Unrestricted CoS:
check your annual
allocation now!

The deadline for the annual renewal of unrestricted CoS allocations has passed – don’t get caught out!

Current unrestricted Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) allocations expired on 6 April this year, and any unused certificates allocated to sponsors will have been withdrawn from use.

However, if you are a sponsor of skilled foreign workers, you are still able to renew manually your allocation of CoS for the coming year.

Additional ‘in-year’ requests can be filed if an initial CoS allocation is too low for a sponsor’s HR needs. This is of particular importance for sponsors operating within industries which experience peaks and troughs in their recruitment flow.

A Certificate of Sponsorship is an electronic document necessary to the recruitment of all Tier 2 migrant employees, with two types of CoS being made available to employers each year.

A limited number of ‘restricted’ CoS are up for grabs by Tier 2 migrants and their employers on a monthly basis, whilst there is no limit to the number of ‘unrestricted’ CoS which are available for allocation to Tier 2 sponsors each year in April.

 As a sponsor you should renew your annual CoS allocation if:

  • Over the coming year, you intend to sponsor migrants from inside the UK who are new to your organisation;
  • You maintain a sponsor licence covering the Tier 2 Intra-company Transfer (ICT) visa route and intend to temporarily transfer existing staff to a UK office from overseas; and/or
  • You currently employ migrant staff who will be required to extend their sponsored permission to work in the UK within the next 12 months in order to continue in their employment with you.

Although sponsors are able to submit their renewal beyond April’s deadline, UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) will not guarantee a processing time for considering new allocation requests after this date. A delayed renewal request is likely to cause much disruption to both the sponsor and assignee.

How can we renew our CoS allocation?

The renewal of your CoS allocation must be made using the Sponsorship Management System (SMS). Sponsors may log into SMS here. After logging in, users should go to ‘Request renewal for annual CoS/CAS allocations’ to register their request.

How many CoS should we request?

Sponsors can use the ‘Licence summary’ tab in SMS to find out how many CoS were assigned to its organisation over the previous allocation year. This information can be used to guide the sponsor as to the allocation they should request for the coming year. When considering the number of certificates required, it is advisable to factor in any business aims and projections which may impact staff recruitment over the next 12 months.

The justification provided in support of the renewal request will then be considered by the authorities before a decision is made as to whether or not the full number of certificates required will be allocated.

Sponsors should be aware that the more specific information which can be provided in support of the CoS allocation request, such as project details and candidates’ names, the more likely it is that the full allocation request will be granted.

How can I find out if our allocation has been automatically renewed?

If your sponsor licence account has been adjusted to receive an automatic CoS allocation renewal for 2018/2019, you should have received correspondence confirming this adjustment.

It is possible to find out whether or not your allocation renewal has been automatically processed by referring to the ‘Request renewal of annual CoS/CAS allocations’ tab under the ‘Licence summary, applications and services’ page in SMS. If the words ‘automatically renewed’ are displayed, then a sponsor may be confident that their CoS allocation for the next allocation year has been renewed automatically.

If the words ‘add a request’ are displayed, your CoS allocation for the coming year is not subject to automatic renewal and your request must be made manually.

Smith Stone Walters recommends…

… that sponsors check their sponsorship management system immediately to see how many CoS they have been allocated for this year.

… that all sponsors monitor whether they have enough CoS for their HR needs during 2018/19. If not, then file a request for a new allocation as soon as possible.

Otherwise you may need to wait until your request has been considered by the authorities before you transfer an overseas employee within the company, or to extend the visa of a migrant who is already here.

We understand, manage and support corporate immigration strategies, advising our clients on all aspects of nationality and UK work permit law.

Contact us for support and advice on how to best manage your migrant recruitment needs over the coming year.

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