Certificate of Sponsorship application process
The Certificate of Sponsorship application requirements and application forms differ depending on whether the applicant is considered to be an 'initial' applicant, or an 'extension' applicant.
Further information on the categories of migrant who will be conisdered initial and extension applicants can be found on the Allocation of Certificates of Sponsorship web page.
Initial applicants
Before applying to the Work Permits Desk for a Tier 2 Certificate of Sponsorship for an in-country 'initial' applicant, departments and colleges must satisfy themselves that the migrant is able to meet the points criteria for a Tier 2 visa.
Departments and colleges should also satisfy themselves that the migrant has not held a valid Tier 2 visa in the past twelve months. To prevent repeat periods of short-term temporary leave in Tier 2, any Tier 2 visa holder who leaves the job for which their Tier 2 visa was issued and leaves UK, or who switches out of Tier 2 into another immigration category from within the UK, will not be able to apply for another Tier 2 visa again for a period of twelve months from the expiry date of their existing/previous visa.
Migrants must obtain 70 points in order to be eligible for leave to remain under Tier 2, as follows:
| Requirement | Points |
| Valid Certificate of Sponsorship | 30 |
| Salary meets the minimum rate detailed in the appropriate Code of Practice , or £20,000 per annum, whichever is higher.* | 20 |
| Maintenance - either (a) the equivalent of £900 of personal savings held for at least three months prior to the date of the visa application, plus additional savings (£600) for each accompanying dependant, or, (b) confirmation from the employing department/college that it will if necessary maintain and accommodate the migrant and accompanying dependants during the first month of employment. | 10 |
| English language: (a) national of an English-speaking country as defined by the UKBA, or (b) has studied for a degree via the medium of English, or (c) has passed an approved English language test** | 10 |
*Please note that migrants must be paid their salary into their own personal bank account. Payments in cash are not permitted.
** Please see the UK Border Agency's Approved English Language Tests for guidance on acceptable programmes and the grade migrants must reach in order to meet the Tier 2 requirements.
Migrants can use the UK Border Agency's points calculator to assess whether they would have enough points for a Tier 2 visa.
In order to apply for a Certificate of Sponsorship for an 'initial' applicant, the employing department or college will need to complete a Tier 2 initial CoS application form 
(137kb) and return this to the Work Permits Desk together with the documentation listed at the end of the form.
Departments and colleges are advised to submit Certificate of Sponsorship applications for initial applicants to the Work Permits Desk approximately twelve weeks before the migrant is due to commence employment.
Extension applicants
The Work Permits desk will, where possible, send a reminder to departmental administrators approximately twelve weeks before a migrant's leave to remain (visa) expires. It is the responsibility of the department and of the migrant to ensure that, if an extension is required, it is applied for in plenty of time before the migrant's current leave to remain (visa) expires.
In general, to be considered as an 'extension' applicant, migrants must be continuing to work in the same or similar job, and be paid at the same or higher salary than their original work visa was issued for. For example, a Postdoctoral Research Assistant coming to the end of their current visa may switch from one department to take up a new research post in another department without the need for the department to show that they have advertised the post. Such circumstances will be considered an extension rather than a new application.
Before applying to the Work Permits Desk for a Tier 2 Certificate of Sponsorship for an in-country 'extension' applicant (please refer to the top of this page for examples of those who would be considered 'extension' applicants), departments and colleges must satisfy themselves that migrants job is listed in the UK Border Agency's Codes of Practice as skilled to at least degree level, and that the job meets the salary requirements set out in the relevant Code of Practice.
All extension applicants will be required to meet the UK Border Agency's English language requirements, unless they were last granted leave as an old-style work permit holder, or they currently hold a Tier 2 visa and have previously provided evidence of meeting the English language requirement.
However, the UK Border Agency's guidance on those who need to meet the English language requirement is not clear, so we would recommend that all extension applicants provide evidence of meeting the English language requirement as a precaution, where possible.
Before applying for a Certificate of Sponsorship for an extension applicant, the department should ensure that they are satisfied that the migrant is either:
- a national of an English-speaking country, as defined by the UK Border Agency, or
- has studied for a degree via the medium of English and which is recognised as having been taught in English by the UK Border Agency's points calculator, or
- has passed an approved English language test*, or
- is not required to meet the English language requirement, as described above.
* Please see the UK Border Agency's Approved English Language Tests for guidance on acceptable programmes and the grade migrants must reach in order to meet the Tier 2 requirements.
In order to apply for a Certificate of Sponsorship for an 'extension' applicant, the employing department or college will need to complete a Tier 2 CoS extension application form (79kb) and return it to the Work Permits Desk together with the documentation listed at the end of the form.
Departments and colleges are advised to submit Certificate of Sponsorship applications for extension applicants to the Work Permits Desk approximately eight to twelve weeks before the migrant's current visa expires.
Those who first obtained a Tier 2 visa on or after 6 April 2011 will have their maximum leave under Tier 2 limited to six years. Visas can be granted for up to three years in the first instance and can be extended for up to a further three years to a total maximum stay of six years on a Tier 2 visa. Previous policy permitted an unlimited number of extensions under Tier 2. Tier 2 migrants wishing to stay in the UK for longer than six years may still be able to apply for settlement (indefinite leave to remain) after a five year qualifying period.
This does not affect those who those who first obtained a Tier 2 visa before 6 April 2011 who will be able to continue to extend their Tier 2 visa (subject to meeting the eligibility criteria for extension applications in place at the time) and will not be subject to a maximum period on a Tier 2 visa.