Tier 2 sponsors should have by now received an email from UK Visas & Immigration reminding them that the CoS annual allocation process will soon begin and any unused unrestricted CoS in the SMS will expire on 5 April 2018. Sponsors should start thinking about how many unrestricted CoS they’ll need from 6 April 2018 to 5 April 2019.
Unrestricted CoS are assigned to:
- Those already working for you under Tier 2 General who will need to extend their visa so they can continue working for you;
- New hires who will earn an annual salary of £159,600 or more;
- Those already in the UK who can and will be switching into the Tier 2 General route or those already sponsored under the Tier 2 General route and are changing employers; and
- Croatian nationals who require a CoS to apply for worker authorisation.
Tier 2 sponsors can apply for their allowance now and will need to include justification for the number required. So, for example, you might want to mention you are currently sponsoring workers who will be extending their visa during the period between 6 April 2018 to 5 April 2019.
When considering your request, UKVI will look at your:
- Compliance history;
- Your business activities; and
- The length of time you have been trading.
You can always request more CoS if you run out but as UKVI’s service times are 18 weeks, you may not receive them in time and the only alternative would be to apply for an increase in your CoS allocation via the Tier 2 and 5 priority service which costs £200 per request.