Sponsorship: guidance for employers and educators
Information for student and worker sponsors, including full policy guidance, using the sponsorship management system and how to get help.
This collection includes documents for businesses and educational institutions that sponsor foreign workers and students. It includes:
- sponsorship policy guidance
- guides to using the business helpdesk and educators helpdesk
- codes of practice
- user manuals for the sponsorship management system (SMS)
- technical details for bulk data transfers
- lists of licensed sponsors
The codes of practice for skilled workers for certificates of sponsorship assigned on or after 6 April 2017 can be found in Appendix J of the Immigration Rules.
From 1 January 2021 you’ll need to have a sponsor licence to hire most workers from outside the UK.
Sponsorship policy guidance
- Priority change of circumstances for sponsors
- Tier 2 and 5 priority service request form
- Sponsor a Tier 2 or 5 worker: guidance for employers
- Student sponsor guidance
- Sponsor guidance appendix A: supporting documents for sponsor applications
- Sponsor guidance appendix B: immigration offences and sponsorship
- Sponsor guidance appendix C: civil penalties and sponsorship
- Sponsor guidance appendix D: keeping records for sponsorship
- Sponsor guidance appendix F: Tier 5 (International Agreement)
How to get help
Codes of practice
All the creative codes of practice are contained in the Immigration Rules, Appendix J, Table 8
User manuals: sponsorship management system (SMS)
- Introduction to the sponsorship management system: SMS guide 1
- Manage your sponsorship licence: SMS guide 2
- Applications, renewals and services: SMS guide 3
- Creating and assigning CAS: SMS guide 4
- Creating a CAS: guide for education sponsors, SMS guide 4a
- Reporting student activity: SMS guide 5
- Miscellaneous CAS functions: SMS guide 6
- Bulk data transfer of CAS: SMS guide 7
- Creating and assigning a CoS: SMS guide 8
- Creating a CoS: guide for business sponsors (SMS guide 8a)
- Reporting worker activity: SMS guide 9
- Miscellaneous certificate of sponsorship functions: SMS guide 10
- Tier 5 creative and sport certificate of sponsorship: SMS guide 11
- Restricted certificate of sponsorship: SMS guide 12
Bulk data transfer: technical details
- Bulk data transfer for sponsors: XML schema
- Bulk data transfer for sponsors: country codes
- Bulk data transfer for sponsors: example files
- Bulk data transfer for sponsors: data values for CAS fields
- Bulk data transfer for sponsors: validation rules for CAS upload
- Bulk data transfer for sponsors: frequently asked questions
Lists of licensed sponsors
Last updated 5 April 2020 + show all updates
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Added guidance on priority change of circumstances for sponsors and Tier 2 and 5 priority service request form.
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Link to updated shortage occupation list added under codes of practice.
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Updated information.
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Tier 2 shortage occupation list from 6 April 2015 addition to the codes of practice section.
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Updated SMS documents.
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First published.