A Certificate of Sponsorship is not a document. It is an electronic record created in the Sponsorship Management System with a unique reference number, which the worker quotes on their visa application.

Defined versus undefined

This distinction is still in force as at September 2026. We checked specifically for its removal and found no Statement of Changes abolishing it.

	Defined CoS	Undefined CoS
Used for	Skilled Worker applicants applying from outside the UK	Skilled Workers applying from inside the UK (extensions and switches), and all other sponsored routes
How obtained	Requested individually via the SMS, case by case	Drawn from an annual allocation estimated in your licence application
Timeframe	Usually within 1 working day, longer if further checks are needed	Allocation requests usually decided within up to 12 weeks; 5 working days with the £350 post-licence priority service

The practical implication: if you are hiring from overseas, you request a defined CoS for that specific person and normally have it next day. If you are hiring or extending someone already in the UK, you draw from your allocation — and if your allocation is exhausted, topping it up can take up to twelve weeks unless you pay for priority.

Estimate your first-year allocation generously in the licence application. Running out is a self-inflicted delay.

The fees

Unchanged since 9 April 2025, and confirmed unchanged in the 8 October 2026 fee table:

CoS type	Fee
Worker routes — Skilled Worker, Global Business Mobility, Minister of Religion, Scale-up	£525
Temporary Worker routes	£55
International Sportsperson, 12 months or more	£525
International Sportsperson, up to 12 months	£55

The 9 April 2025 increase was steep: £239 to £525, a rise of 120%. The Temporary Worker fee went from £25 to £55 on the same basis.

The rule that gets licences revoked

The sponsor must pay the CoS fee. Recouping it from the worker risks licence revocation.

The same applies to the sponsor licence fee and the Immigration Skills Charge. This is one of the most frequently cited grounds for action against sponsors, and it is not one UKVI treats leniently.

The clocks that start when you assign

Two deadlines the worker cannot extend:

• The worker must use the CoS to apply within 3 months of assignment
• The worker cannot apply more than 3 months before the start date shown on it

Assign too early and it expires before they can use it. Assign too late and they cannot apply in time. Getting the start date right on the CoS matters more than it appears.

What goes on it

The CoS records the job: SOC occupation code, job title, duties, salary, hours, work location, and start and end dates.

This must match reality. Annex C1 of the sponsor guidance makes revocation mandatory where the sponsored worker's role does not match the occupation code or job description on the CoS. Not likely — mandatory.

If the job changes materially after assignment, that is a reporting duty, not something to leave until the next renewal.

Provisional-rated sponsors

A sponsor on a provisional rating — for instance a UK Expansion Worker licence — may initially assign only one CoS, to the Authorising Officer. Once that visa is granted, the licence can be upgraded and up to nine further CoS requested.

Budgeting for a hire

For a medium or large sponsor hiring one Skilled Worker for five years:

Item	Cost
Certificate of Sponsorship	£525
Immigration Skills Charge, 5 years	£6,600
Total, per worker	£7,125

Plus the licence fee, plus any legal fees. And none of it can lawfully be recovered from the worker.

For a small or charitable sponsor the Skills Charge is £480 a year, so the same five-year hire costs £525 + £2,400 = £2,925.