Certificate of sponsorship
Once your sponsor licence is approved, you create a certificate of sponsorship as a record for each overseas worker you bring on. There is no paper version. It lives online as an electronic entry carrying its own reference number, and that is the number the worker quotes in their visa application. Certificates can only be created after your licence has been approved, holds an A rating, and your business can be found on the register of sponsors.
| Sponsor licence, paid once | £611 small, £1,682 medium or large |
|---|---|
| Certificate, worker routes (Skilled Worker, Senior or Specialist Worker) | £525 |
| Certificate, Temporary Worker routes (Scale-up, Seasonal Worker and others) | £55 |
The defined type of certificate
This is the one for Skilled Worker hires applying from overseas. Most requests are approved within 1 working day.
After you assign the certificate, the worker has 3 months to put it into a visa application. Miss that window and it can no longer be used, so it is wise to settle a start date with the worker before assigning.
Undefined certificates
You use an undefined certificate for a Skilled Worker who is applying from inside the UK, and for every other sponsored visa, including the Temporary Worker categories.
If you need extra undefined certificates, you can ask for more. These requests usually take 12 weeks to decide, which is worth knowing if you have a start date planned. A paid priority service can provide a decision within 5 working days.
Once assigned, the worker again has 3 months to use it, the same as with any other type.
What does a certificate cost?
What you pay depends on the visa route the worker takes, not on how big your business is.
Every assignment of a certificate triggers this charge, so 2 Skilled Workers means 2 payments of £525.
For most employers the certificate is the smaller part of what you pay. If you hire on the Skilled Worker route, the immigration skills charge is owed as well. That charge is separate, applies per sponsored worker, and is priced by how many years the visa runs and how large your business is.
| Size of business | First 12 months | Each further 6 months |
|---|---|---|
| Small business or a charity | £480 | £240 |
| Medium or large | £1,320 | £660 |
Add up the licence fee, the £525 certificate and the skills charge, and a small business or charity taking on a single Skilled Worker on a 3-year visa pays £2,576 in total Home Office charges. Hire the same worker as a medium or large business and the bill is £6,167. Every further worker means one more £525 certificate plus their own skills charge, but the licence fee is a one-off.
Paying the fees yourself
The licence fee must be paid by your business, never by the worker. If you ask a worker to cover it, your licence could be revoked, and that would mean you could no longer sponsor anyone at all.
Workers do carry their own costs alongside yours. For a worker applying from outside the UK, the visa fee and healthcare surcharge total £1,854 for 1 year, and the longer options are £3,924 over 3 years and £6,793 over 5.
Losing the right to issue certificates
Every approved licence begins at A-rated. The licence can be moved down to B-rated. A B-rated sponsor is blocked from assigning fresh certificates until the rating is restored.
Getting back to A-rated means working through an action plan the Home Office sets, and the plan itself costs £1,579.
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