United Kingdom: UKBA to Clear Backlog of Requests for Unrestricted Certificates of Sponsorship by May 4
Employers have been experiencing delays in obtaining unrestricted Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) to use between April 6, 2012 and April 5, 2013, after the UK Border Agency (UKBA) received an unexpectedly large number of requests for the certificates. The UKBA expects to issue all CoS that were requested before April 6 by May 4, 2012. There have been no reports of delays for restricted CoS.
The UKBA is willing to consider expedited CoS requests in a limited number of circumstances, and Fragomen’s UK office has been successful in securing urgent CoS in these cases. Employers who need an unrestricted CoS urgently should contact the global immigration professional with whom they work at Fragomen.
Certificates of Sponsorship are used by employers to sponsor skilled workers from outside the UK under Tier 2 of the Points Based System. Unrestricted CoS are used for foreign workers who are not subject to the UK’s annual cap on admissions, including intracompany transferees, Tier 2 workers earning over £150,000 annually, and foreign nationals already working in the UK extending or their stay or changing employers. Sponsors request an allotment of unrestricted CoS based on their projected need for the year in the months leading up to the opening of the annual filing period on April 6, though they can request more at a later date if necessary.
This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to ukcaseinitiate@fragomen.com.