Certificate of sponsorship allocation

The Home Office sets your first allocation from the estimate you give in the licence application, and it can give fewer than you asked for, or none. You must explain the number you want for each route. In deciding, it looks at things like your headcount, the type and scale of your business, how long you have traded, your past compliance record and any recruitment agents you use (sponsor guidance, Part 2).

If you said you were unsure whether or when you would recruit from abroad, the allocation starts at zero. The grant letter states your number alongside your sponsor licence number (Part 1).

Which type you need depends on where a Skilled Worker is when they apply. A worker applying for a visa from abroad needs a defined CoS. A Skilled Worker applying from inside the UK, and anyone on another route, gets an undefined CoS from your allocation. Using an undefined CoS where a defined one is needed is a reason the Home Office will normally revoke a licence. The certificate of sponsorship page explains what a CoS is.

Defined certificates never form part of an annual allocation. A level 1 user applies for each one in the SMS when a role needs filling, and several can go in one request if the job details are identical. There is no extra fee to apply, and none can be requested while you are B-rated or suspended (Skilled Worker guidance).

If your undefined certificates will run out before the CoS year ends, or your allocation was set at zero, a level 1 user can ask for an increase through the SMS. You must give reasons, and the Home Office may ask for evidence such as the roles you plan to fill. The usual wait in the facts above can run longer if UKVI makes further checks (GOV.UK).

A-rated sponsors can pay to fast-track the request through the priority change of circumstances service. It covers undefined certificates only: a priority request for defined ones is rejected and the fee is not refunded (GOV.UK).

Your allocation lasts for a 12-month CoS year, normally counted from the date the licence was granted and then from each renewal. Certificates still unused at the end of the year are removed and do not carry over (sponsor guidance).

Renewal is automatic if your licence is A-rated, the allocation shows as active in the SMS, and you hold an eligible route. Seasonal Worker, Secondment Worker, Service Supplier and UK Expansion Worker routes do not renew automatically. An automatic renewal gives you the number you actually assigned, not the number you were allowed: use 10 out of 15 and next year you get 10. If you do not qualify, you make a manual request in the SMS, up to 3 months before the CoS year ends.

The Home Office can reduce your allocation, or set it to zero, if your circumstances change. Examples are downsizing, or compliance action taken against you after the allocation was set. A B-rating stops certificates for new workers, and a suspension stops them altogether. The fees shown above are charged per certificate assigned, not per certificate held, and you must pay them yourself rather than recover them from the worker (sponsor guidance).