Certificate of Sponsorship (COS) – Available Types
Migrants intending to come to the UK under the Skilled Worker or other sponsored work route must submit a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) to gain entry clearance. Employers holding a valid sponsor licence issue CoS detailing the employment and salary conditions.
Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS)
Migrants cannot get leave to remain under the Skilled Worker, Intra Company, or Temporary Worker route if they are not assigned a CoS by a UK employer. A UK employer with a valid sponsorship licence (approved by the Home Office) assigns a CoS to each sponsored worker that they wish to employ.
Similar to a database, it is an electronic certificate containing a unique reference number that the applicant must use at the time of making an application. After the assignment of CoS, the sponsored worker visa applicant must apply for an entry clearance within the three-month period (which will be from the issue date of the CoS).
Types of Certificate of Sponsorship
There are two CoS types.
- Defined Certificate of Sponsorship
Defined Certificate of Sponsorship (DCoS), formerly known as restricted certificates, are assigned to applicants applying from outside the UK. The UK sponsor must apply to the Home Office through the Sponsorship Management System (SMS) to get a Defined CoS.
This type of certificate is usually granted to the employer within one working day. For quick approval, the sponsor must be prepared to provide all the information regarding the job role, prospective employee, and employment term.
Upon approval, the CoS will appear on the SMS account. At this stage, the sponsor can assign Defined CoS to the applicant within 3 months of its issue date.
- Undefined Certificate of Sponsorship
Undefined Certificate of Sponsorship (UcoS), formerly known as Unrestricted certificates, is assigned to an applicant who is already working in the UK lawfully as a Skilled Worker. It can also be assigned to an applicant applying for other work visa categories, such as ICT.
Unlike DCoS, the sponsor does not have to assign a separate UCoS to each employee they wish to bring to the UK. The Home Office caseworker will confirm with the sponsor about how many CoS are needed and the reason for needing the same. An approved UK employer can submit the number of Undefined Certificates of Sponsorship (UCoS) they will need in a year and request for renewing allocation every year.
A UK sponsor can issue a UCoS to prospective employees as long as there is a certificate available in their annual CoS allocation. If the sponsor fails to request the renewal of the CoS allocation, the approved employer can make an application for a new allocation throughout the year.
The processing time for such an application is around 18 weeks unless priority service is used. Application for a CoS allocation must be made before April if the employer anticipates the need for UCoS to hire a new worker or extend the stay of any existing sponsored worker.
If all the certificates in the annual allocation have been used, the sponsor can apply through SMS to get request for more certificates. If any Undefined CoS has not been used, these will automatically expire before 5th of April each year.
