The Home Office is switching off the Sponsor Management System (SMS) from 19:00 on 2 April 2024 until 9:00 on 4 April 2024. This brings forward the deadline for sponsors to issue Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) before salary threshold rises take effect for work routes from 4 April 2024.

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Sponsors thought they had until 23:59 on 3 April 2024 to assign a CoS to benefit from a lower minimum salary requirement and other more advantageous provisions available in the current Immigration Rules. This will not be the case.

The Home Office did not contact sponsors directly about this change and instead, included the details of the announcement in an updated version of the Sponsor Guidance.

SMS system outage details

The Sponsor Guidance states that a system outage from 19:00 on 2 April 2024 to 9:00 on 4 April 2024 is necessary for the Home Office to implement forthcoming changes to the Immigration Rules.

During this period, sponsors cannot:

• Apply for a new sponsor licence, apply to add routes to an existing licence, or renew an existing licence;
• Apply for a defined CoS for a Skilled Worker based overseas. Any pending defined CoS applications to the Home Office will be cancelled at 19:00 on 2 April 2024. On or after 9:00 on 4 April 2024, a new defined CoS application can be submitted, but it must meet the eligibility requirements under the new Immigration Rules.
• Apply to increase or renew an allocation of undefined CoS for a Skilled Worker already in the UK or a worker sponsored in another work route. Any pending undefined CoS allocation requests will be cancelled at 19:00 on 2 April 2024. On or after 9:00 on 4 April 2024, a new undefined CoS allocation can be requested, but to be able to use it, the allocated CoS must be completed with details of roles that are eligible for sponsorship under the new Immigration Rules.
• Assign any CoS. More on this below.

Reminder: What is a CoS? A CoS is a digital record containing the details of the role and worker an employer wishes to sponsor. There are two types of CoS. Defined CoS is for Skilled Workers applying for permission to enter the UK from overseas. Undefined CoS are for Skilled Workers applying for permission to stay in the UK and for workers on other work routes, who may be applying to enter or stay in the UK.

Sponsors should ensure a CoS is assigned before 19:00 on 2 April 2024 to benefit from the current Immigration Rules

A worker with a CoS assigned before 19:00 on 2 April 2024 will be able to use this to support a visa application for entry clearance or permission to stay, provided it is used within three months of assignment.

The assigned CoS can refer to the current occupation codes (based on SOC 2010) and current salary thresholds. The worker can use their assigned CoS to submit their visa application after 4 April 2024. The key point is ensuring the CoS is assigned before 19:00 on 2 April 2024.

An undefined CoS that has a status of ‘work in progress’ or ‘ready to go’ before the system outage must be updated so that the role meets the eligibility requirements under the new Immigration Rules. This means using the new occupation codes (based on SOC 2020) and much higher salary thresholds.

For more information about the forthcoming changes to the Immigration Rules coming into force on 4 April 2024, see our previous article.

What actions should sponsors take now?

If you have applications that could be affected due to time running out, please urgently contact a member of our immigration team.

We will be covering the SMS outage and the other upcoming major changes to work routes in our next What’s Happening in Immigration Law session on 26 March 2024. For sign up information, click here.

We will also be doing a deep dive of the Rule changes in our Immigration Law Academy taking place on 16 April 2024. For further information and to book, click here.

Related Item(s): Immigration

Author(s)/Speaker(s): Andrew Osborne, Supinder Singh Sian, Stephen OFlaherty, Naomi Hanrahan-Soar, Pip Hague,