read this guidance, and the relevant route-specific guidance, and you still
have any queries, you can call us on 0300 123 4699 or email the Business Helpdesk.

Version number and publication

Below is information on the version number of this guidance and when it was
published:

• version 07/25
• published on 22 July 2025

You can view previous versions of this guidance on the National Archives website.

Changes to this guidance

This version replaces version 04/25 (published on 9 April 2025). The guidance has
been updated to:

• reflect changes to the Immigration Rules coming into effect on 22 July 2025, as
set out in Statement of Changes HC 997 (published on 1 July 2025)
• reflect the ongoing roll-out of eVisas and the phasing out of physical immigration
documents

Details of the changes are set out below. Paragraph numbers in brackets refer to the
previous version of this guidance where the number was different:

• S2.19 (4th bullet point): minor drafting amendment

• S3.30 to S3.34: minor drafting amendment to reflect changes to the tables of
eligible occupation codes in Appendix Skilled Occupations from 22 July 2025
• S7.55, S7.58 to S7.68 (S7.53 to S7.63): updated to reflect the continuing roll-out
of eVisas and phasing out of physical immigration documents; subsequent
paragraphs in this section renumbered accordingly
• S7.57: cross-reference to Appendix D updated
• S8.12: new bullet point added to reflect an amendment to the definition of
supplementary employment in the Immigration Rules following changes to the
Immigration Rules on 22 July 2025
• S9.15: first bullet point deleted following removal of the ‘care worker recruitment
requirement’ from 22 July 2025
• other minor housekeeping changes

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Contents

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S1. Sponsoring a worker: overview
Content in this section:

• Who needs to be sponsored (including a definition of ‘settled worker’)

• Who can sponsor workers
• How you sponsor a worker
• Employment relationship between sponsor and worker
• Working on a contract basis
• Right to work checks
• Understand your sponsorship duties

Who needs to be sponsored

S1.1. You will need to sponsor any overseas worker you wish to employ or engage
if they:

• are not a settled worker (as defined below); or

• do not have other immigration permission allowing them to work for you

Definition of ‘settled worker’

S1.2. A ‘settled worker’ is any one of the following:

• a British citizen
• an Irish citizen (with limited exceptions – see ‘Employing Irish citizens’)
• a person who has been granted limited leave to enter or remain (‘pre-
settled status’) or indefinite leave to enter or remain (‘settled status’) under
Appendix EU to the Immigration Rules (also known as the EU Settlement
Scheme (EUSS))
• a person who has made a valid application under the EUSS and is
awaiting a decision on that application
• an EU, an EEA or a Swiss national who started working for you on or
before 30 June 2021, if you carried out the relevant right to work checks in
force at that time
• a British overseas territories citizen, except for those from sovereign base
areas in Cyprus
• a Commonwealth citizen who can prove they have the right of abode in
the UK – ‘Commonwealth citizen’ means:
o a British Overseas Territories citizen
o a British National (Overseas)
o a British Overseas citizen
o a British subject; or
o a citizen of a country listed in Schedule 3 to the British Nationality Act
1981
• a Commonwealth citizen (as defined above) who has been granted
permission on the UK Ancestry route on the basis they have a grandparent
born in the UK or Islands

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 • anyone who has indefinite leave to enter or remain (settlement) in the UK

S1.3. A settled worker can work in the UK without restrictions and you therefore do
not need to sponsor them. You must still, however, carry out the appropriate
right to work checks before employing the worker, and make any necessary
follow-up checks if they have time-limited permission.

Workers awaiting a decision on an EUSS application

S1.4. You can employ a worker without sponsoring them if they can show they:

• have made a valid application under the EUSS; and

• are awaiting a decision on that application (or the outcome of any
administrative review of, or appeal against, that decision)

S1.5. A person who makes a valid application under the EUSS will be issued with a
‘Certificate of Application’ (CoA). A CoA should be used to evidence their
right to work until their application (and any administrative review or appeal)
is finally determined. For detailed guidance on how to carry out a right to
work check on individuals who have been issued with a CoA, see Right to
work checks: an employer's guide.

S1.6. You must stop employing the person if you become aware that their EUSS
application has been refused and any application for an administrative review
of, or an appeal against, that decision is unsuccessful (and they are
otherwise unable to evidence their right to work).

EU, EEA and Swiss nationals who started working for you before 1
July 2021
S1.7. You can continue to employ an EU, an EEA or a Swiss national without
sponsoring them if they started working for you on or before 30 June 2021,
have been employed by you continuously since then and you carried out a
right to work check before that date in line with the legislation and published
guidance in force at the time you made the check.

S1.8. You do not have to carry out a retrospective right to work check on such
individuals. You will maintain a continuous statutory excuse against liability
for a civil penalty if the initial checks were undertaken in line with the
guidance that applied at the time you made the check.

S1.9. If, however, you subsequently become aware that a person you are
employing in the above circumstances has not yet applied for status under
the EUSS, and does not otherwise have the appropriate immigration
permission to work for you, you should advise them to apply as soon as
possible. If they do not, they may lose their right to live and work in the UK
and you may become liable for a civil penalty or prosecution for employing an
illegal worker. Detailed information on what you should do in these
circumstances is available under the heading ‘EEA Citizens and non-EEA
family members without lawful immigration status’ in Right to work checks: an
employer's guide.

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Employing Irish citizens
S1.10. Irish citizens do not need permission to enter, live or work in the UK, unless
they are subject to a deportation order, an exclusion decision or an
international travel ban. You can therefore employ, or continue to employ,
Irish citizens (including those who arrived in the UK after 31 December 2020)
without needing to sponsor them. They are not required to apply for status
under the EUSS (although they can do so if they wish).

S1.11. Irish citizens can prove their right to work in the UK with an Irish passport or a
passport card (current or expired), or other documents specified in Right to
work checks: an employer's guide.

S1.12. For further information on the immigration status of Irish citizens, see the
Common Travel Area guidance on GOV.UK.

People with other immigration permission allowing them to work

S1.13. You do not need to sponsor a worker who:

• has immigration permission to be in the UK which does not prevent them

from doing the work in question – examples include, but are not limited to:
o a person with permission under Appendix FM to the Immigration Rules
as the partner of a British citizen or settled person can take any kind of
employment
o a person with permission as a dependant of a Skilled Worker can take
any kind of work, except as a professional sportsperson or coach
o a person with permission as a Student may be allowed to work for 10 or
20 hours per week during term-time and full-time outside of term time
(with restrictions on the type of work they can do), depending on the
type of course they are following – see ‘Work conditions’ in the Student
and Child Student caseworker guidance for further information
o a person with leave to enter or remain under Appendix Service
Providers from Switzerland can work in relation to an eligible contract
between a Swiss employer or company and a UK employer or
company, for a maximum of 90 days in any year
• has a valid application registration card (ARC) and this says they have
permission to work – in most cases, where permission to work is granted,
the worker will only be allowed work in a job listed in Appendix Immigration
Salary List (or the former Appendix Shortage Occupation List) and this will
be clearly stated on the ARC (see Permission to work and volunteering for
asylum seekers for further information)
• is exempt from requiring permission – for example:
o a diplomat or senior official of an international organisation who is
exempt from immigration control
o an EU, EEA or a Swiss national who qualifies as a frontier worker

S1.14. You must check the person has the right to work before you employ them
and carefully check for any restrictions on the type of work they can do. If the
worker has time-limited permission, you will need to carry out follow-up
checks. For guidance, see Right to work checks: an employer’s guide.

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Who can sponsor workers
S1.15. To sponsor a worker, you must hold a valid sponsor licence for the route on
which you intend to sponsor them. If you do not already hold the relevant
licence, you must apply for, and be granted, one before you can sponsor the
worker. See:

• Part 1: Apply for a licence

• the relevant route-specific guidance

How you sponsor a worker

S1.16. You must assign a valid Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) to the worker so
they can make a successful application for permission to enter or stay in the
UK. You will have to pay a fee for each CoS you assign. If you are
sponsoring a Skilled Worker or a Senior or Specialist Worker, you will
normally need to pay the Immigration Skills Charge for each worker you
sponsor. For further information, see:

• sections S2, S3, S5 and S6 of this guidance

• the relevant route-specific guidance

S1.17. Before you assign a CoS, you must:

• check the role is eligible

• ensure you will pay the worker appropriately
• check the worker is eligible
• meet any other route-specific requirements

Check the role is eligible

S1.18. You must check the role in which you wish to sponsor the worker is eligible
for the relevant route. For example, if you wish to sponsor a Skilled Worker,
Global Business Mobility worker, Government Authorised Exchange worker
or Scale-up Worker, the job must meet the skill-level requirement for the
relevant route. In most cases, this means the job must be listed as eligible in
the relevant table of Appendix Skilled Occupations but there are some
exceptions to this – see the relevant route-specific guidance for details.

S1.19. For some routes, you will need to take additional steps before you can
sponsor a worker. For example:

• before you can sponsor a Religious Worker, you may have to carry out a
‘resident labour consideration’ to give settled workers a chance to apply
• before you can sponsor a Creative Worker, you may have to follow a ‘code
of practice’ for the specific sector in which you wish to sponsor the worker
• before you can sponsor an International Sportsperson, you will need to
obtain an endorsement from the relevant sports governing body for the
worker

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 • if you have a Provisional rating on the UK Expansion Worker route, you
must make a successful request to have your rating changed to an A-
rating before you can sponsor any workers other than the Authorising
Officer
• before you can sponsor a Service Supplier or Secondment Worker, you
must have registered (via your sponsorship management (SMS) account)
the relevant contract on which the sponsored individual will be working

S1.20. Refer to the relevant route-specific guidance for further information.

S1.21. There are additional rules you will need to follow if the person you wish to
sponsor will be working on a contract basis.

Pay and conditions

S1.22. If you are sponsoring a Skilled Worker, Senior or Specialist Worker, Graduate
Trainee, UK Expansion Worker, Scale-up Worker or Seasonal Worker, you
must pay them at least the minimum salary specified for that route. For all
routes, you must ensure the role you are sponsoring the worker for complies
with both the National Minimum Wage and the Working Time Regulations.
We will check you are meeting these requirements through regular HMRC
checks and, if appropriate, compliance visits. For further information, see:

• section S4 of this guidance

• the relevant route-specific guidance

Check the worker is eligible

S1.23. You must satisfy yourself that the worker you wish to sponsor will be able to
make a successful immigration application under the Worker or Temporary
Worker routes and, if granted, will comply with their conditions of stay. For
further information, see:

• sections S7 to S9 of this guidance

• the relevant route-specific guidance

Employment relationship between sponsor and worker

S1.24. As the sponsor, you will normally be the sponsored worker’s employer and
responsible for their duties, functions, and outcomes or outputs, and for
paying the worker. We recognise, however, there are certain circumstances
where there is no direct employer-employee relationship. In such cases, the
worker must still have a sponsor that is able and willing to accept all of the
responsibilities and duties associated with being their sponsor.

S1.25. There will also be circumstances where there is a clear statutory relationship
between the employing body and a publicly funded body, where the publicly
funded body can intervene in the running or funding of the employing or
paying body. In these cases, the publicly funded body can be the sponsor.
Below are 2 examples of this.

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 Example 1
A local authority has powers of control and direction over self-governing
schools, so the local authority can sponsor teachers in these schools.

Example 2
A Strategic Health Authority, through its Deanery, Local Education and
Training Board (LETB), provider, or commissioning organisation, has funding
control of training posts for doctors and dentists within NHS Trusts, even
though it is not the paying body. In this case, the Deanery or LETB can be
the sponsor.

S1.26. Where a worker is not your direct employee, we will look closely at the
arrangement to make sure you can meet your sponsor duties and we will
take action against you if we find you are not. See also ‘Working on a
contract basis below’.

Working on a contract basis

S1.27. Where a person is, or will be, working on a contract basis (being supplied as
labour by one organisation to another), the sponsor must be whoever has full
responsibility for all of the duties, functions and outcomes or outputs of the
job the worker will be doing.

S1.28. If you are the sponsor, and the worker is employed by you to do work for a
third party to fulfil a contractual obligation on your behalf, they must be
contracted by you to provide a service or project within a certain period of
time. This means a service or project which has a specific end date, after
which it will have been completed or the service provided will no longer be
operated by you or anyone else, as explained in the example below:

Example
Company A has a contractual obligation with a client Company Z to deliver
an IT solution within an agreed period of time.

A worker who is sponsored by Company A to do a job on the IT project may

be sent to work for the length of the contract at Company Z’s premises, but
they remain employed by Company A throughout the whole period of the
contract.

As Company A is fully responsible for all the worker’s duties, functions,

outputs or outcomes, Company A can be the worker’s sponsor and therefore
assign the CoS.

S1.29. You cannot sponsor a worker if you will not have full responsibility for all the
duties, functions and outcomes or outputs of the job they will be doing, or if
either:

• the job amounts to the hiring out of the worker to another organisation
(third party) who is not the sponsor to fill a position with them, whether

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 temporary or permanent, regardless of any genuine contract between you
and the third party
• the worker will be contracted to undertake an ongoing routine role or to
provide an ongoing routine service for a third party who is not the sponsor,
regardless of the nature or length of any arrangement between you and
the third party

S1.30. Where we think you are, or will be, hiring a worker to a third party as routine
labour, we may ask for confirmation from the other organisation that the
worker:

• works, or will work, independently from them, and that you, as the
sponsor, have full control over all their duties, functions, outputs or
outcomes
• is not being supplied to them to undertake a routine role

S1.31. If we find you are supplying the worker, or workers, as labour to another
organisation to undertake a routine role or you do not have full responsibility
for their duties, functions and outcomes or outputs, we will revoke your
licence.

S1.32. If the worker is self-employed, there must be a genuine contract for

employment or services between you and the worker. This contract must
show:

• the names and signatures of all involved (which must include you and the
worker)
• the start and end dates of the contract
• details of the job, or piece of work, the worker has been contracted to do
• how much the worker will be paid

Right to work checks

S1.33. You must check that any worker you wish to employ or sponsor has
permission to enter or stay in the UK and can do the work in question before
they start working for you. This applies even if the worker is, or appears to be,
a British citizen or other settled worker. If you fail to carry out a right to work
check, or any necessary follow-up checks, you may be liable for a civil
penalty under illegal working legislation. If you are issued with a civil penalty,
we will normally revoke your licence. For guidance on how to carry out the
relevant checks, and the evidence you must keep, see:

• Right to work checks: an employer's guide

• Appendix D to the sponsor guidance

Understand your sponsorship duties

S1.34. You are responsible for checking that your sponsored workers carry out the
role for which they are being sponsored and for monitoring their attendance.
You must tell us if they don’t turn up for work, are absent without permission,

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 or there are significant changes to their employment or to your organisation.
For further information on your reporting and other sponsorship duties, see
section C1 of Part 3: Sponsor duties and compliance.

S1.35. You must also keep records for each worker you sponsor – see Appendix D.
This includes evidence of any recruitment activity you have undertaken to fill
the role, even if you were not required to carry out a formal resident labour
market test.

S1.36. If you fail to comply with your reporting and record-keeping duties, we may
take compliance action against you – this could include revoking your licence.

Contents

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S2. Certificates of Sponsorship
Content in this section:

• What is a Certificate of Sponsorship?

• Types of CoS
• CoS fees
• Your CoS allocation

This section does not apply if you are Government Authorised Exchange ‘PB1
sponsor’ taking part in the initial roll-out phase of the new sponsorship service
(Sponsor UK). See Annex GA1 of Sponsor a Government Authorised Exchange
worker for guidance on how sponsor workers using that service.

What is a Certificate of Sponsorship?

S2.1. Before a worker can make a successful immigration application, you must
assign them a valid Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS).

S2.2. A CoS is not a paper certificate or document, but a database record which
confirms details of the worker you intend to sponsor and the job they will do.
You assign one using your sponsorship management system (SMS) account.
This involves working through a short online form where you give us the
relevant information. All of the information you enter will be stored and can be
viewed by us.

S2.3. A CoS is confirmation from you, as a licensed sponsor, that you:

• wish to sponsor the worker

• are satisfied the worker can meet the relevant immigration requirements
• are eligible to sponsor the worker on the relevant route
• agree to abide by the terms and conditions as stated on the SMS

S2.4. A CoS can only be assigned by a person who has access to the SMS as a
Level 1 or Level 2 user – see section L4 of Part 1: Apply for a licence for
information on Level 1 and Level 2 users.

S2.5. Assigning a CoS does not guarantee the worker will be granted entry
clearance or permission – they must meet all of the immigration requirements
of the route on which they are applying.

S2.6. Before you assign a CoS, you should talk to the worker about their current
immigration status, as this may affect any application they make because of
the rules on ‘switching’ (changing from one immigration route to another) or
maximum time limits for the route on which they are applying.

S2.7. You must follow the rules set out in the sponsor guidance when assigning or
applying for a CoS. We can revoke, suspend or downgrade your licence, or
reduce or remove the number of CoS you can assign, if you do not comply

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 with these rules. See Part 3: Sponsor duties and compliance for further
information on the action we can take.

Types of CoS
S2.8. There are 2 types of CoS:

• ‘Defined’ CoS: these are for Skilled Workers applying for entry clearance
(a visa) from outside the UK
• ‘Undefined’ CoS: these are:
o CoS assigned to Skilled Workers applying for permission to stay from
within the UK
o CoS assigned to workers on all other routes, whether applying for entry
clearance, permission to enter or permission to stay

S2.9. You must assign Undefined CoS from your annual allocation.

S2.10. You cannot have an annual allocation of Defined CoS – you must apply for
one, using a separate process, each time you need one. For guidance on the
process, see section SK12 of Sponsor a Skilled Worker.

S2.11. If you are sponsoring Skilled Workers, you must ensure you understand the
difference between Defined and Undefined CoS and assign the correct type.
We will normally revoke your licence if you assign:

• a Defined CoS for a job other than the one described in the application for
that CoS
• an Undefined CoS where a Defined one is required

CoS fees
S2.12. You must pay a fee for each CoS you assign. If you fail to pay the correct fee,
we may cancel the CoS. This may result in any application which relies on
that CoS being rejected or refused. For information on current CoS fees, see
the UK visa fees page on GOV.UK.

S2.13. You are responsible for paying the CoS fee. You must not recoup, or attempt
to recoup, by any means, any part of the CoS fee, or associated
administrative costs, from a worker you are sponsoring, where you assign
them a CoS:

• in the case of a Skilled Worker, on or after 31 December 2024

• in the case of the following routes, on or after 9 April 2025:
o any of the Global Business Mobility routes
o Minister of Religion
o International Sportsperson
o Scale-up
o Seasonal Worker

S2.14. If we find you have done so, we will normally revoke your sponsor licence.

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S2.15. For further information, including guidance on what we mean by ‘associated
administrative costs’, see ‘Sponsorship fees’ in section L6 of Part 1: Apply for
a licence.

S2.16. If you are sponsoring a Skilled Worker or a Senior or Specialist Worker, you
may also have to pay the Immigration Skills Charge each time you assign a
CoS.

Your CoS allocation

S2.17. When you apply for a licence, we ask you for an estimate of the number of
Undefined CoS you may wish to assign in your first year in each route in
which you are applying to be licensed. You must justify your request and we
may ask you for further information before we make a decision.

Deciding your allocation

S2.18. If we approve your licence application, we will notify you of your CoS
allocation for the year. In setting your CoS allocation, we may consider
relevant factors including, but not limited to, the following:

• any agents you will use to recruit workers and whether they have been
linked to immigration abuse in the past
• your previous record in dealing with us, including under the current
sponsorship arrangements, the previous Tier 2 and Tier 5 arrangements,
or the work permit arrangements that were in place before the introduction
of Tier 2 and Tier 5
• the number of workers employed at your organisation
• the kind of business you conduct
• the extent of the business you conduct
• the length of time you have been trading
• if you are applying on the UK Expansion Worker route, whether the
Authorising Officer named in your sponsor licence application is based in
the UK or overseas – see section GBM3 of Sponsor a Global Business
Mobility worker for further information

We will apply the same considerations when deciding any applications for
Defined CoS under the Skilled Worker route. See section SK12 of Sponsor a
Skilled Worker for further information.

S2.19. If we allocate fewer CoS than you requested, or set your allocation to zero,
this could be for reasons including, but not limited to:

• you have a history of non-compliance

• you cannot justify your need for the number you have requested
• we do not consider your need to be credible, based on your current
circumstances

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 • we are not satisfied you can offer genuine employment, or employment
that meets the skill-level or salary requirements of the route (where
relevant)
• you are unsure whether or when you may need to recruit any workers in
the future

Your CoS year

S2.20. Once we have decided your CoS allocation, we will allocate them (if any) to
your SMS account. You will then have up to 12 months to use them. This is
known as your ‘CoS year’ (or ‘allocation year’). Your CoS year runs as
follows:

• if you held a valid Tier 2 (General) or Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer)

licence on 30 November 2020 and this was converted into a Skilled
Worker or Intra-Company routes licence on 1 December 2020 and your
allocation renewal has been automated: from 6 April in one year to 5 April
the following year
• if you held a valid Tier 2 (General) or Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer)
licence on 30 November 2020 and this was converted into a Skilled
Worker or Intra-Company routes licence on 1 December 2020 and your
allocation renewal has not been automated: 12 months from the date your
allocation renewal request was granted in 2021 and, in subsequent years,
12 months from the date your allocation renewal request is granted
• in all other cases: 12 months from the date your licence was granted and,
in subsequent years, 12 months from the date an allocation renewal
request is granted

Reducing your allocation

S2.21. We may reduce your allocation (or set it to zero) if your circumstances
change. This could be if you downsize, or if we believe you pose a threat to
immigration control – for example, if, after your original CoS allocation has
been decided, we take compliance action against you.

Increasing your allocation during the CoS year

S2.22. If, part way through your CoS year, you think you will not have enough CoS
to last until the end of the year, or if your allocation was previously set to
zero, you can apply to increase your allocation via your SMS account. You
must give reasons for doing so and we may ask for evidence. For guidance
on increasing your allocation, see guide 7 in SMS Manual 2: managing your
licence.

Renewing your annual CoS allocation

S2.23. Your CoS allocation will need to be renewed each year while your licence is
valid. Any CoS that remain unused at the end of your CoS year will be
removed from your SMS account. You cannot carry over any unused CoS to
the next CoS year.

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S2.24. At the end of your CoS year, you will either:

• receive an automatic allocation for the following CoS year equal to the
number of CoS you assigned during the previous CoS year
• have to make a ‘manual’ request via your SMS account for a further
allocation (also known as a ‘follow-on’ allocation)

S2.25. You will receive an automatic annual allocation if all of the following are true:

• your licence is A-rated

• your current annual CoS allocation is marked as ‘active’ in your SMS
account
• you are licensed on an eligible route, or routes

S2.26. An ‘eligible route’ is any Worker or Temporary Worker route, except for the
following routes (which are ineligible for automatic renewal):

• Seasonal Worker
• Secondment Worker
• Service Supplier
• UK Expansion Worker

S2.27. If you are eligible for automatic renewal, you will receive an annual allocation
equal to the number of CoS you assigned during the previous CoS year. For
example, if your allocation for CoS year 2023 to 2024 was 15, and you
assigned 10 of those CoS, you will receive an allocation of 10 for 2024 to
2025. If you need any more CoS, you will have to make a manual request to
increase your allocation.

S2.28. If you are licensed on the Skilled Worker route, you will only receive an
automatic allocation of Undefined CoS – you will need to continue to request
Defined CoS as and when you need them, using the process set out in
section SK12 of Sponsor a Skilled Worker.

S2.29. If you do not meet the eligibility criteria for automatic renewal, you will need to
submit a manual request via your SMS account (which will be considered by
a UKVI caseworker). You can submit your request up to 3 months before the
end of your CoS year.

S2.30. For further guidance on how to renew and manage your CoS allocation, see
guide 8 in SMS Manual 2: managing your licence.

Contents

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S3. Assigning a CoS
Content in this section:

• Technical guidance on assigning a CoS

• Your sponsor rating (how this may affect whether you can assign a CoS)
• Restrictions on who a CoS can be assigned to
• Information you must include on the CoS (including start and end dates, what to
do if either of those change, and occupation codes)
• Amending or updating a CoS

There is a different way to sponsor workers if you are Government Authorised

Exchange ‘PB1 sponsor’ taking part in the initial roll-out phase of the new
sponsorship service (Sponsor UK). See Annex GA1 of Sponsor a Government
Authorised Exchange worker for guidance on how sponsor workers using that
service.

Technical guidance on assigning a CoS

S3.1. Detailed information on how to assign a CoS, including how to complete an
application for a Defined CoS for a Skilled Worker, or report changes to the
details on the CoS, can be found in the Sponsorship management system
(SMS) manuals – see, in particular, Manuals 8, 9, 11 and 12.

Your sponsor rating

S3.2. Sponsors are rated either A or B (except for sponsors on the UK Expansion
Worker route where the Authorising Officer is based overseas, who will be
given a ‘Provisional’ rating initially). We will not grant you a licence unless you
are able to achieve an A-rating (or, in the case of UK Expansion Worker, at
least a Provisional rating). In some cases, after your licence has been
granted, we may downgrade you to a B rating if you are not meeting all of
your sponsor duties or we have other concerns about you. For further
information, see:

• ‘Sponsor ratings’ in section L8 of Part 1: Apply for a licence

• section C8 of Part 3: Sponsor duties and compliance
• for UK Expansion Worker sponsors, section GBM3 of Sponsor a Global
Business Mobility worker

S3.3. If you are sponsoring a Scale-up Worker or a Seasonal Worker, you can only
assign a CoS if you have an A-rating. For all other routes, you must be an A-
rated sponsor, unless either of the following exceptions applies:

• you are a B-rated sponsor and all of the following are true:
o the worker is applying for permission to stay (from within the UK) on the
same route as in their last grant of permission
o you assigned the CoS which led to the worker’s last grant of permission
o you are continuing to sponsor the worker

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 • you are licensed on the UK Expansion Worker route, you have a
Provisional rating, and the person you assigned a CoS to is your
Authorising Officer

S3.4. You cannot assign a CoS if your licence is suspended, made dormant, or
revoked.

Restrictions on who a CoS can be assigned to

S3.5. An SMS User must not assign a CoS to themselves, to their partner or to a
close relative of theirs. We will revoke your sponsor licence if we find out this
has happened.

S3.6. A partner or close relative means any of the following:

• a spouse or civil partner

• an unmarried or a same-sex partner
• a parent or step-parent
• a son or step-son
• a daughter or step-daughter
• a brother, step-brother or half-brother
• a sister, step-sister or half-sister
• a nephew, niece, or cousin
• an aunt or uncle
• a father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, son-in-law or
daughter-in-law

S3.7. The only exception to this is if you have a Provisional rating on the UK
Expansion Worker route, in which case your Authorising Officer (who must
also be the Level 1 User) must assign their own CoS to make an application
for entry clearance. See section GBM3 of Sponsor a Global Business Mobility
worker for more information.

S3.8. An SMS User must add a sponsor note to the CoS if they are aware (or can
reasonably be expected to be aware) they have assigned a CoS to a partner
or close relative of somebody else who is working for the sponsor.

Information you must include on the CoS

S3.9. When you assign a CoS, there is certain information you must include on it
for it to be valid. This includes:

• the route on which you are sponsoring the worker

• personal details of the worker, such as their name, nationality, date of
birth, passport details, contact address
• usual work address or addresses
• total weekly hours of work – if this varies, you should enter an average
figure

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 • details of the worker’s job, including job title, job description, start date,
end date, salary (unless applying as a Charity Worker) and occupation
code
• whether you used an agent (such as a recruitment agency, employment
business or other intermediary) to find the worker and, if so, details of that
agent
• whether you (the sponsor) wish to certify that the worker meets the
financial requirement
• for some routes, whether the worker needs an Academic Technology
Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate
• any other information required for the specific route in which you are
sponsoring the worker – see the relevant route-specific guidance for
details

Start date on the CoS

S3.10. You must enter a start date on the CoS. This should be the date you expect
the worker to start working for you if their application for entry clearance or
permission is granted. If the worker is making an extension of permission to
stay application, we recommend the start date is the day after the worker’s
current permission ends.

S3.11. The worker must use the CoS in an application for entry clearance or
permission no more than 3 months after the date it was assigned to them.
However, they cannot apply for entry clearance or permission more than 3
months in advance of their employment start date, as stated on their CoS.
You must make sure the timing of your recruitment and the date you assign
the CoS does not put the worker in a situation where they cannot make a
successful application for entry clearance or permission.

S3.12. If the start date (or end date) changes before the worker has applied for entry
clearance or permission, or before a decision has been made on their
application, you should report this, as this may affect the period of entry
clearance or permission that can be granted. You can do this by:

• adding a sponsor note to the CoS, if the worker has not yet applied for
entry clearance or permission
• using the ‘Report migrant activity’ function in the SMS, if the worker has
already submitted their application for entry clearance or permission

S3.13. A worker can start working in their sponsored role as soon as they have
permission to enter or stay in the UK, even if this is before the start date
recorded on their CoS. You do not have tell us if the worker’s start date has
been brought forward after they have been granted permission.

S3.14. Once a worker has been granted permission, they should normally start
working in their sponsored role no later than 28 days after whichever is the
latest of:

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 • the start date on their CoS (taking into account any changes to that date
reported by you before their application for entry clearance or permission
was decided)
• the “valid from” date on the worker’s entry clearance vignette (visa)
• the date the worker is granted permission to enter, if they entered the UK
without entry clearance under the Creative Worker visa concession (see
section CRW6 of Sponsor a Creative Worker for details of this concession)
• the date the worker is notified of a grant of entry clearance or permission
to stay

S3.15. If the worker does not start working in their sponsored role by the end of this
period, you must either:

• tell us the worker’s new start date and the reasons for the delayed start, if
you wish to continue sponsoring them
• stop sponsoring the worker

S3.16. In either case, you must report this by the end of 10 working days after the
28-day period using the ‘Report migrant activity’ function in the SMS.

S3.17. If you wish to continue sponsoring the worker, you should be aware that
UKVI may cancel the worker’s permission if they do not consider there is a
valid reason for the delayed start. You must therefore ensure you carry out a
right to work check before they start their employment, and any follow-up
checks as required. If the worker tells you their permission has been
cancelled, you must stop sponsoring them and report this within 10 working
days via your SMS account.

S3.18. Acceptable reasons for a delayed start may include:

• travel disruption due to a natural disaster, military conflict or pandemic

• the worker is required to work out a contractual notice period for their
previous employer – if the worker is in the UK, their conditions of stay must
allow them to do this
• the worker requires an exit visa from their home country and there have
been administrative delays in processing this
• illness, bereavement or other compelling family or personal circumstances

S3.19. This is not a comprehensive list and each case will be judged on its merits.

S3.20. You do not have to report a change to start date (where the worker has been
granted permission) if it is delayed by no more than 28 days (as defined in
paragraph S3.14 above).

S3.21. If you are sponsoring a Scale-up Worker and they are granted entry
clearance or permission to stay, you must also tell us the date the worker
actually starts working for you via the ‘Report migrant activity’ function in the
SMS. You must do this within 10 working days of the actual start date.

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End date on the CoS
S3.22. Unless you are sponsoring a Scale-up Worker, you must enter an end date
on the CoS. This should cover the period you intend to sponsor the worker,
up to the maximum period permitted for the route on which you are
sponsoring them.

S3.23. ‘Maximum period’ means the maximum period of entry clearance or

permission that can be granted on the relevant route if the worker’s
application is successful (excluding any additional period that may be granted
beyond the work end date). For example, if you are sponsoring a Skilled
Worker, you can assign a CoS for up to 5 years.

S3.24. In some cases, the SMS will prevent you from assigning a CoS beyond the
maximum period. However, there may be other restrictions on how long you
should assign a CoS on a particular route or to a particular type of worker.
For example:

• if you are sponsoring an International Sportsperson, you must not assign a

CoS beyond the period stated on the worker’s sports governing body
endorsement letter
• if you are sponsoring a Skilled Worker who intends to claim points for
being a ‘new entrant’, the longest you can assign the CoS is 4 years (less
any time the worker has already spent in the UK as a new entrant on the
Skilled Worker or Tier 2 (General) routes, or on the Graduate route)
• most routes have a maximum cumulative period for which a worker can be
granted (including time they’ve already spent in the UK on that route) – for
example, a Charity Worker cannot be granted beyond 12 months in total

S3.25. If you assign a CoS for longer than the maximum period permitted on the
route, we will do one of the following:

• limit the amount of permission we will grant to the worker if they make a
successful application for entry clearance or permission
• refuse the application, if the worker has already spent the maximum period
permitted on that route
• if you are sponsoring a Government Authorised Exchange worker or
Seasonal Worker, report you to the relevant endorsing government
department – if they then withdraw their endorsement, we will revoke your
sponsor licence

S3.26. Read the relevant route-specific guidance for further information on maximum
periods.

S3.27. You do not have to enter an end date if you are sponsoring a Scale-up
Worker but you must confirm (when you complete the CoS declaration) that
the worker is expected to work for you for at least the first 6 months of their
permission.

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Occupation code
S3.28. When you assign a CoS to a worker, you must specify the 4-digit occupation
code (also known as the ‘standard occupational classification (SOC)’ code)
relevant to the job. The SOC is a common classification of occupations
developed by the Office for National Statistics.

S3.29. For CoS assigned on or after 4 April 2024, you must specify the relevant
SOC 2020 occupation code from Appendix Skilled Occupations. The SOC
2020 system has replaced the SOC 2010 system previously in use. SOC
2010 occupation codes remain valid for CoS assigned on or before 3 April
2024.

S3.30. Appendix Skilled Occupations contains information about each occupation

code, including example job titles that fit within each code and whether the
code is eligible for PhD points on the Skilled Worker route. Tables 1 to 5 also
include information about the applicable salary ‘going rates’ for the Skilled
Worker, GBM and Scale-up routes.

S3.31. If you are sponsoring a Skilled Worker, the job must normally be in an
occupation code (or an eligible job within an occupation code) listed in Table
1, 2, or 3 of Appendix Skilled Occupations, depending on the option the
worker is claiming salary points under. These are jobs that are skilled to
graduate level or above. Occupations below graduate level are listed in
Tables 1a, 2aa, 2a and 3a and are only eligible if the job is on the
Immigration Salary List or the Temporary Shortage List, or the worker meets
a relevant transitional provision. See section SK4 of Sponsor a Skilled
Worker for further information.

S3.32. If you are sponsoring a worker on any of the GBM routes, the job must be in
an occupation code listed in Table 2, 2b or 3 of Appendix Skilled
Occupations. Occupations in Table 2b are only eligible under a transitional
provision. There is an exception for Service Suppliers, who may satisfy the
skill-level requirement if they have a degree or other eligible qualification and
relevant professional experience. In all other cases, if the job is not listed in
one of these tables, it is not eligible to be sponsored. See section GBM6 of
Sponsor a Global Business Mobility worker for further information.

S3.33. If you are sponsoring a Scale-up Worker, the job must be in an occupation
code listed in either Table 2 or Table 3 of Appendix Skilled Occupations. For
further information, see section SC4 of Sponsor a Scale-up Worker.

S3.34. If you are sponsoring a worker on the Government Authorised Exchange

route, the job must be in an occupation code listed in Table 1, 1a, 2, 2aa, 3 or
3a of Appendix Skilled Occupations. For further information, see section GA3
of Sponsor a Government Authorised Exchange worker.

S3.35. Table 6 of Appendix Skilled Occupations lists occupations which are not
eligible for the Skilled Worker, GBM (other than Service Suppliers in specified
circumstances) or Scale-up routes. They are also ineligible for the

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 Government Authorised Exchange route.

S3.36. For routes other than those listed above, the job can be in any table of
Appendix Skilled Occupations (including Table 6) but it must meet the
relevant eligibility criteria for the particular route. For further information, see
the relevant route-specific guidance.

S3.37. You are responsible for choosing the correct occupation code – we cannot
help you with this. If you are unsure which code to select, there is detailed
guidance on the SOC 2020 system on the Office for National Statistics
website. The University of Warwick has also developed a Computer Assisted
Structured Coding Tool (CASCOT) which can help you choose the correct
SOC 2020 code.

S3.38. It is essential that you select the correct occupation code. If you use the
wrong occupation code when assigning a CoS or applying for a Skilled
Worker Defined CoS, this could lead to an application being delayed or
refused. If you have provided false, misleading or otherwise incorrect
information about the skill or salary level of the job on a CoS – for example,
to enable the worker to score points on the Skilled Worker or GBM routes –
we will take compliance action against you. This could include revoking your
sponsor licence. For further information, see Part 3: Sponsor duties and
compliance.

‘Multiple-entry’ CoS
S3.39. If a worker is likely to need to travel abroad regularly in connection with their
job, you may choose to tick the ‘multiple-entry’ option on the CoS, although
you do not have to. For further information, see Leaving and returning to the
UK.

Group CoS for Creative Workers

S3.40. If you are sponsoring a group of people (for example, all members of a
musical group or dance troupe, or a creative worker and their entourage) on
the Creative Worker route, you can assign a ‘group CoS’ to all members of
the group. See Sponsor a Creative Worker for information on this.

Amending or updating a CoS

S3.41. After you’ve assigned a CoS, you can return to it and add a ‘sponsor note’ to
amend a start date or an end date, amend or update salary details or working
hours, correct minor errors, or provide additional information or clarification.
For example:

• if the CoS is for a Skilled Worker applying for a Health and Care visa, you
can use the sponsor note field to explain how the worker is eligible for that
visa
• if the CoS is for a Religious Worker, you must explain how the resident
labour consideration has been met by adding a sponsor note

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S3.42. You can only add a sponsor note to a CoS that is showing in your SMS
account with the status of ‘Assigned’. If you need to report any changes after
a CoS has been used, you must use the ‘Report migrant activity’ function in
the SMS. For further information, see SMS Manual 9: Reporting worker
activity.

Correcting a minor error on a CoS

S3.43. You can use the sponsor note feature to amend a minor error on a CoS with
the status of ‘assigned’, such as a mistyped name or date of birth. However,
if you make more than one error in the worker’s personal details, you will
normally need to assign a new CoS (see below).

Significant error on the CoS

S3.44. You must withdraw a CoS and assign a new one if you’ve made a significant
error such as:

• you’ve entered the wrong occupation code

• you’ve assigned the CoS on the wrong route, or in the wrong sub-category
• you’ve given incorrect details for more than one of the following:
o the worker’s nationality
o the worker’s date of birth
o the worker’s surname

Contents

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S4. Pay and conditions for sponsored
workers
Content in this section:

• How much you have to pay your workers

• Compliance with National Minimum Wage and the Working Time Regulations
• Salary information you must include on a CoS
• How you can pay your workers
• Absence from work without pay or on reduced pay
• Salary otherwise reduced

How much you have to pay your workers

S4.1. If you are sponsoring a Skilled Worker, Senior or Specialist Worker, Graduate
Trainee, UK Expansion Worker, Scale-up Worker or Seasonal Worker, you
must ensure the worker’s salary meets or exceeds the relevant salary
thresholds for those routes, as set out in the Immigration Rules and route-
specific guidance. We will refuse any application for entry clearance or
permission, and reject any application for a Skilled Worker Defined CoS (or
reject any sponsorship submission made by a PB1 sponsor), if we are not
satisfied the worker will be paid the appropriate salary.

S4.2. In all cases (even if the Rules or this guidance do not specify a minimum
salary threshold for a particular route), you must ensure the worker will be
paid in accordance with National Minimum Wage legislation and the role will
comply with the Working Time Regulations.

S4.3. There are limited circumstances in which a worker can be paid less than the
relevant salary threshold, or the amount stated on their CoS. You will
normally need to report any salary reductions to us and the worker may need
to make a new application for permission – see:

• Absence from work without pay or on reduced pay

• Salary otherwise reduced

S4.4. We will make regular checks with HMRC (and, where necessary, compliance
checks) to ensure you are paying your sponsored workers the amount you
said you would. Unless an exception applies, if we find you are paying them
less, and the new amount would not be eligible for a grant of permission on
the relevant route, we will cancel the worker’s permission and take
compliance action against you – this could include revoking your licence.

S4.5. For more information on the salary requirements for the route in which you
are sponsoring the worker, refer to the relevant route-specific guidance.

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Compliance with National Minimum Wage and the Working
Time Regulations
S4.6. The role you are sponsoring the worker for must always comply with both the:

• National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015

• Working Time Regulations 1998

S4.7. We will refuse an application for entry clearance or permission, reject an

application for a Skilled Worker Defined CoS, or reject a sponsorship
submission made by a PB1 sponsor, if we have reasonable grounds to
believe the role does not comply with these regulations. We will also normally
revoke your licence if we find you are breaching these regulations.

National Minimum Wage

S4.8. The worker’s pay must always comply with National Minimum Wage
legislation. If you are sponsoring a worker on a route with a minimum salary
threshold (Skilled Worker, Senior or Specialist Worker, Graduate Trainee, UK
Expansion Worker, Scale-up, or Seasonal Worker), and their salary meets or
exceeds the relevant threshold, it is likely to be compliant with National
Minimum Wage. However, National Minimum Wage legislation is complex
and contains provisions not expressly covered by the Immigration Rules or
sponsor guidance. It is your responsibility to ensure you are compliant with
these.

S4.9. If you will not be paying National Minimum Wage to a worker because an
exemption in the legislation applies, you must explain this when you assign a
CoS. You can do this either in the salary details box or by adding a sponsor
note. If you are a PB1 sponsor, you must give this information when you
make a sponsorship submission for the worker.

S4.10. For guidance on National Minimum Wage, how to calculate it, and
exceptions, see:

• The National Minimum Wage and Living Wage

• Minimum wage for different types of work
• Calculating the minimum wage – Department for Business and Trade
guidance
• National Minimum Wage – HMRC technical guidance

Working Time Regulations

S4.11. The Working Time Regulations provide a number of important protections for
workers on things like maximum weekly working hours, holiday entitlement
and rest breaks. You must ensure the role you are sponsoring the worker for
complies with these.

S4.12. For example, a worker aged 18 or over can choose to work more than 48
hours per week but, unless an exception in the Working Time Regulations

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 applies, you cannot force them to do this.

S4.13. For detailed guidance on the Working Time Regulations, see:

• Maximum weekly working hours

• Holiday entitlement
• Rest breaks at work
• Night working hours

Salary information you must include on a CoS

S4.14. When you assign a CoS to a worker, you must give the following information
about the salary package:

• the gross salary figure, which must:

o represent the total amount paid to the worker, gross of any tax paid,
whether paid in the UK or overseas
o if the worker is being sponsored on the Skilled Worker route, not include
any allowances, unless an exception applies – see Sponsor a Skilled
Worker for information
o for routes other than Skilled Worker, include any permitted allowances
and guaranteed bonuses
• a separate figure for the total of all allowances and guaranteed bonuses
(where these are permitted by the route)
• a detailed breakdown of each allowance and each guaranteed bonus
showing their value (where these are permitted by the route)
• if you are sponsoring a Skilled Worker, Senior or Specialist Worker,
Graduate Trainee, UK Expansion Worker, or Scale-up Worker, the PAYE
scheme reference number through which the worker will pay tax and
national insurance – if you are not required to operate PAYE on that
worker’s earnings, you must explain this (you cannot sponsor a Scale-up
Worker who will not be paid through PAYE)

S4.15. The figure you give for the gross salary must not be inflated in expectation of
any tax relief, such as relief on expenditure related to the employment, or tax
incurred by the employment of a settled worker, but not incurred for a
sponsored worker. For example, if the gross salary package is £34,500 per
year, but the sponsored worker will have the same net package after tax as a
settled worker who is paid £40,000 per year before tax, the CoS must show
that the salary package is £34,500, not £40,000.

If you are a PB1 sponsor, see Annex GA1 of Sponsor a Government

Authorised Exchange worker for guidance on how to enter salary information
when making a sponsorship submission via the Sponsor UK service.

Period the salary must cover

S4.16. When you assign a CoS to a worker, or apply for a defined CoS for them, the
gross salary figure you enter can cover any of the following time periods:

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 • hour
• day
• week
• month
• year (this option is not available for Seasonal Workers)
• contract (this option is not available for Skilled Workers or Scale-up
Workers)
• performance (International Sportsperson and Creative Worker only)

If you are a PB1 sponsor, the salary figure you enter in your sponsorship
submission must be either an annual or a monthly figure.

How you can pay your workers

S4.17. Salary may be paid in the UK or from abroad but the salary you enter on a
CoS (or in a sponsorship submission) must always be in pounds sterling.
Where the worker will be paid from abroad in a currency other than pounds
sterling, the salary you enter must be based on the exchange rate for the
relevant currency on the day the CoS is assigned, taken from the rates
published on OANDA. If you are applying for a Defined CoS for a Skilled
Worker, the amount must reflect the exchange rate on the date you applied
for that CoS. You should update this, by adding a ‘sponsor note’, when you
assign the CoS to a worker.

S4.18. All payments to sponsored workers must be made into their own bank
account in the UK or overseas. You must not pay them in cash – if you do,
we are likely to revoke your licence. Pre-paid cards such as FOREX are
acceptable, but you must be able to give evidence that you have made
payments onto the worker’s card. If you pay the worker by cheque, this must
be paid into the worker’s own bank account.

Absence from work without pay or on reduced pay

S4.19. Unless a valid exception reason applies, you must normally stop sponsoring
a worker who is absent from their sponsored work without pay, or is absent
on reduced pay, for more than 4 weeks in total during either:

• if the worker is a Scale-up Worker, the period you have sponsorship

responsibility for that worker
• in all other cases, in any calendar year (1 January to 31 December)

S4.20. This applies whether the worker is absent from work for a single period of
more than 4 weeks, or if they have a number of absences which cumulatively
total more than 4 weeks.

S4.21. The 4 weeks is calculated according to the sponsored worker’s normal

working pattern. For example, if the worker normally works 5 days per week,
this would be 20 working days (5 (days) x 4 (weeks)). If they normally work 3
days per week, this would be 12 working days (3 (days) x 4 (weeks)).

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S4.22. If a worker has been, or will be, absent from work without pay, or on reduced
pay, for more than 4 weeks in total (as defined above), you must either:

• stop sponsoring the worker and report this via your SMS account (or
Sponsor UK account if you are a PB1 sponsor)
• if the period of absence is due to a valid exception reason, or you believe
there are compelling reasons for you to continue sponsoring the worker,
report the period of absence (including reasons, duration and any changes
to salary) via your SMS account (or Sponsor UK account if you are a PB1
sponsor)

S4.23. You must also tell us if a sponsored worker has been absent from work for
more than 10 working days without your permission (‘unauthorised absence’),
whether or not you make any salary reductions for the period of unauthorised
absence.

S4.24. You do not have to report shorter absences without pay, or on reduced pay.
However, you may find doing so will help you monitor whether a sponsored
worker has exceeded, or is likely to exceed, the permitted periods of
absence.

S4.25. For more information on your reporting duties, including time limits for
reporting changes, see section C1 of Part 3: Sponsor duties and compliance.

Valid exception reasons: permissible absences

S4.26. The following are permissible absences. You do not have to stop sponsoring
a worker if they are absent without pay, or on reduced pay, for any of the
reasons listed below (and they would not otherwise have been absent without
pay, or on reduced pay, for more than 4 weeks):

• statutory maternity leave

• statutory paternity leave
• statutory parental leave
• statutory shared parental leave
• statutory adoption leave
• sick leave
• assisting with a national or an international humanitarian or environmental
crisis, provided you agreed to the absence for that purpose
• taking part in legally organised industrial action
• jury service
• attending court as a witness
• statutory neonatal care leave

S4.27. However, you should still report the period of absence via your SMS account
(or Sponsor UK account), as outlined above.

S4.28. If a valid exception reason does not apply but you believe there are
compelling reasons for you to continue sponsoring a worker who has been
absent from work without pay, or on reduced pay, for more than 4 weeks, you

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 must report the absence and reasons via your SMS account (or Sponsor UK
account) for UKVI to consider. You should be aware that UKVI may cancel
the worker’s permission if they are not satisfied there is a satisfactory reason
for continuing to sponsor the worker. If this happens, you must stop
sponsoring the worker.

Salary otherwise reduced

S4.29. You must tell us via your SMS account if a worker’s salary is reduced for a
reason not related to absence after you have assigned a CoS (including after
they have been granted entry clearance or permission). If you are sponsoring
a Skilled Worker or Tier 2 (General) Migrant, you must check if you will need
to assign a new CoS (and if the worker will need to apply for new permission)
before you can reduce their salary. See section SK8 of Sponsor a Skilled
Worker for further information. For guidance on updating salary details if you
are a PB1 sponsor, see Annex GA1 of Sponsor a Government Authorised
Exchange worker.

S4.30. You must stop sponsoring the worker if their revised salary no longer meets
any salary, hourly or going rate requirement for the job or the route on which
they are being sponsored, or the change is otherwise not permitted by the
Immigration Rules or sponsor guidance. You must tell us you have stopped
sponsoring the worker via your SMS account (or Sponsor UK account if you
are a PB1 sponsor).

Salary reductions: exceptions

S4.31. You do not have to stop sponsoring a worker if you reduce their salary and
any of the following exceptions apply (although you must tell us via your SMS
account or Sponsor UK account that you have reduced the worker’s salary):

• the reduction coincides with a temporary reduction in the worker’s hours,

or a phased return to work, for individual health reasons, provided:
o this is supported by an occupational health assessment; and
o the reduction does not result in the hourly rate falling below any hourly
rate requirement which applied when the person obtained their most
recent grant of permission
• the worker is on a GBM route and a temporary reduction in salary
coincides with working for the sponsor group or linked overseas business
while the worker is not physically present in the UK
• the person is a Skilled Worker, GBM worker or Scale-up Worker and, after
the change in salary, would continue to be eligible for points for salary, as
set out in Sponsor a Skilled Worker, Sponsor a Global Business Mobility
worker, or Sponsor a Scale-up Worker
• the person is a Skilled Worker and the reduction in salary has been
authorised as a result of a grant of new entry clearance or permission to
stay
• the worker otherwise continues to meet the salary requirements on the
route on which they are being sponsored

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Contents

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S5. Immigration Skills Charge
This section tells you about the Immigration Skills Charge you may have to pay to
sponsor a Skilled Worker or a Senior or Specialist worker.

Content in this section:

• About the charge

• When you have to pay
• When you don’t have to pay
• Consequences of non-payment
• Refunds and ‘top-up’ charges
• How TUPE or similar protection affects the Immigration Skills Charge

About the charge

S5.1. You may have to pay the Immigration Skills Charge each time you assign a
Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) to a Skilled Worker or a Senior or Specialist
Worker.

S5.2. The amount you have to pay is specified in the Schedule to the Immigration
Skills Charge Regulations 2017 and depends on:

• the size and type of your organisation on the date you assign the worker’s
CoS
• the length of employment stated on the CoS

S5.3. If you are a small or charitable sponsor, as defined in regulation 2 of the

Immigration Skills Charge Regulations, you will pay the ‘small’ charge:

• £364 for any stated period of employment up to 12 months

• an additional £182 for each subsequent 6-month period stated on the CoS

S5.4. In all other cases, you must pay the ‘large’ charge:

• £1,000 for any stated period of employment up to 12 months

• an additional £500 for each subsequent 6-month period stated on the CoS

S5.5. When you apply for a licence, it is essential that you select the correct size or
type for your organisation, as this will determine not only the licence fee you
will pay, but also the level of Immigration Skills Charge you will pay
throughout the life of your licence, or until you tell us of a change of
circumstances through the sponsorship management system (SMS) and this
has been processed and accepted by UKVI.

S5.6. To comply with your reporting duties, you must tell us as soon as possible –
and in any case within 20 working days – if the size or type of your
organisation changes. This will ensure you pay the correct Immigration Skills
Charge for each CoS you assign. If you fail to inform us within 20 working

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 days, we may take compliance action against you. This could include
downgrading, suspending or revoking your licence. For further information on
reporting changes to your organisation, see section C2 of Part 3: Sponsor
duties and compliance.

S5.7. You must not pass on any of the charge to, or attempt to recoup it from, the
sponsored worker. If we find out that you have done so, we will normally
revoke your licence.

When you have to pay

S5.8. Unless an exception applies, you must pay the charge each time you assign
a CoS to a Skilled Worker or a Senior or Specialist Worker and the worker is
either:

• applying from outside the UK for entry clearance (a visa) to work in the UK
for 6 months or more
• applying from within the UK for permission to stay of any duration,
including for less than 6 months

When you don’t have to pay

S5.9. You do not have to pay the charge if you assign a CoS to any of the
following:

• a worker who is applying for entry clearance from outside the UK for a
period of less than 6 months
• a worker who is being sponsored for any of the following occupations:
o 2111 Chemical scientists
o 2112 Biological scientists
o 2113 Biochemists and biomedical scientists
o 2114 Physical scientists
o 2115 Social and humanities scientists
o 2119 Natural and social science professionals not elsewhere classified
o 2161 Research and development (R&D) managers
o 2162 Other researchers, unspecified discipline
o 2311 Higher education teaching professionals
• a worker you have previously assigned a CoS to (or who has transferred
to you under TUPE or similar protection) where:
o you assign them a new CoS to work for you; and
o the new period of permission they are seeking will not exceed their
current period of permission – if the application would result in a longer
grant of permission, you must pay a charge for the additional period that
would be granted, unless another exemption applies
• a worker who has valid permission for the purpose of study (see below for
an explanation of what we mean by ‘valid permission for the purpose of
study’)
• a worker who had valid permission for the purpose of study when you
previously sponsored them (and you therefore did not have to pay the
charge), and you assign a new CoS to that worker to continue sponsoring

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 them in the same role (see also How TUPE or similar protection affects the
Immigration Skills Charge below)
• a worker who was assigned a CoS under Tier 2 (General) or Tier 2 (ICT)
Long-term Staff before 6 April 2017 and all of the following are true:
o that CoS resulted in a grant of entry clearance or permission to stay
o the worker undertook the role for which that CoS was assigned
o the worker has not since ceased to have permission under Skilled
Worker (or its predecessor route, Tier 2 (General)) or Senior or
Specialist Worker (or its predecessor routes, Intra-Company Transfer,
or the Long-term Staff sub-category of Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer))
• a Senior or Specialist Worker who benefits from the ‘EU-UK Trade and
Co-operation Agreement’ exemption – this applies if all of the following
requirements are met:
o you assign the CoS to the worker on or after 1 January 2023
o the worker is a national of an EU country or is a Latvian non-citizen (this
concession does not apply if the worker is a national of Iceland,
Norway, Liechtenstein or Switzerland)
o the worker has been assigned to the UK by a business established in
the EU, and which forms part of the same “sponsor group”, as defined
in Sponsor a Global Business Mobility Worker
o the worker has worked for the sponsor group for at least one year
before the CoS was assigned
o the end date of the assignment, as specified on the CoS, is no more
than 36 months after the start date

S5.10. You do not have to pay the charge for any of the worker’s family members
(dependants) who are not themselves sponsored workers on the Skilled
Worker or Senior or Specialist Worker routes. The charge does not apply to
any other Worker or Temporary Worker route.

‘Valid permission for the purpose of study’

S5.11. This exemption applies if the worker you are assigning a CoS to has current
permission on one of the following routes:

• Student
• Child Student
• Tier 4 (General)
• Tier 4 (Child)
• Short-term Student (English Language)

S5.12. The exemption applies whether or not the worker is in the UK, provided they
have current permission on one of the above routes on the date you assign
the CoS. However, where the person has permission as a Short-term
Student, they must make their application from outside the UK, as they will
not normally be allowed to ‘switch’ to either the Skilled Worker route or the
Senior or Specialist Worker route from within the UK.

S5.13. This exemption does not apply if the worker’s permission:

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