Do I have to advertise a vacancy before assigning a Certificate of Sponsorship?

Employers wishing to offer a position to workers requiring a Skilled Worker visa need to understand their duties in relation to the recruitment process.

One of the requirements of the Skilled Worker Visa process is that the role to be filled by a migrant is a genuine vacancy. This means that the vacancy cannot have been created for a particular prospective worker. Many employers will remember the Resident Labour Market Test (RLMT), where employers had to meet strict requirements around advertising a role before they could assign a Certificate of Sponsorship to prove that the vacancy could not be filled through recruiting someone already in the UK who does not require a visa. 

The RLMT was abolished in the UK’s overhaul of its immigration system in January 2021. This makes it a lot faster for employers to recruit migrants into vacancies. It means that now Certificates of Sponsorship can be assigned without having to wait for the RLMT process to conclude. However, employers need to be aware of the document-keeping duties in relation to those they wish to sponsor for a Skilled Worker visa. These are not too dissimilar to the documents they were required to keep from the RLMT process. Employers will still have to keep evidence of any recruitment activity undertaken, which means retaining copies of advertisements, the number of applicants, and how the most suitable candidate was identified.

While this information does not need to be submitted with the Skilled Worker visa application, the Home Office can ask for these documents during the consideration process, so employers are well advised to put a process in place that will allow them to produce this evidence at short notice.

How Gherson can assist

Gherson’s Immigration Team are highly experienced in advising on UK visa matters. If you have any questions arising from this blog, please do not hesitate to contact us for advice, send us an e-mail, or, alternatively, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn to stay-up-to-date.

The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please do not hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.

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