7 things every migrant must verify before trusting a Certificate of Sponsorship

Thousands of people have lost their savings — and in some cases their family's entire assets — to fake Certificates of Sponsorship. Every single one of them could have been protected by checking a handful of publicly available facts before sending any money. This is that list.

1. 1

   Check the UKVI Register of Licensed Sponsors.

   This is the most important check you can make and it is completely free. Visit gov.uk and search the official Register of Licensed Sponsors. Type in the employer's name. If the company does not appear on this list, they cannot legally issue you a Certificate of Sponsorship under any circumstances. A company that appears on Companies House but NOT on the UKVI register is not a licensed sponsor. Full stop.

2. 2

   Verify the CoS reference number format.

   A genuine Certificate of Sponsorship reference number is eleven alphanumeric characters. It is not a random string of letters — it has a specific, verifiable structure. If the reference you have been given does not match this format, or if the employer cannot show you the reference at all, treat this as a serious warning sign.

3. 3

   Check the salary meets the minimum threshold.

   As of 2024, the general threshold for the Skilled Worker route is £41,700 per year (or the going rate for the role, whichever is higher). For Health and Care Worker visas, the threshold is £23,200. If the salary on your CoS is below these figures, the visa cannot be granted. Fraudsters sometimes include plausible-looking figures that are still below the legal minimum.

4. 4

   Verify the SOC code is eligible for the Skilled Worker route.

   The Standard Occupational Classification code on your CoS must correspond to a role on the Skilled Worker eligible occupations list. Not every SOC code qualifies. Your CoS should specify a role at RQF Level 3 or above. If the SOC code on your document does not match the job you have been offered, or does not appear on the eligible list, the application will fail.

5. 5

   Check the employer on Companies House — but understand this is not enough.

   Yes, verify the employer on Companies House (find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk). Confirm the registration number matches, that the company is active, and that the address seems plausible. But — critically — a Companies House entry proves nothing about sponsor licence status. Fraudsters specifically use Companies House's ease of registration as cover. Always cross-reference with the UKVI register.

6. 6

   Never pay upfront fees for sponsorship.

   Licensed sponsors are legally prohibited from charging workers for the cost of sponsorship. This is explicit in the UKVI sponsor guidance. If anyone asks you to pay a "sponsor fee," a "CoS processing fee," a "security bond," or any similar charge as a condition of receiving your Certificate of Sponsorship, you are almost certainly dealing with a fraud. Report it and do not proceed.

7. 7

   Use SponsorShield to run all 25+ checks automatically.

   Upload your Certificate of Sponsorship PDF to SponsorShield and our AI runs over twenty-five verification checks in under sixty seconds. UKVI register, SOC code validity, salary thresholds, Companies House cross-reference, PDF metadata forensics, visual font analysis — all of it, free, with a clear risk rating at the end. It takes less time than reading this article.

Every fraud victim we have studied could have been protected by checking item 1 on this list. The UKVI register is public. It is free. It takes thirty seconds. Use it — or let SponsorShield use it for you.