Visa sponsorship scams: how to stay safe
Scams are the biggest risk in the visa-sponsorship job search. The single most important rule:
⚠ Never pay for a Certificate of Sponsorship.
A genuine UK sponsor will never ask you to pay for a CoS, a job offer, or
"guaranteed" sponsorship. Anyone who does is running a scam.
Red flags
- You are asked to pay any fee for a CoS, "sponsorship processing", or a guaranteed job offer.
- The "recruiter" only operates over WhatsApp or Telegram and pressures you to decide fast.
- The job promises sponsorship but the employer doesn't appear on the Home Office Register of Licensed Sponsors — search them on this site first.
- You are sent a CoS number or "visa approval letter" before any real interview or written contract.
- Salaries below the legal threshold (£41,700 general Skilled Worker floor since 22 July 2025, or the occupation going rate) — the job couldn't be sponsored anyway.
Extra warning signs
- "Pay us now, we'll get the licence later." A company that isn't on the register today cannot sponsor you today. Promises of a future licence are not sponsorship.
- Very small or unknown employers offering sponsorship with no verifiable office, website or track record. Real sponsors are real, findable businesses.
- Salary top-ups from your own pocket. Schemes where you "pay back" part of your salary, or where equity or bonuses are counted toward the salary threshold, don't meet the rules — the threshold must be met by genuine salary.
- Payment via bank transfer, crypto or gift cards to a personal account. Legitimate employers never collect fees from workers this way.
What a real process looks like
- You apply to the employer's own careers page and go through interviews.
- The employer assigns a Certificate of Sponsorship tied to a specific, eligible role — at no cost to you.
- You apply for the visa yourself on the official Home Office website and pay only official government fees.
Report it
In the UK, report immigration fraud to the Home Office and financial fraud to Action Fraud. If you paid money to a scammer, contact your bank immediately.