Editorial review: Written and fact-checked by the Sponsorlist editorial team at Amsky Labs Ltd. Last reviewed 16 September 2026. This guide provides general fraud-prevention information, not legal advice.
A genuine UK employer can offer visa sponsorship, but a convincing logo, professional website or recruiter message does not prove that an offer is real. Fraudsters copy company names, create lookalike email addresses and use details taken from the public sponsor register. Some even send contracts containing the name of a genuinely licensed organisation. The licence may be real while the person contacting you is an impostor.
Verification therefore has two separate parts. First, confirm that the employing legal entity holds the right sponsor licence. Second, confirm through an independent channel that the real organisation issued your particular vacancy and offer. This guide gives you a repeatable process for doing both before you send money, documents or personal data.
The essential rule: a register match is necessary, not sufficient
The Home Office publishes the Register of Licensed Sponsors: Workers on GOV.UK. It identifies organisations licensed for routes such as Skilled Worker and Global Business Mobility. The register normally shows the organisation name, town or city, county, licence rating and sponsored routes. It does not publish every vacancy, recruiter, email address, telephone number or Certificate of Sponsorship.
If the proposed employer is absent from the register, it cannot normally sponsor a new Skilled Worker application under that name. If it is present, you have proved only that an organisation with that legal name and location has a licence. You have not yet proved that the sender works for it, that the vacancy exists, that the job is eligible or that a valid CoS has been assigned.
| Evidence | What it can show | What it cannot show |
|---|---|---|
| Official sponsor register entry | The listed organisation holds a licence for the stated route and rating at publication | That your recruiter or job offer is genuine |
| Companies House record | Corporate identity, number, registered office and filing status | That the company is licensed or currently recruiting you |
| Company careers page | The vacancy is advertised through an official channel | That every applicant will qualify for sponsorship |
| Certificate of Sponsorship reference | A reference has been supplied for an immigration application | That a screenshot or typed number is valid before UKVI checks it |
| Employment contract | The proposed terms, employer and job details | That the sender is authorised; forged contracts are common |
Step 1: identify the exact legal employer
Ask for the full legal name of the organisation that will employ you and appear on the Certificate of Sponsorship. Do not search only for a brand name. A hotel, care home, restaurant, franchise or technology product may trade under a name that differs from its incorporated company. Large groups may have several subsidiaries, only some of which are licensed.
Compare the name in the job offer, contract, email signature, sponsor-register entry and Companies House record. Small punctuation differences are not always meaningful, but a completely different company should be explained. If an agency recruited you for a client, ask which entity will employ and sponsor you. The agency’s licence cannot automatically be used by an unrelated client, and a client’s licence does not authorise an impostor agency.
Step 2: search the official GOV.UK sponsor register
Start from GOV.UK rather than a link in a recruiter’s message. Search for “Register of Licensed Sponsors: Workers” and download or view the current source file. Check:
- Organisation name: Does it match the proposed legal employer?
- Town or city: Is the location plausible for that entity? Remote and multi-site employers can still use a head-office location, so investigate differences rather than rejecting them automatically.
- Licence rating: An A-rating normally permits new sponsorship. A B-rated sponsor is subject to an action plan and cannot normally sponsor new workers until it regains an A-rating.
- Route: For a Skilled Worker job, the entry must cover the relevant Worker route. A Temporary Worker permission is not interchangeable.
- Publication date: The register changes. Use a current file, not one downloaded months ago.
Sponsorlist makes the public data easier to search and records our import date, but the GOV.UK register remains the primary source. Use our sponsor checker for discovery and cross-check important decisions against the official file.
Step 3: verify the vacancy on an independent channel
Do not use only the phone number, website or link supplied by the recruiter. Find the company’s official website independently—for example, through a search engine result, its verified social profile or its Companies House website field. Navigate to the careers section yourself and look for the vacancy. If you cannot find it, that does not automatically mean fraud; some roles are confidential or managed through an applicant-tracking system. It does mean you should contact the company.
Call the switchboard number published on the official website. Ask to be connected to HR or recruitment and verify the recruiter’s name, vacancy reference, job title and interview process. Alternatively, send a fresh email to the recruitment address published by the company. Do not “reply” to the suspicious message or call the number in its signature, because that keeps you inside the fraudster’s channel.
Check the email domain carefully
Fraudsters register domains that differ by one character, insert a hyphen, swap letters or use a different ending. For example, company-careers.example is not the same domain as company.example. A message from Gmail, Outlook or another free account deserves extra scrutiny when the sender claims to represent a large employer. However, a correct-looking display name proves nothing; reveal the full sending address and check the domain.
Even a genuine company domain can be spoofed in the visible “From” field. If the offer is important, independent confirmation from the company’s published contact details is stronger than technical appearance alone.
Step 4: examine the recruitment process
Legitimate processes vary, but skilled sponsored recruitment usually involves a meaningful assessment. The employer needs enough information to decide whether you can perform the job and whether the role can meet sponsorship rules. An instant offer after a text-only chat, no discussion of your experience and no salary or occupation-code check is a warning sign.
Look for consistency across the job advert, interview, offer and contract:
- Does the job title match the duties?
- Are the work location, hours and salary clearly stated?
- Is the salary plausible for the role and high enough for the relevant Skilled Worker rule?
- Did interviewers use company accounts and demonstrate knowledge of the team?
- Is there a real person in HR who can be reached through the official switchboard?
- Does the contract identify the same legal company found on the sponsor register?
Video interviews are not compulsory, and small organisations may have simple processes. Treat the whole pattern as evidence. Several small inconsistencies together can be more important than one unusual detail.
Step 5: understand legitimate fees
Home Office and visa fees are real, which gives scammers credible words to use. The safest distinction is who must pay, whom they pay and through which channel.
| Charge | Normally paid by | Safe payment route |
|---|---|---|
| Sponsor licence fee | Employer | Employer pays through the official sponsorship process |
| Certificate of Sponsorship fee | Employer | Employer pays in the Sponsor Management System |
| Immigration Skills Charge | Employer | Employer pays to the Home Office; it must not be passed to the worker |
| Visa application fee | Usually worker, unless employer chooses to cover it | Applicant pays in the official GOV.UK application journey |
| Immigration Health Surcharge | Usually worker, unless employer chooses to cover it | Applicant pays as part of the official application journey |
| Optional regulated advice | Whoever instructs the adviser | Directly to a verified regulated adviser or law firm |
A demand to pay a recruiter for a “sponsor licence slot”, “CoS activation”, “embassy security bond” or “guaranteed visa allocation” is a serious warning. Never send immigration money to a personal bank account, crypto wallet, money-transfer recipient or gift-card service. GOV.UK warns that it will not ask for payment into a personal account and that nobody can guarantee a visa.
Some genuine recruiters charge employers, and some legitimate advisers charge applicants for optional professional services. Before paying an adviser, verify the organisation and the individual’s regulatory status. Immigration advisers should be regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority or belong to an authorised professional body, while solicitors can be checked with the relevant legal regulator.
Step 6: treat the Certificate of Sponsorship correctly
A CoS is an electronic Home Office record. The worker receives a reference number and information needed for the application; there is no valuable physical certificate to buy. A PDF headed “Certificate of Sponsorship” can be a summary prepared by an employer, but visual formatting does not authenticate the underlying electronic record.
The employer should be able to explain the occupation code, salary, weekly hours, start date and work location entered on the CoS. Those details should match the offer. Do not submit an application using information you know is false. False documents or dishonest representations can lead to refusal and long-term immigration consequences even when a third party prepared them.
High-risk warning signs
- A guaranteed job or visa without a proper interview.
- Pressure to pay immediately because a “CoS slot” expires within hours.
- Payment to an individual, personal account, cryptocurrency address or unrelated business.
- A salary far above the market rate for simple duties, or duties that do not fit the occupation code.
- A recruiter who refuses independent verification with the employer.
- An email domain that imitates rather than matches the official company domain.
- A contract containing inconsistent company names, addresses, fonts or signatures.
- Requests for online-banking passwords, one-time codes or remote access to your device.
- A claim that the Home Office requires payment by WhatsApp, gift card or money-transfer service.
- Threats that you will be arrested, deported or blacklisted if you do not pay.
A 15-minute verification checklist
- Write down the exact employing legal entity from the offer.
- Open GOV.UK independently and find the current Worker sponsor register.
- Confirm the name, location, rating and route.
- Search Companies House for the entity and compare its number and address.
- Open the employer’s official website independently.
- Look for the vacancy or a matching careers portal.
- Compare the recruiter’s email domain character by character.
- Call the official switchboard and ask HR to confirm the recruiter and vacancy.
- Check that contract, salary, hours, duties and sponsor name agree.
- Refuse any request to pay employer sponsorship costs or send money to a personal account.
Worked example: real sponsor name, fake recruiter
Imagine that a person claiming to represent “Northbridge Engineering Ltd” sends an offer after a short messaging-app interview. The real Northbridge Engineering Ltd appears on the sponsor register, so the candidate initially trusts the offer. The sender uses northbridge-engineering-jobs.example, asks for £2,000 to “release the CoS” and supplies a contract bearing the genuine company address.
The register match does not make this safe. The candidate finds the official company website independently and calls its published number. HR confirms that it does not use that domain, has no vacancy with the reference shown and has never heard of the sender. The scammer copied public information from the register and Companies House. Independent employer verification—not the register check alone—exposes the fraud.
Protect documents and personal information
Recruitment legitimately involves sensitive documents, but send them only after verifying the recipient. A passport scan, proof of address and date of birth can be used for identity fraud. Watermark copies where appropriate with the recipient and purpose, use the employer’s secure recruitment portal when available, and never disclose bank passwords or one-time security codes.
Be cautious with requests to install software for an interview. Fraudsters use remote-access tools to view screens or control devices. A genuine employer may use established video-conferencing software, but it should not need access to your online banking, crypto account or password manager.
If you have already paid or shared documents
Act quickly. Contact your bank or payment provider using an official number and ask whether the transaction can be stopped or recalled. Change compromised passwords, enable multi-factor authentication and tell the real employer that its identity is being misused. Keep messages, email headers, account details, receipts, job adverts and documents; do not delete the evidence.
Report fraud in England, Wales or Northern Ireland through Action Fraud; Police Scotland provides the reporting route in Scotland. Suspicious immigration approaches can also be reported through the official GOV.UK immigration-crime service. If identity documents were exposed, follow the issuing authority’s advice and monitor financial accounts and credit files.
Questions to ask a recruiter
- What is the employer’s full legal name and company number?
- Are you employed by that company or acting through an agency?
- Where is the vacancy published on the official careers site?
- Who in the employer’s HR team can verify this process?
- Which Skilled Worker occupation code and salary option are proposed?
- Which costs will the employer pay, and which official fees remain mine?
- Will every payment be made through GOV.UK or to a verified regulated provider?
Final rule: pause when verification is resisted
A genuine employer may be busy, but it should not object to a candidate checking its identity. Pressure, secrecy and resistance to independent contact are reasons to stop. Do not let an artificial deadline override basic verification. A legitimate immigration application is too important to build on trust in a single message.
Start with Sponsorlist’s searchable sponsor checker, then verify the current source entry on the official GOV.UK register. Read the government’s fraud, tricks and scams guidance before paying any immigration-related charge.