Sponsoring an Overseas Individual If your Board is an A-Rated Large Sponsor (Employer) you will be able to apply for a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) when the role is eligible. An individual can be sponsored from one year up to five years. Extensions can be applied for three months before a visa ends. Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) Before an individual can make a successful immigration application, a valid CoS must be assigned to them. Please follow your Boards process for applying for a CoS. Before you assign a CoS, you should talk to the individual 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. 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. Assigning a CoS does not guarantee the worker will be granted clearance or permission – they must meet all the immigration requirements of the route on which they are applying. When a CoS has been assigned, the worker has three months to apply for their visa. For sponsorship purposes the ‘Temporary Worker’s routes are: Skilled Workers Visa and Health & Care Visa Types of CoS There are two types of CoS: ‘Defined CoS’ these are for Skilled Workers applying for entry clearance (a visa) from outside the UK. ‘Undefined CoS’ these are CoS assigned to Skilled Workers applying for permission to stay from within the UK or CoS assigned to workers on all other routes, whether applying for entry clearance, permission to enter or permission to stay (please see table below for examples). Switching Immigration Category – switching from an existing visa to skilled worker e.g. dependent, graduateExtension – existing employee being extended under current NHSL sponsorshipChanges in Employment – transferring existing sponsorship with another organisation to NHSLStudent switching to Skilled Worker – switching from a student visa to a skilled worker CoS Fees The cost of assigning a CoS under the skilled worker visa route is £239, there is then an ‘immigration skills charge’ of £1,000 per year per individual. The longest you can sponsor an individual is for five years, so the highest cost is £5,239 (5 x £1,000) plus the £239 CoS cost. This payment will come out the department/wards budget. Financial Requirement Sponsored workers are not permitted to claim public funds (benefits and other assistance from the state). Through the visa application route, it must be evidenced that any worker you sponsor has enough money to support themselves, and any family members (dependents) in the UK, until they start to receive an income. This is known as the ‘financial requirement’ (or ‘maintenance requirement’). If your Board does not provide financial support to allow the worker to support themselves until they receive their first monthly salary, they will need to provide evidence they have the necessary level of funds to support themselves (and dependents) to be granted entry clearance. Extensions of Permission to Stay If you are sponsoring a worker whose entry clearance or permission to stay is about to expire, and you wish to sponsor them to continue in the same role, or to do a different job in the same occupation code, you must assign them a new CoS and the worker must make an ‘extension of permission to stay’ application. Provided the worker applies before their permission expires, they can continue working in the same role (or same occupation code) for which you last sponsored them while their application is under consideration. To evidence that the worker is allowed to continue in their role whilst a decision is made on their new CoS application, a check through the gov.uk Employer Checking Service should be made. This usually allows them to continue working for six months. Different Role in the Same Occupation Code You can continue to sponsor a worker if they change to a different role within the same occupation code (including where the occupation code has changed as a result of the transition from SOC 2010 to SOC 2020 occupation codes), as long as they remain with the same employer. Change of Employment Unless an exception (see section S9.17 of UKVI guidance for full list), a worker must obtain a new CoS and make a new application for entry clearance or permission to stay (even if their existing permission is not due to expire for some time) if any of the following is true: You wish to sponsor the worker to do a job in a different occupation code (except where the change of occupation code is as a result of the transition from SOC 2010 occupation codes to SOC 2020 occupation codes). The worker was previously sponsored in a job listed in Appendix Immigration Salary List (or the former Appendix Shortage Occupation List or Appendix K) and is moving to job that is not listed in Appendix Immigration Salary List (even if the job is in the same occupation code). The worker wishes to work for a different sponsor or employer and none of the exceptions apply. This is known as a ‘change of employment’ application. The application must be approved, and the sponsor must carry out relevant right to work checks before the individual can start work in their new job. This applies in all cases, even if the new job is with the same sponsor. Provided the individual applies before their current permission expires, they can continue working in the same job and for the same sponsor as in their last grant of permission until the change of employment application is granted, or (where their conditions of stay permit it) while working out a contractual notice period. Settlement Workers on the Skilled Worker (including Health and Care visa) route can apply for settlement (also known as indefinite leave to remain or permanent residence) if they have been continuously and lawfully resident in the UK for five years on an eligible route, or combination of routes.You must normally certify that a worker applying for settlement is still working for you and will be required for the foreseeable future. Please aply your Boards process for submitting a Visa Confirmation of Employment letter.
