In light of the upcoming changes to the Immigration Rules coming into effect on 4 April 2024, the Home Office has announced that the Sponsor Management System (SMS) will be unavailable for a period of time.
It will not be possible to access it from 19.00 on 3 April to 09.00 on 5 April 2024. (Previously the Home Office had announced that this would be from 19.00 on 2 April until 09.00 on 4 April).
In order to benefit from the current rules, any Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) will need to be assigned prior to the temporary closure.
The Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors Part 2: sponsor a worker – general information was updated when the initial dates were announced to include Annex S2. This provided the details of the latest date to apply for a Defined Certificate of Sponsorship (DCoS) or an Undefined Certificate of Sponsorship (UCoS), prior to the rule changes on 4 April 2024. At the time of writing, it has not been updated but the Home Office has announced the new temporary closure period on the SMS notice board (accessed when sponsors first access the system).
Details of the announcement
During the time when the SMS is not accessible, it will not be possible to:
- make an application for a sponsor licence, apply to add routes to an existing licence, or renew a licence;
- make an application for any Skilled Worker DCoS;
- ask to increase or renew the UCoS allocation regarding an existing licence; or
- assign a CoS to any potential sponsored workers.
Sponsors will therefore, need to take urgent action to apply or assign a CoS prior to the changes taking effect, should they wish to benefit from the current rules in place.
DCoS applications made prior to the SMS temporary closure
Many sponsors have seen significant delays in the current processing times for DCoS applications. The Home Office has advised that it is aiming to process as many DCoS applications as possible before the temporary closure. Unfortunately, it has also confirmed that “…any applications which are still outstanding at that point will be cancelled”.
The Home Office has also stated that it is unlikely that it will be able to process the DCoS application in time if it is necessary for them to request further information from the sponsor.
In the event that a DCoS application is cancelled, a fresh DCoS application will be required. This should be submitted when the SMS reopens, taking into account the newly amended salary thresholds and SOC 2020 occupation codes.
DCoS applications which are granted prior to the SMS temporary closure
The Home Office has confirmed that any DCoS granted prior to the temporary closure of the SMS cannot be assigned after it reopens. This is due to the occupation codes changing so significantly after this date, alongside the fact that occupation codes cannot be altered subsequently to the DCoS application being granted.
Any granted DCoS must be assigned to the worker prior to the temporary closure of the SMS, or the DCoS will be cancelled and a new application for DCoS will also need to be made when it reopens (again, taking into account the new SOC 2020 occupation codes).
UCoS allocations
As mentioned above, it will not be possible to increase or renew the UCoS allocation between the closure hours.
Again, if the request was made prior to the closure, the Home Office has confirmed that it will be considered in line with the current rules. However, if it is not decided in this time period, or if the sponsor has not assigned an allocated CoS to any workers prior to this deadline, CoS assigned once the SMS reopens will need to fulfil the requirements laid out in the new rules. Nevertheless, remaining UCoS allocations should not be impacted by these changes.
Additionally, regarding UCoS which are at the ‘ready to go’ or ‘work in progress’ stage that have not yet been assigned prior to the temporary closure, they will need to be updated with the corresponding SOC 2020 occupation code and salary, prior to being assigned to a worker when the SMS reopens.
CoS assigned prior to the SMS temporary closure
Furthermore, the Home Office has stated the following (although please note that the dates have now been revised, as outlined above):
“DCoS or UCoS which have been assigned to workers before 7pm on 2 April 2024 will not be cancelled. They will remain valid for the normal 3-month validity period. Applications for entry clearance or permission made using these CoS will be considered with reference to the salary thresholds and SOC 2010 occupation codes under the Immigration Rules in place before 4 April 2024, even if the worker applies on or after that date.”
This article was originally published in in March 2024 and has been updated. It is accurate as of the new date of publication shown.
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