Before you assign a Certificate of Sponsorship: the checks a sponsor can run (2026)
A Certificate of Sponsorship is a statement by the sponsor about a role and a person. The Immigration Rules and the sponsor guidance say what must be true. Here are the checks you can run from the job description and the candidate’s documents before anyone presses “assign”, each with the paragraph it comes from.
In short
- The job must be in an eligible occupation code, and the salary must meet both the general threshold (£41,700 under option A) and the going rate for that code, pro-rated to the hours (SW 4.4, SW 14.4(a), SK5.7).
- The candidate must be 18 or over, hold a passport that establishes identity and nationality, meet English at B2 (nationality, a degree, an approved test in the last 2 years, or UK GCSE/A level), and have a TB certificate if they have lived in a listed country.
- Where the candidate is decides the certificate: Defined for entry clearance from outside the UK, Undefined for permission to stay from inside it (Part 2, S2.8).
- Assigning a CoS guarantees nothing (S2.5); a role that is not genuine costs the licence (SK3.7).
Then: the start date on the certificate. A worker should normally start within 28 days of the latest of the CoS start date, the eVisa “valid from” date, or the grant (Part 2, S3.15).
Assigning a CoS is no guarantee: the worker must still meet every requirement of the route (Part 2, S2.5).
1. The role: a genuine vacancy
Everything else rests on the role being real. The Skilled Worker guidance puts it bluntly:
SK3.6. We will not award points for sponsorship if we have reasonable grounds to believe that the job role you are sponsoring the worker for: does not exist; is a sham; or has been created mainly so the worker can apply for entry clearance or permission to stay.
SK3.7. If you assign a CoS for a role which is not genuine, we will refuse the worker’s application and we will revoke your licence.
The same test sits in the Rules at SW 5.5, and SW 6.3 says the decision maker may consider “whether the sponsor has shown a genuine need for the job as described” and “whether the applicant has the appropriate skills, qualifications and experience needed to do the job as described”. In practice that means keeping the advert, the shortlist and the interview notes (Appendix D section 2, covered in the records post). If twenty applicants arrive with word-for-word identical CVs, that is a recruitment-record question before it is anything else.
2. The occupation code
The sponsor chooses a SOC 2020 occupation code. SW 6.1 requires the job to be in a code “listed as eligible in: (a) Table 1, Table 2 or Table 3 of Appendix Skilled Occupations; or (b) the Immigration Salary List …; or (c) the Temporary Shortage List …”. SW 6.2 adds that the sponsor must choose an appropriate code, and the decision maker must not have reasonable grounds to believe a less appropriate code was chosen because the right one is not eligible, has a higher going rate, or sits outside a list the applicant is claiming points for.
S1.18. You must check the role in which you wish to sponsor the worker is eligible for the relevant route. … In most cases, this means the job must be listed as eligible in the relevant table of Appendix Skilled Occupations …
3. The salary: two figures, both must be met
SK5.7. Unless a transitional arrangement or other exception applies, the salary you pay to the worker must meet or exceed both of the following: the applicable general salary threshold; the applicable going rate for the occupation.
SK5.8. If the going rate for the occupation is higher than the general salary threshold, you must pay the worker at least the going rate. If the going rate is lower than the general salary threshold, you must pay the worker at least the general salary threshold.
Under option A the general threshold is £41,700 a year together with the going rate for the code (the table following SW 4.4). The going rates in Tables 1 to 2a are based on a 37.5-hour week and are pro-rated to the hours the sponsor states:
(the going rate for the SOC 2020 occupation code stated in Tables 1 to 2a of Appendix Skilled Occupations) x (the number of weekly working hours stated by the sponsor ÷ 37.5)
Three things catch people out. The £41,700 floor is not pro-rated for part-time hours. Only the first 48 hours a week count towards the thresholds (SW 14.3), although the full hours are used when pro-rating the going rate (SW 14.4(d)). And “salary” means guaranteed basic gross pay: SW 14.2 excludes overtime, bonuses, allowances, in-kind benefits, one-off payments and anything that covers immigration costs.
Options B to K (a relevant PhD, the Immigration Salary List, a new entrant, the Health and Care ASHE occupations) lower the floor or take a percentage of the going rate, but each has conditions in SW 4.2 that the sponsor and adviser have to be satisfied apply.
4. The candidate
Age and identity
SW 1.3. The applicant must be aged 18 or over on the date of application.
SW 1.2(c) requires “a passport or other travel document which satisfactorily establishes their identity and nationality”, and SW 1.2(d) a certificate of sponsorship issued no more than 3 months before the application (90 days where it is linked to a Sponsorship Reference Number).
English language at B2
The mandatory points table at SW 4.1 asks for “English language skills at level B2 or, where the applicant’s most recent permission was as a Skilled Worker and which was granted subject to a requirement at level B1, level B1”. Appendix English Language sets out how it is shown:
| Route | What it needs | Paragraph |
|---|---|---|
| Nationality | A national of a listed majority-English-speaking country: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, the British Overseas Territories, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Malta, New Zealand, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, United States of America. | EL 4.1 |
| A UK degree | A bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate awarded in the UK, proven by the certificate, a transcript or an official letter from the awarding body. | EL 5.2(a), EL 5.3 |
| A non-UK degree | A degree-level qualification taught in a listed country (except Canada) or Ireland, or one taught or researched in English, plus confirmation from Ecctis that it meets EL 5.2(b) or (c). | EL 5.2(b)–(c), EL 5.4 |
| An approved test | A valid digital reference number from an approved provider, passed to the required level in each component, in the 2 years before the date of application. | EL 6.1 |
| UK school English | A GCSE, International GCSE, A level, Scottish National 4/5, Higher or Advanced Higher in English from a regulated awarding body, following education at a UK school begun under 18. | EL 7.1, EL 7.2 |
| Already shown | Met at the required level in a previous successful application. | EL 3.1 |
A certificate that names a degree does not say which country awarded it or whether it was taught in English. For a non-UK degree the Ecctis statement is the evidence; without it, or a test, the point is open.
The TB test
You’ll need to have a tuberculosis (TB) test if all of the following are true: you’re coming to the UK for 6 months or more; you’ve lived in any of these listed countries for 6 months or more; you were living there (or another listed country) within the last 6 months.
The test turns on residence, not on the passport. A national of a listed country who has lived elsewhere for the last six months may not need one; a national of an unlisted country who has lived in a listed one may. The certificate “is valid for 6 months from the date of your x-ray”. The GOV.UK list ran to 102 countries on 1 October 2026 and includes, for example, India, Pakistan, China and South Korea; Brazil, the USA, Jamaica and the EU countries are not on it. Check the live list.
Current immigration status
Where the candidate is, and what permission they hold, decides which application they make and which certificate you need. SW 1.5 requires a permission-to-stay applicant to be in the UK on the date of application, and SW 1.5ZA bars switching from a Visitor, Short-term student, Parent of a Child Student, Seasonal Worker, Domestic Worker in a Private Household, or permission granted outside the Rules. The guidance tells the sponsor to ask first:
S2.6. Before you assign a CoS, you should talk to the worker about their current immigration status, as this may affect any application they make because of the rules on ‘switching’ … or maximum time limits for the route on which they are applying.
5. Defined or Undefined, and how many
S2.8. There are 2 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; CoS assigned to workers on all other routes …
Undefined CoS come from the annual allocation (S2.9); “you cannot have an annual allocation of Defined CoS – you must apply for one, using a separate process, each time you need one” (S2.10). If a sponsor is hiring, say, twenty developers from abroad, that is twenty Defined CoS applications; if the allocation will not stretch to in-country hires, “you can apply to increase your allocation via your SMS account. You must give reasons for doing so and we may ask for evidence” (S2.22).
After the certificate: the start date
S3.15. Once a worker has been granted permission, they should normally start working in their sponsored role no later than 28 days after whichever is the latest of: the start date on the worker’s CoS …; the ‘valid from’ date on the worker’s eVisa or (if applicable) entry clearance vignette; … the date the worker is notified of a grant of entry clearance or permission to stay.
If they do not, the sponsor must either report the new start date with reasons, or stop sponsoring (S3.16). From that day the record-keeping and reporting duties in Appendix D and Part 3 run.
How SponsorGuard runs these checks
The Certificate of Sponsorship checker takes a job description and a candidate pack (Word, PDF, photos or a zip), reads each document with the quote kept, and runs these points as fixed, written rules: the occupation code against the published tables, the salary arithmetic above, the age, the nationality against EL 4.1, the TB list, and what the file still lacks. Each candidate comes back as meets the checks we can run, needs information (with the list) or does not meet, and every finding shows the quote and the paragraph. It never gives a verdict on the person: the judgments in SW 5.5 and SW 6.3 are the solicitor’s, and the product is built so they stay that way.
Questions people ask
What is the minimum salary for a Skilled Worker visa in 2026?
For a new Skilled Worker application under option A the salary must equal or exceed both £41,700 a year and the going rate for the occupation code (the table following SW 4.4). The going rate is pro-rated to the worker’s weekly hours on a 37.5-hour basis (SW 14.4(a)). Other options (B to K) have lower thresholds and apply only when their conditions are met.
What level of English does a Skilled Worker need?
Level B2 of the Common European Framework in all four components (SW 4.1 and SW 7.1). B1 applies only where the applicant’s most recent permission was as a Skilled Worker granted at B1. Nationals of the countries listed in EL 4.1 (including the USA, Canada, Australia, Jamaica) meet it by nationality; a UK degree, a degree confirmed by Ecctis, an approved test passed in the last 2 years, or UK GCSE/A level English are the other routes.
Who needs a TB test for a UK visa?
GOV.UK says a person needs a tuberculosis test if they are coming to the UK for 6 months or more, have lived in a listed country for 6 months or more, and were living there (or in another listed country) within the last 6 months. The certificate is valid for 6 months from the x-ray. The test is about where the person has lived, not their nationality.
What is the difference between a Defined and an Undefined Certificate of Sponsorship?
Part 2 of the sponsor guidance (S2.8) says Defined CoS are for Skilled Workers applying for entry clearance (a visa) from outside the UK; Undefined CoS are for Skilled Workers applying for permission to stay from within the UK and for workers on all other routes. There is no annual allocation of Defined CoS: a sponsor applies for each one (S2.10). Undefined CoS come from the annual allocation, which can be increased in-year through the SMS (S2.22).
Can a sponsor assign a CoS if the candidate is 17?
No. Appendix Skilled Worker SW 1.3 says the applicant must be aged 18 or over on the date of application.
Does assigning a Certificate of Sponsorship guarantee the visa?
No. Part 2 S2.5: assigning a CoS does not guarantee the worker will be granted entry clearance or permission; they must meet all of the immigration requirements of the route on which they are applying.
Sources
- Immigration Rules, Appendix Skilled WorkerGOV.UK, page updated 3 August 2026; retrieved 1 October 2026 · GOV.UK
- Immigration Rules, Appendix English LanguageGOV.UK, page updated 3 August 2026; retrieved 1 October 2026 · GOV.UK
- Workers and Temporary Workers: sponsor a Skilled WorkerVersion 04/26, valid from 8 April 2026 · GOV.UK
- Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors, Part 2: sponsor a workerVersion 08/26, valid from 3 August 2026 · GOV.UK
- Tuberculosis tests for visa applicants (GOV.UK guide)Country list retrieved 1 October 2026. A GOV.UK guide page, not the Immigration Rules. · GOV.UK
SponsorGuard provides compliance software and record-keeping tools. It is not a law firm or an immigration adviser and does not give legal or immigration advice, which are regulated activities (Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, section 84). This page describes what the published Home Office guidance and the Immigration Rules say, with the paragraph for each point, so you can read the source yourself. Guidance versions and figures are those in force on the date shown; the Home Office changes them, so check the current version before you rely on any of it.
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