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UNITED KINGDOM - Tier 2 (General) Oversubscribed For Second Month

The number of Tier 2 (General) Restricted Certificates of Sponsorship (RCoS) available for January 2018 was exceeded by demand for the second consecutive month.

  • The total number of RCoS available to employers in January 2018 stood at 1651, after 91 RCoS were borrowed by the December 2017 allocation.
  • RCoS applications submitted in January were rejected where the applicant’s salary was less than £50k, other than those employed in PhD-level or shortage occupations, or recruited via a milkround exercise for recent graduates.
  • RCoS applications that were rejected last month may be resubmitted in February, provided that the advertising carried out by their prospective employer remains valid.

How does it work?

  • Under the Tier 2 scheme, there is an annual allocation of 20,700 restricted certificates of sponsorship (RCoS), divided into monthly allocations.
  • The monthly allocations are higher earlier in the year (from April) to ensure that there are enough RCoS available when demand is high in the summer.
  • If allocations are under-subscribed in any month, the surplus is carried over to the next month.
  • However, if demand outstrips supply, a points threshold is triggered. Each application is awarded points based on salary and occupation.
  • Jobs at PhD level and those listed as shortage occupations are awarded a higher score.

The deadline for the next monthly allocation is 5 February. As it is likely that many of the unsuccessful RCoS applications from January are likely to be resubmitted, employers may find that February’s RCoS quota will once again be oversubscribed.

Action Items

  • Affected employers in the UK should be prepared for the possibility of a qualifying application for a certificate of sponsorship under Tier 2 General not being granted on first request, and are advised to consult their immigration specialist.

The information in this alert was provided by Newland Chase.

DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this immigration alert has been abridged from laws, court decisions, and administrative rulings and should not be construed or relied upon as legal advice. If you have specific questions regarding the applicability of this information, please contact Peregrine © 2019 Peregrine Immigration Management Ltd.