If you hold a sponsor licence and your annual allocation of Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) is not renewed automatically, the Home Office may email you a reminder to apply before your CoS year ends.
WorkPermitCloud is here to explain what a CoS is, how annual CoS allocations work and what you should do if you receive such reminders.
Certificate of Sponsorship
If your organisation wants to employ a worker on a Worker or Temporary Worker route, you must hold a valid sponsor licence and assign a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) to each worker you sponsor. CoS is an electronic record, not a physical document. The workers then use the CoS to apply for their work visas. For the full rules on Defined and Undefined CoS, time limits and fees, see our Certificate of Sponsorship guidance.
Annual CoS allocation
When you apply for a Sponsor Licence, you will be asked how many undefined CoS you will need to issue to foreign workers in the first year. Defined CoS, which are for Skilled Workers applying from outside the UK, are never part of this allocation. You apply for each one through the SMS as you need it. Once the Home Office approves your annual allocation, you’ll have 12 months to use the allocated CoS. Any unused CoS will be removed from the Sponsor Management System (SMS) account; they cannot be carried over to the next CoS year. Your CoS year runs from 6 April to 5 April only if you held a Tier 2 licence that was converted on 1 December 2020 and your renewal has been automated. For every other sponsor it runs for 12 months from the date the licence was granted or the allocation was last renewed. Your allocation must be renewed each year while your licence is valid. It is renewed automatically if your licence is A-rated, your current allocation is marked as active in your SMS account and you are licensed on an eligible route. Every Worker and Temporary Worker route is eligible except Seasonal Worker, Secondment Worker, Service Supplier and UK Expansion Worker. An automatic renewal gives you the number of CoS you assigned in the year just ending, not the number you were allocated. If you do not qualify, you must make a manual request through the SMS, which you can send up to 3 months before the end of your CoS year.
If you have received an email reminder, you must submit a manual request through the SMS. The cost of letting an allocation run out is practical rather than financial: once it expires, you cannot assign any Undefined CoS until a new allocation is granted. That can hold up extensions for workers you already sponsor and any new hire who needs an Undefined CoS. Skilled Worker hires from outside the UK use Defined CoS, so they are not affected. If you are not renewed automatically and want to keep assigning Undefined CoS, renew your allocation through the SMS. The steps are in guide 8 of the Home Office’s SMS guide 2: manage your sponsorship licence.
How can Work Permit Cloud help?
At WorkPermitCloud, we have a team of Immigration experts to guide you through the annual CoS allocation process. We can help with requesting the annual allocation, managing the SMS, assigning CoS, process defined/undefined CoS and corresponding with the Home Office. We’ve also developed our own bespoke HRM (UKVI compliant) software helping our clients with all their sponsorship duties. Your seamless journey starts here.
Contact us today to get your annual CoS allocation sorted.
