What is the UK COS Certificate and How to Obtain It?

The UK CoS document (Certificate of Sponsorship) is an electronic document given to the worker by the sponsoring employer in order to apply for a UK visa and to be accepted by the employer company. In the UK, sponsoring companies are required to define a COS document for each foreign worker they employ.

Before sponsoring the worker, the sponsoring company sends the worker a CoS document to confirm that the worker meets the UK work visa application requirements. The worker who wants to get a work visa in the UK uses the CoS document sent by the sponsoring company in his visa application.

The UK CoS document issued by the sponsoring company must be used by the worker within 3 months for the UK work visa application. The UK work visa application cannot be made if there are more than 3 months left until the start date stated on the CoS document.

What are the Types of COS Documents for UK Work Visa?

There are two types of COS documents for the UK work visa: Defined Certificates and Undefined Certificates.

The Defined Sponsorship Certificate is the certificate used for skilled worker visa applications from outside the UK. The UK skilled worker visa application is made by the employer with the sponsorship license through the Sponsorship Management System. Applications made through the UK Sponsorship Management System are generally approved within 1 business day and the sponsor company assigns the worker.

The Undefined Certificate of Sponsorship is the certificate used for UK skilled worker visa and all other visa applications from outside the UK. UK sponsoring companies are asked to indicate the approximate number of Undefined Certificates of Sponsorship they will need for workers and temporary workers in the first year.

A sample CoS document for a UK work visa is given below.

What types of visas require a UK Certificate of Sponsorship?

The visa types for which a UK Certificate of Sponsorship is required are listed below.

UK skilled worker visa
UK temporary work visa
UK worker visa
UK intra-company transfer visa
UK scale up visa

Is a COS Certificate Required for a UK Graduate Visa?

No, there is no CoS document requirement for the UK graduate visa. There is no need to have an employer sponsor for the UK graduate visa and the CoS document is not among the mandatory documents for the visa application.

The UK government grants foreign students the right to stay in the UK for an additional 2 or 3 years, depending on their undergraduate degree, without having to work, through a UK graduate visa.

Students with undergraduate and graduate degrees can stay in the UK for 2 years with a UK graduate visa, and graduates with a doctorate can stay in the UK for 3 years without a job offer. In order to apply for a UK new graduate visa , you must be in the UK. The UK graduate visa becomes valid from the day the application is approved and the visa period cannot be extended. If you want to extend your stay in the UK after graduation, you must apply for a different visa, such as a skilled worker visa.

How to Get UK COS Certificate?

The assignment of the UK CoS document is made by the licensed sponsor company through the Sponsorship Management System. Employer company managers with a sponsorship license in the UK log in to the Sponsorship Management System online with user accounts with different authorizations and organize CoS documents in the system.

There are 1st and 2nd level user accounts in the UK Sponsor Management System that operate on behalf of the company. Level 1 users defined in the UK Sponsor Management System have access to all areas on the system, level 2 users in the system have the role of editor and perform various actions such as adding and removing.

The CoS document issued online is not a printed document, it is a database record created with the sponsor management system panel. For a work visa application in the UK, each worker is assigned a CoS document virtually through their Sponsor Management System account.

The UK Home Office grants each sponsor company the right to assign a certain number of CoS documents annually. Sponsor company officials must notify the UK Home Office at the beginning of the year of the estimated number of CoS documents they will assign. The sponsor company whose license is approved by the ministry is virtually entitled to assign CoS documents.

The screenshot for the UK CoS document is given below.

How much is the COS Document Fee for UK Visa?

The CoS document fee for a UK visa is £199 for skilled workers or ICT workers, except for international athletes. The UK CoS document fee for temporary workers is £21.

When can I apply for a UK visa using the COS document?

A UK visa application must be made within 3 months with the UK CoS document. After the UK COS document created on the database by the sponsor company is assigned, the validity period of the certificate is 3 months.

The start and end dates specified on the UK CoS document can be changed by the sponsor company through the Sponsorship Management System if necessary. If there are more than 3 months until the start date of the UK CoS document, a UK visa application cannot be made.

Can I Work in Different Companies in the UK with a COS Certificate?

No, each employer has its own sponsorship license. The COS certificate is valid for the relevant sponsor company and only after the current certificate is cancelled, a new certificate can be obtained from another employer with a sponsor license.

Thanks to the sponsorship license, it is possible for companies headquartered in the UK to employ foreign nationals in or outside the UK. The UK sponsored visa application is made with the UK CoS document produced by the sponsoring company.