Is this sponsorship offer a scam? Three checks
A request for money is the clearest flag. Flip the flags that fit your offer, then run three checks before you reply.
Checked against gov.uk, 7 October 2026
Nobody should charge you for a job or a Certificate of Sponsorship.
Flip each flag that fits your offer
Nothing you flip is saved or sent.
No flags yet. Still run the three checks.
Ask One flag. Run the three checks before you send anything.
Stop Send no money and no documents. Report it.
Treat any request for money as a Stop
Sponsorship costs sit with the employer. gov.uk says the employer pays the Immigration Skills Charge, and that charging you for it can cost a sponsor its licence.
So a fee for the job, the certificate or a "processing" step is the clearest flag of all. One flag is a reason to check. Two or more is a reason to stop and report.
The rule behind the Stop
Who pays the Immigration Skills Charge: The employer, never the worker.
Contract clauses about other visa costs are a different question: read them on the cost clauses check.
Run three checks anyone can run
Each takes a few minutes and needs only the employer's name and the email you received.
1
Find the employer on the register
Search the Home Office register of licensed sponsors for the exact company name. A Skilled Worker sponsor must be listed as A-rated.
What you are searching: Register of Worker and Temporary Worker licensed sponsors, published as a CSV on gov.uk (Open Government Licence v3.0).
2
Look the company up at Companies House
Check the registered name, address and status match the offer letter. A company that is dissolved, or was formed last month, is a reason to ask more.
Companies House does not check what companies file, so treat it as one check of three.
Search Companies House (opens find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk)
3
Match the email domain
Compare the sender's domain, after the @, with the domain of the employer's own careers site. A free webmail address or a near miss in the spelling is a flag.
Reply only through the address shown on the employer's own website.
Report it, then tell your careers service
Report a visa or job scam through gov.uk, which sends you to Report Fraud. Report Fraud replaced Action Fraud on 4 December 2025, so older advice may still name Action Fraud.
If someone is offering illegal work, report that to the Home Office as well. Then tell your university careers service, so it can warn other students.
Where to report
Before you ask
Is it illegal to pay for a Certificate of Sponsorship?
gov.uk says the employer pays the Immigration Skills Charge, and a sponsor that asks the worker to pay it may lose its licence. Anyone selling you a certificate is a Stop. Report it.
The employer is on the register. Is the offer safe?
Not on its own. Scammers use real company names. Check the email domain and reply only through the contact details on the employer's own website.
I already paid. What now?
Stop paying, keep every message and receipt, and report it through gov.uk to Report Fraud. Tell your bank straight away. Then speak to your university careers or advice service.
What about agencies that offer to find a sponsor?
Run the same three checks on the agency and on the employer it names. If the agency asks you for a fee to find a sponsored job, count that as the payment flag.
Checkpoint
Flip each switch when it is done. They stay set on this device only.
Next, read the licence loss check, or go back to your shortlist of sponsors and find real employers to approach.
Sources
- gov.uk guidance, UK visa sponsorship for employers: Immigration skills charge (opens gov.uk)
"You must pay the immigration skills charge yourself. Your licence may be revoked if you ask the sponsored worker to pay the fee or any costs linked to your application."
Checked 7 October 2026 - Immigration Rules, Appendix Skilled Worker, SW 5.3 (opens gov.uk)
"SW 5.3. The sponsor must be listed as A-rated on the Home Office’s register of licensed sponsors, unless the applicant was last granted permission as a Skilled Worker and is applying to continue working for the same sponsor as in their last permission."
Checked 7 October 2026 - UK Visas and Immigration, Register of licensed sponsors: workers (gov.uk publication) (opens gov.uk)
"This document lists Worker and Temporary Worker sponsors. It includes information about the category of workers they’re licensed to sponsor and their sponsorship rating."
Checked 7 October 2026 - gov.uk: Report visa and immigration scams (opens gov.uk)
"Contact Report Fraud to report visa and immigration scams."
Checked 7 October 2026 - gov.uk: Report Fraud, new service from City of London Police (opens gov.uk)
"From 4 December 2025, City of London Police is launching Report Fraud, a new service that replaces Action Fraud as the national platform for reporting cyber crime and fraud."
Checked 7 October 2026 - gov.uk: Report an immigration or border crime (opens gov.uk)
"Contact the Home Office if you think someone is: employing someone who is not allowed to work in the UK"
Checked 7 October 2026 - Companies House: search the register (opens find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk)
"Companies House does not check the accuracy of the information filed"
Checked 7 October 2026
Updated Checked against gov.uk on
What changed
- 7 October 2026: First published.
This is a playbook, not immigration advice. Before you act, check the rule on gov.uk or ask a regulated immigration adviser or a solicitor.