This is to provide you further updates on United Kingdom Work Visa package and Certificate of Sponsorship and why you should sign up on our 2 year COS package before Government regulations will take away the opportunity. Please note the following important observations:
1) Getting a Job in the UK is easy as long as you do not require your employer to Sponsor your COS. UK employers are not willing to issue COS. They expect you to get that sorted yourself. Hence getting your COS and Work Visa is far more important that applying for Jobs in the UK.
2) We have received may sad cases from people in the UK, who were promised Job hours with their COS, only to arrive in the UK and realize that there is no Job. Some had their COS revoked as soon as they arrive the UK because the Sponsor license was revoked. Others were told to work for at least 6 months before they can receive their COS , only to be let go by their employer after 6 month. In order not to put yourself in any of these situation, we recommend that you opt for our OPTION 2 Managed COS package below.
3) COS is better than Post Study Work for people already in the UK, because it counts towards your ILR. PSW does not count towards your ILR, the earlier you switch, the better.
4) For our Self Sponsored COS, OPTION 1 below, it is now required that you run some Business in your UK Business Account for some time before you qualify for Self Sponsorship License. Because of this new requirement, we advise prospective entrepreneurs who are yet to have any legal status in the UK to secure a 2 year COS first, from our Option 2, this will enable them live and run their Business for a while in the UK before applying for their own License and switching to self Sponsorship. This is an ideal plan. For candidates already in the UK, we can set up Business Registration and Business Account immediately under option 1.
5) Our COS Option 2 does not come with Job offer. Job hours is limited to 20 hours per week, while Spouse dependent can work 40 hours or more. Therefore, for a Married Couple, the partner who has the potential of earning more in the UK through employment should be the 'Spouse Dependent' while the other partner will be the main applicant.
6) We have a maximum allocation of 5 Certificates of Sponsorship per month. Treatment will be based on first to pay, first served.
7) Our Long term goal is to help 100 Nigerian Entrepreneurs transition to self Sponsorship over the next 2 years and before the next general election that can change this opportunity.
Therefore, our main focus for the year will be on the following pathways:
OPTION 1:Obtaining your own Sponsorship License and 5 Year Self Sponsored COS. You can use this to switch (if you are already in UK) or apply for your work Visa ( From outside the UK). You can also Sponsor a worker on your License and bring in your family.
OPTION 2: Getting you a minimum of 2 year COS from an organizationalready successfully obtained their sponsor license. The organization will be responsible for issuing a defined or switch COS to you, with payroll Management (no job offer). The Sponsor's license will be managed by our UK legal and tax partners to guarantee validity. This second option is pretty straight forward, I will elaborate more on the first option.
If you opt for the first option and your license is not approved, we can immediately prioritize you for the second option.
OPTION 1: Obtaining your Own Sponsorship License:
It is projected that more Business licenses for Start Up and Entrepreneurs will be issued in 2025 by the UK Government. This is because the Labour party is biased to favour Job creators than foreign Job seekers this year ( read that again).
The application is divided into 3 stages:
Stage 1: Assessment, Business Profiling, Business Registration, necessary tax registration, HR Documents and Bank Account opening.
Stage 2: Business Plan Creation, we help you develop a business plan to justify growth potential and to justify hiring Non-UK Nationals for the Job. Registered Office (Virtual), Registered Office mail forwarding Services, Authorizing Officer's fees, employee insurance, other Government regulations and requirements.
Stage 3: Sponsor License, Your Self Sponsored COS and Work Visa application
The following Businesses have been successfully approved in the past. You can use this as a guide:
Cleaning Business, Care providers, Creatives such as MC, Artists and DJ, Tour Guides and Concierge services, Make up Artists, Nail Technicians, Event Managers, Florists, hair Stylists and other Self- employed creative roles.
Minimum Start Up Capital in your UK Account: 25,000 GBP. We will require that you have this fund before we set up your Business Account. You can also use part of this fund for your IHS fees and Visa Fees once your license is approved.
Average total Processing Fees for Stages 1 and 2 combined: 8000 GBP ( Done in 3 installments and includes your COS fees)
Additional Fees for Stage 3 are as Follows, some of the fees do not apply if you are already in UK:
a) NARIC or UKVI IELTS: . What you need is UK Credentials evaluation (Ecctis, formerly NARIC) which typically costs around 150 Pounds. UKVI IELTS for non-degree holders is 150 Pounds
b) Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS): Bulk of the additional money you will require will go into IHS Fees. 5 year IHS Fee is 5175GBP per Adult and 3880GBP per Child.
c) Tuberculosis Tests: The cost of Tuberculosis test is N100,000 for applicants aged 11 and above and N50,000 for Applicants below 11 years in Nigeria
d) Visa Fees: Your Visa fee based on 5 year Visa is 1420GBP per person.
e) Proof of Fund: For proof of funds, you are expected to submit a Bank statement, showing that you have an equivalent of 1270GBP only in your Bank account for a minimum of 28 days. If you have a spouse, add 285 Pounds to that and for each Child add 315 Pounds.
f) Immigration Skill Charge, ISC: 1820 Pounds
OPTION 2: Matching you with existing License Owners:
This option simply includes getting a license owner to sponsor your COS for a minimum of 2 years. Response from home office is usually faster. The service charge for this is 6500 Pounds ( payable in 2 installments, before and after confirmation of COS) . We only work with organizations that we can manage and monitor their license status to avoid revocation of license. We also handle your payroll for home office for the duration of the COS.
For fresh UK Graduates, getting a COS is generally better than a PSW, PSW does not count towards your ILR. Also with a managed COS, the risk of losing your status is eliminated.
After obtaining your COS, Please note that some or all of these additional fees may also apply based on 2 year COS:
a)Language Test or NARIC if applicable:If you have a Bachelor’s Degree, you do not need to write test of English. What you need is UK Credentials evaluation (Ecctis) which typically costs around 150 Pounds. If you do not have a Bachelor’s Degree, you may need to write the UKVI IELTS. We can help you with registrations and training
b)Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS):Bulk of the additional money you will require will go into IHS Fees. 2 year IHS Fee is 2070GBP per Adult and 1552GBP per Child.
c) Payroll Management fees for the second year is 5000GBP in total, payable in quarterly instalment. Note that if you wish to renew your COS with us after 2 years, this fee is recurring every year.
d)Visa Fees if applicable:Your Visa fee based on 2 year Visa is 568 GBP per person.
e)Proof of Fund if applicable:For proof of funds, you are expected to submit a Bank statement, showing that you have an equivalent of 1270GBP only in your Bank account for a minimum of 28 days. If you have a spouse, add 285 Pounds to that and for each Child add 315 Pounds.
f) Immigration Skill Charge ISC:728 GBP for the 2 years
For reference purpose, you can use the exchange rate of N2150 to 1 GBP.
Average Processing time line for Option 1 if you are in UK: 3 Months (there is a fast track service if your sponsorship or Visa is expiring sooner)
Average processing time for Option 1 if you are applying from outside the UK: 6 month
Average processing time for Option 2, generally: 8 weeks or less.
We do not set a deadline for this package. Once you send us your details for assessment, we will give you a proper breakdown of the steps.
Documents to Submit now:
Send PDF Copies of the following documents for assessment:
1) Your CV OR Resume which must contain your Complete address and phone number.
2) Your Business Registration and current Business profile
3) Biodata page of international Passport
4) If you are already in the UK, your current address and your residency status (COS, BRP, PSW and expiry date).
All documents can be sent as email to us for assessment.
In your email, indicate which option you want us to assess.
If you need more information or have further questions on the terms and conditions, please contact any of our listed representatives below:
Stella 08104378769, Temitayo 08139686452, Folakemi 08103051178, Dijah 07070446037
UK Certificate of Sponsorship and Skilled Worker Visa update
UK Certificate of Sponsorship and Skilled Worker Visa update