How to Spot a Sponsorship Scam

Sponsorship scams exploit urgency and the fact that official-looking documents are easy to copy. A company appearing on the sponsor register is an important check, but it does not prove that the person contacting you works for that company or that a particular job exists.

Costs a Skilled Worker sponsor must not recover from you

Current Home Office sponsor guidance makes the sponsor responsible for specific sponsorship costs. For a Skilled Worker, a sponsor will normally have its licence revoked if it recoups or attempts to recoup:

• the Skilled Worker sponsor-licence fee and associated administrative costs, where recoupment happens on or after 31 December 2024;
• the CoS fee and associated administrative costs for a CoS assigned on or after 31 December 2024; or
• the Immigration Skills Charge, whenever that charge is required.

The current rules are set out at paragraph L6.17 of the Home Office sponsor guidance. GOV.UK separately states that the sponsor must pay the Immigration Skills Charge itself and may lose its licence if it asks the worker to pay the fee or costs linked to the application.

Do not accept relabelling as an "administration fee", a loan, a wage deduction or a repayment clause without checking what the charge really covers. Keep the written request and get regulated advice if the description is unclear.

Costs that may genuinely fall to the applicant

A worker commonly pays the visa application fee and, where applicable, the Immigration Health Surcharge unless the employer voluntarily agrees to cover them. Depending on the application, the worker may also have costs for evidence such as an English-language test, tuberculosis test, criminal-record certificate or certified translation.

That does not make every applicant-facing charge legitimate. UK recruitment agencies generally cannot charge a work-seeker for finding or trying to find work. They may charge for genuinely optional services such as CV writing, training or transport, but cannot make those services a condition of finding work. Separate exceptions apply in entertainment and modelling.

A demand to pay an employer or intermediary to "secure" a job, visa or sponsorship slot is a hard stop. Home Office fraud and scam guidance warns about fake UK jobs followed by demands for visa-related payments and says there are no shortcuts or guaranteed outcomes.

What a real CoS and application look like

A genuine Skilled Worker application is based on a real eligible job with an approved sponsor. The employer assesses the role, chooses an appropriate occupation code and assigns the CoS through the sponsorship system. A CoS is an electronic record, not a certificate that a recruiter can sell or transfer to you. It has a reference number used in the visa application.

Sponsorship does not guarantee a visa. You apply through GOV.UK, and UK Visas and Immigration decides the application. Treat claims that someone can bypass the application, guarantee approval or sell a pre-approved CoS as fraudulent.

Verify the offer, not only the company name

Use independent channels for every step:

1. Match the exact legal entity. Check the offer against the official register of licensed Worker and Temporary Worker sponsors, including its location, route and rating.
2. Contact the employer independently. Find the organisation's website and switchboard yourself rather than using links or phone numbers supplied in the message. Ask HR to confirm the recruiter's identity, vacancy reference and offer.
3. Compare the details. The job title, duties, working location, salary, weekly hours, occupation code, sponsor legal name and licence number should be consistent across the offer and CoS information.
4. Check regulated employers separately. For example, an England-based Care Worker or Senior Care Worker sponsor must also have active CQC registration and be carrying on a regulated activity.
5. Check the payment destination. Never send money to a personal account, cryptocurrency wallet, gift card or money-transfer recipient because a message uses a genuine company's logo.

VisaAtlas tracks the official Home Office register, currently covering 126,938+ licensed companies, which makes an initial company check faster. Always use the live official register and an independently sourced company contact before trusting a particular offer.

Verify a company's sponsor status

Warning signs worth treating seriously

• Payment requested to obtain a job, CoS or guaranteed visa decision.
• A request to reimburse the sponsor licence fee, Skilled Worker CoS fee or Immigration Skills Charge.
• Pressure to pay or send identity documents immediately.
• A sender address that imitates a company domain or uses a free email account.
• An interview conducted only by text, or no meaningful assessment of your experience.
• Vague or conflicting answers about the legal employer, duties, salary, hours, SOC code or work location.
• A "CoS certificate" offered for sale without a genuine job and sponsor-led process.

No single signal proves fraud, but a request to pay for the job or sponsorship is enough to pause and verify independently.

If you think you have been targeted

Stop sending money or further personal documents and preserve the messages, email headers, account details, adverts, invoices and payment receipts. Then:

• use the official GOV.UK route to report a visa or immigration scam to Report Fraud;
• contact your bank or payment provider immediately if money was sent;
• report the account or advert to the job board, social platform or messaging service; and
• complain to the Immigration Advice Authority if the conduct involves a regulated adviser or someone giving immigration advice without regulation.

Use 999 if there is an immediate danger. Do not confront a suspected fraudster in a way that puts you at risk.

Sources and verification

This guide was checked on 3 August 2026 against:

• Home Office sponsor guidance, Part 1, especially L6.17;
• GOV.UK: Immigration Skills Charge;
• GOV.UK: Skilled Worker job and CoS requirements;
• Home Office: fraud, tricks and scams; and
• GOV.UK: recruitment-agency fees.

This is general information, not legal advice. Verify current costs and rules in the live official sources and consider advice from a regulated immigration adviser if a payment demand or offer is unclear.