Certificate of sponsorship

With the migration from the EU at the all-time low as a result of the uncertainty and economic instability being caused by Brexit, the businesses in the UK have no choice but to try and fill their vacancies with migrants from outside the EU. However, the current UK work permit system is simply unable to cope with such high demand. As a result, the monthly allocations of work permit quotas have been oversubscribed consecutively every month since December 2017.

This has never happened before, in fact, there has only been one case of a month’s quota being oversubscribed in June 2015. So, why does this happen? Majority of skilled migrants from outside the EU need to apply for a visa under Tier 2 (General) category in order to work in the UK. The minimum salary for new applicants under this category is normally £20,800 or £30,000 for experienced migrants.

Individuals holding ILR for a certain period, typically five years, may become eligible to apply for British citizenship, further solidifying their ties to the UK. British citizenship grants individuals the right to a British passport, unrestricted access to employment opportunities, and the ability to participate fully in the political and social life of the country.

Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) and Monthly Allocations: A Guide for UK Employers

As part of the application, the prospective employer-sponsor will need to request a Certificate of Sponsorship (“CoS”) from the Home Office. The number of certificates that can be issued is restricted to 20,700 per year. This number is further apportioned into different monthly CoS allocations – currently varying from around 2,200 to 1,000 per month in order to provide higher quotas during the busier months of April through to September.

Employers must request their certificates by the 5th of each month. When the number of CoS requests exceeds monthly allocations, the Home Office processes the applications by a point-based priority: with the few roles officially recognised as being in shortage (such as the Medical practitioners, nurses, IT specialists and specialised engineers) being awarded the most points, followed by some occupations at PhD level and finally points are awarded based on the applicant’s salary for everyone else.

In the UK, a spouse visa, also referred to as a partner visa, is a specific type of visa designed to enable individuals to reunite with their spouse or partner who is either a British citizen or a settled person in the UK. This particular visa category is categorized under the Family route within the UK immigration system.