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How UK visa sponsorship works

UK visa guide · Checked against gov.uk on · By the GoRizzume team

How does visa sponsorship work in the UK?

In the UK, visa sponsorship means an employer with a Home Office sponsor licence vouches for you in a specific job by assigning you a Certificate of Sponsorship, which you then use to apply for a work visa such as the Skilled Worker visa. The employer carries the sponsorship costs and duties, and your permission to stay is tied to that job and that sponsor.

On this page
  1. What sponsorship means
  2. Which visas need a sponsor
  3. Sponsor licences and ratings
  4. Certificate of Sponsorship
  5. Who pays what
  6. The sponsor's duties
  7. How sponsorship ties you
  8. Finding employers who sponsor
  9. Red flags
  10. Go deeper
  11. FAQs
  12. Sources
This is information, not immigration advice. It explains published Home Office rules and cannot see your own history. Always confirm on gov.uk, check with your employer, and take advice from an adviser regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority before making a decision that matters.

The basics

What does visa sponsorship mean?

Most people who are not British or Irish citizens, and do not have settled or pre-settled status or indefinite leave to remain, need a visa to work in the UK. That includes EU, EEA and Swiss citizens who arrived after 31 December 2020. For the main work routes, the visa depends on an employer acting as your sponsor.

Checked against gov.uk on : UK visa sponsorship for employers

Sponsorship is a promise with conditions. The employer confirms the job is real and meets the rules for the route, and takes on duties to keep records and report to the Home Office while it sponsors you. Sponsoring someone does not guarantee they will get a visa.

Checked against gov.uk on : UK visa sponsorship for employersUK visa sponsorship for employers: your responsibilities

The Graduate visa and the Youth Mobility Scheme need no sponsor, which is why they matter so much to graduates. See our Graduate visa guide and our guides by country.

Routes

Which visas need a sponsor?

Sponsor licences come in two types. A Worker licence covers routes such as Skilled Worker (including the Health and Care Worker visa), Senior or Specialist Worker for staff moved by a multinational, Minister of Religion and International Sportsperson. A Temporary Worker licence covers shorter routes such as Scale-up, Creative Worker, Charity Worker, Government Authorised Exchange and Seasonal Worker.

Checked against gov.uk on : UK visa sponsorship for employers: types of licence

For most graduates and international workers the one that matters is the Skilled Worker visa, and our Skilled Worker guide covers its rules in full.

A sponsor licence is the Home Office's permission for an organisation to sponsor workers. To get one, an employer appoints staff to manage sponsorship through the Home Office's online sponsorship management system, passes checks on those people, and shows it has the systems to meet its duties; UK Visas and Immigration may visit. It pays £611 if it is a small business or charity, or £1,682 if it is medium or large, and gov.uk says most applications are decided in less than 8 weeks.

Checked against gov.uk on : UK visa sponsorship for employersUK visa sponsorship for employers: apply for your licence

A and B ratings

A new licence is A-rated, which lets the employer assign certificates and puts it on the public register. If it falls short of its duties it can be downgraded to a B rating. A B-rated sponsor cannot assign certificates to new workers, though it can still assign them to workers it already sponsors who need to extend. It must pay £1,579 for an action plan to get back to an A rating, and it loses its licence if it does not complete the plan.

Checked against gov.uk on : UK visa sponsorship for employers: your licence rating

The register of licensed sponsors

The Home Office publishes every licensed organisation on gov.uk in the register of licensed sponsors, with its town, county, rating and the routes it is licensed for. You can search GoRizzume's daily copy by city, check a single employer, or see what the register shows overall.

Checked against gov.uk on : Register of licensed sponsors: workers

The certificate

What is a Certificate of Sponsorship?

A Certificate of Sponsorship is an electronic record the employer creates in the sponsorship management system and assigns to you. It is not a paper document. It has a reference number, and you enter that number on your visa application.

Checked against gov.uk on : UK visa sponsorship for employers: certificates of sponsorshipSkilled Worker visa: your job

  • Defined certificates are for Skilled Worker applicants applying from outside the UK. The employer applies for each one, and gov.uk says most are approved within one working day.
  • Undefined certificates are for Skilled Workers applying from inside the UK and for other routes. The employer estimates how many it needs each year and can apply for more.
  • You must use the certificate to apply within 3 months, and not more than 3 months before the start date of the job.

Checked against gov.uk on : UK visa sponsorship for employers: certificates of sponsorship

You cannot get a certificate from the Home Office yourself. Only a licensed sponsor can assign one, and you should never pay for it.

Checked against gov.uk on : UK visa sponsorship for employers: certificates of sponsorshipApplying for health and social care jobs in the UK from abroad

Money

What does sponsorship cost, and who pays?

Sponsorship costs as published on gov.uk
CostAmountWho pays
Sponsor licence (Worker)£611 small or charitable, £1,682 medium or largeEmployer
Certificate of Sponsorship£525 per certificateEmployer
Immigration Skills Charge£480 (small) or £1,320 (medium or large) for the first 12 months, then £240 or £660 for each further 6 monthsEmployer
Action plan after a B rating£1,579Employer
Skilled Worker visa feeFrom £819 (outside the UK, up to 3 years)Worker
Immigration health surchargeUsually £1,035 a year; not paid on the Health and Care Worker visaWorker

Checked against gov.uk on : UK visa sponsorship for employers: apply for your licenceUK visa sponsorship for employers: certificates of sponsorshipUK visa sponsorship for employers: immigration skills chargeUK visa sponsorship for employers: your licence ratingSkilled Worker visa: how much it costsHealth and Care Worker visa: overview

The employer must pay the licence fee, the certificate fee and the Immigration Skills Charge itself. Sponsor guidance lists asking a worker to pay any of them, or recovering them from the worker, as grounds on which the Home Office will normally revoke a licence. For a full 5 years, the Immigration Skills Charge comes to £6,600 for a medium or large sponsor and £2,400 for a small one.

Checked against gov.uk on : Sponsor guidance part 3: sponsor duties and complianceUK visa sponsorship for employers: immigration skills charge

The charge is not due for some research occupations, or when the worker holds a Student visa on the day the certificate is assigned.

Checked against gov.uk on : UK visa sponsorship for employers: immigration skills chargeSponsor guidance part 2: sponsor a worker

Obligations

What does a sponsor have to do?

  • check you have the skills, qualifications or professional registration the job needs, and keep copies
  • only assign certificates for jobs that are suitable for sponsorship
  • pay at least the salary the rules require, in each pay period
  • check your right to work, track your attendance and keep your contact details up to date
  • report to UK Visas and Immigration if you stop coming to work or do not comply with your visa conditions
  • comply with UK employment law, including the minimum wage and working time rules

Checked against gov.uk on : UK visa sponsorship for employers: your responsibilitiesImmigration Rules: Appendix Skilled Worker

A sponsor that fails these duties can be downgraded, suspended or have its licence revoked.

Checked against gov.uk on : UK visa sponsorship for employers: your responsibilities

Your position

How does sponsorship tie you to an employer?

Your permission is for a specific job with a specific sponsor. Changing employer, or moving to a job with a different occupation code, needs a new certificate and a new application before you start. Extra work is limited to 20 hours a week in certain jobs unless you update your visa.

Checked against gov.uk on : Skilled Worker visa: update your visa if you change job or employerSkilled Worker visa: taking on additional work

If your sponsor's licence is suspended, workers who already have permission are not affected unless the licence is then revoked. If it is revoked and you were not involved, the Home Office normally shortens your permission to 60 calendar days. Any certificates the sponsor assigned become invalid, so an application from outside the UK based on one will be refused.

Checked against gov.uk on : Sponsor guidance part 3: sponsor duties and compliance

Since October 2026, Skilled Workers formally recognised as victims of modern slavery are no longer tied to their sponsor and can take any lawful work for the rest of their visa.

Checked against gov.uk on : Victims freed from abusive employers under new visa rules (Home Office, 9 October 2026)

Your search

How do you find employers that can sponsor you?

Start from the register rather than from adverts. A job board tells you who is hiring; the register tells you who is allowed to sponsor. Work through it by city, then by sector, then check the specific employer before you apply.

A licence shows an employer can sponsor, not that it will for the role you want. Ask early and directly whether the role is open to sponsorship, which occupation code it would use and what it pays, and check that against the salary calculator.

For live roles at licensed sponsors, see visa sponsorship jobs. For graduate schemes, see which graduate programmes sponsor and every application deadline.

Stay safe

What are the red flags?

  • Someone asks you to pay for a Certificate of Sponsorship, the Immigration Skills Charge or the employer’s licence fee.
  • The employer is not on the register, or holds a B rating and says it can sponsor you now.
  • A UK-based agency asks you for a fee for finding you work.
  • A job offer arrives without an application or interview, or the salary seems far too high for the role.
  • Anyone asks for urgent payment by cash or money transfer to sort out a visa.

Checked against gov.uk on : Sponsor guidance part 3: sponsor duties and complianceUK visa sponsorship for employers: your licence ratingApplying for health and social care jobs in the UK from abroadReport visa and immigration scams

Report visa scams to Report Fraud, and exploitation at work to the Fair Work Agency.

Checked against gov.uk on : Report visa and immigration scamsContact the Fair Work Agency

Go deeper

Where to go next

Articles

Visa Sponsorship Jobs UK: Where Graduates Can Actually Find Sponsored Roles in 2026Where to find visa sponsorship jobs in the UK as a graduate: the sites that work, the ground-truth register, and the dead platforms old lists still recommend.Sponsor Licence Check: How to Check if a UK Company Sponsors Visas (and What the Register Can't Tell You)How to search the Home Office sponsor register, what the route and A/B rating columns mean, why sponsors vanish from the list, and our count of the 7 October 2026 edition.We Analysed All 126,219 UK Visa Sponsors: What the Register Really Tells Graduates in 2026Analysis of all 126,219 licensed UK visa sponsors and 7,080 live graduate job ads: where sponsors are, and why ads almost never mention sponsorship.Which UK Companies Sponsor Graduate Visas in 2026 (and How to Check Any Employer)More than 126,000 UK organisations can sponsor Skilled Worker visas. Which graduate employers actually do, and how to check any company in under a minute.Will You Require Visa Sponsorship? How to Answer Honestly on UK Applications (2026)On a Student, Graduate or HPI visa the honest answer to "now or in the future" is usually yes. The right answer for each visa, and how to check an employer first.How to find visa-sponsoring graduate schemesA method for finding UK graduate schemes that sponsor international students, cross-referencing scheme lists against the official sponsor register.

Tools

Visa sponsor registerEvery licensed UK sponsor, by city and sector, mirrored daily from the Home Office register.Sponsor licence checkCheck one employer against the register before you spend an evening on its application form.Sponsor register statisticsHow many organisations hold a licence, by city, route and rating.Visa sponsorship jobsLive roles at licensed sponsors, taken from the employers' own careers sites.Skilled Worker salary calculatorThe general threshold and the going rate for an occupation code, with the higher one binding.

Licensed sponsors near you

GoRizzume's copy of the Home Office register lists 126,000+ licensed organisations, last synced 31 October 2026. A licence means an employer can sponsor, not that it will for every role.

Related guides

Visa guideSkilled Worker visaThe main UK work visa: who qualifies, the salary rules, what it costs and who pays, family, changing jobs and settlement.Visa guideHealth and Care Worker visaWho still qualifies after the 2025 care worker changes, NHS and care employers, family rules, licence revocation and scams.HubAll visa guidesEvery guide in the series, the tools, and guides by country.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

Can I get a Certificate of Sponsorship without an employer?

No. Only an employer with a Home Office sponsor licence can assign a Certificate of Sponsorship, and only for a job it is offering you. You cannot apply for one yourself, and you should never pay for one.

Does a sponsor licence mean an employer will sponsor me?

No. A licence means the employer is allowed to sponsor. Whether it will sponsor a particular role depends on the employer, the occupation code and the salary, so ask directly.

How long does it take an employer to get a sponsor licence?

gov.uk says most applications are decided in less than 8 weeks. A faster decision within 10 working days is available for an extra £750, for a limited number of applications each day.

Who pays for visa sponsorship?

The employer pays the licence fee, the Certificate of Sponsorship fee and the Immigration Skills Charge, and must not pass them on. The worker pays the visa fee and, on most routes, the immigration health surcharge.

What is the difference between a defined and an undefined Certificate of Sponsorship?

A defined certificate is for a Skilled Worker applying from outside the UK and is applied for one at a time. An undefined certificate is for a Skilled Worker applying from inside the UK, or for other routes, and comes from an allocation the employer holds.

What happens if my sponsor loses its licence?

If you were not involved in the reasons, the Home Office normally shortens your permission so you have 60 calendar days left. In that time you need to make a new application, usually with a new sponsor, or leave the UK.

Can a B-rated sponsor hire me?

Not as a new sponsored worker. A B-rated sponsor cannot assign certificates to new workers until it has completed an action plan and returned to an A rating. It can still assign certificates to workers it already sponsors who need to extend.

References

Sources

Every page below was read on 23 October 2026. The Immigration Rules change several times a year; if a gov.uk page says something different from this guide, gov.uk is right.

  1. 1.GOV.UK, UK visa sponsorship for employers
  2. 2.GOV.UK, UK visa sponsorship for employers: your responsibilities
  3. 3.GOV.UK, UK visa sponsorship for employers: types of licence
  4. 4.GOV.UK, UK visa sponsorship for employers: apply for your licence
  5. 5.GOV.UK, UK visa sponsorship for employers: your licence rating
  6. 6.GOV.UK, Register of licensed sponsors: workers
  7. 7.GOV.UK, UK visa sponsorship for employers: certificates of sponsorship
  8. 8.GOV.UK, Skilled Worker visa: your job
  9. 9.GOV.UK, Applying for health and social care jobs in the UK from abroad
  10. 10.GOV.UK, UK visa sponsorship for employers: immigration skills charge
  11. 11.GOV.UK, Skilled Worker visa: how much it costs
  12. 12.GOV.UK, Health and Care Worker visa: overview
  13. 13.GOV.UK, Sponsor guidance part 3: sponsor duties and compliance
  14. 14.GOV.UK, Sponsor guidance part 2: sponsor a worker
  15. 15.GOV.UK, Immigration Rules: Appendix Skilled Worker
  16. 16.GOV.UK, Skilled Worker visa: update your visa if you change job or employer
  17. 17.GOV.UK, Skilled Worker visa: taking on additional work
  18. 18.GOV.UK, Victims freed from abusive employers under new visa rules (Home Office, 9 October 2026)
  19. 19.GOV.UK, Report visa and immigration scams
  20. 20.GOV.UK, Contact the Fair Work Agency
This is information, not immigration advice. It explains published Home Office rules and cannot see your own history. Always confirm on gov.uk, check with your employer, and take advice from an adviser regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority before making a decision that matters.