Employer Sponsor Letter for UK Skilled Worker Visa

TL;DR

The employer sponsor letter is a written confirmation from your UK sponsoring employer, on company letterhead, stating your role, salary, start date, and the CoS reference number. It's not the same as the CoS itself — it supplements the digital CoS record and is one of the most important supporting documents in a Skilled Worker application.

What the letter must contain

A complete sponsor letter includes:

• Date of issue (within 1 month of your visa application ideally)
• Your full name matching your passport exactly
• Your job title matching the CoS exactly
• Your salary matching the CoS exactly
• The SOC code for your role (matching the CoS)
• Your start date
• Type of contract (permanent, fixed-term with end date)
• Hours per week
• Working location (specific UK address)
• CoS reference number quoted in the letter
• Signed by an authorised employer representative with their name, job title and contact email/phone
• Company letterhead showing company name, address, registration number

Best practice: get the letter on a single A4 page in PDF format, with the employer's stamp or formal company logo.

Why UKVI wants it separately from the CoS

The CoS is a UKVI-internal record. The sponsor letter is something the visa application centre and caseworker can hold and verify alongside it:

• Cross-checks consistency between what the employer told UKVI (the CoS) and what they're telling the applicant (the letter)
• Provides a contact UKVI can call if anything looks off
• Confirms the role still exists at the date of application (CoS is assigned earlier; letter is dated closer to application)

Common issues

• Title mismatch — letter says "Software Engineer", CoS says "Senior Software Engineer". Refused.
• Salary mismatch — most often when bonus or pension are confused with base salary. Letter should state base salary only, matching the CoS.
• Generic template letter with placeholders not filled in. Refused.
• Unsigned letter or signed by someone not authorised on the sponsor licence. Refused.
• Not on letterhead — even if all the content is right, the lack of letterhead is a common refusal reason.
• Out of date — letter issued 3+ months before the application; UKVI may ask for a fresher one.
• Different working location from the CoS — mismatches trigger compliance review.

Sample letter structure

[Company letterhead]

[Date]

To whom it may concern,

This letter confirms that [Full Applicant Name], passport number
[Passport number], holds an offer of employment with [Company Name]
under the following terms:

  Job title:        [Exact title matching CoS]
  SOC code:         [4-digit SOC code matching CoS]
  Salary:           £[Base salary, gross annually]
  Hours per week:   [e.g. 37.5]
  Type of contract: [Permanent / Fixed-term to DD/MM/YYYY]
  Start date:       [DD/MM/YYYY]
  Working location: [Full UK address]

This offer is supported by Certificate of Sponsorship reference number
[14-digit CoS reference], assigned on [DD/MM/YYYY].

Sincerely,

[Name]
[Job title — typically Authorising Officer or HR Director]
[Email]
[Phone]
[Company registration number]

Many employers have templates already. If yours doesn't, share this structure with HR.

Pair with the CoS reference

The visa application asks for the CoS reference number directly. Enter it carefully — a single typo invalidates the application. The sponsor letter quotes the same reference; the application form, the letter, and UKVI's CoS record must all match exactly.

What to bundle

Include in the "Employment" category of your Skilled Worker bundle:

1. The sponsor letter
2. Your employment contract (if signed)
3. Most recent payslip from a previous role if switching
4. (Where required) ATAS certificate if your role/research involves sensitive subjects

Use our Bundler to merge these with other documents in the canonical UKVI order. Run the Checklist generator for the full Skilled Worker list tailored to your scenario.