Post-Licence Priority Service for Sponsor Licence Changes

Post-Licence Priority Service for Sponsor Licence Changes

Waiting for UKVI to process a change to your sponsor licence can affect recruitment turnarounds, delay start dates and interfere with day-to-day compliance. 

Requests can be processed sooner through the Home Office’s post-licence priority service. It permits eligible Worker and Temporary Worker sponsors to ask UKVI to consider certain Sponsor Management System (SMS) requests sooner. 

While a typical timeline could be up to 18 weeks, the priority service can fast-track requests to be considered within 5 working days. Some complex cases or further checks can take longer. 

Fee for Priority Service

The Home Office currently charges £350 per request. You must first submit the underlying change through the Sponsor Management System (SMS), then email UKVI’s priority team using the correct form. A priority request does not guarantee that UKVI will approve the change. If UKVI accepts the priority request, you must pay within 72 hours of receiving a payment link. 

Who Can Apply?

Fully active, A-rated Worker or Temporary Worker sponsors can make an eligible request. An eligible request can be a worker-specific, organisational request or amendment. The SMS request must not already be in progress or allocated to a case worker to be prioritised. Student sponsors and specified Global Business Mobility requests cannot use this service. Further details of the requests that can be prioritised in the table below. 

How to Apply

Submit the change as normal in the Sponsor Management System (SMS) first, then email the completed priority request form. Follow the form’s instructions for sending supporting documents to both UKVI addresses. You must submit the priority request during the hours that daily capacity is open.

Daily Capacity & Service Hours

7am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. At least 120 requests are accepted each day; check the SMS message board for any change to the daily allocation. Requests sent outside service hours are not considered.

What Does Priority Service Guarantee?

Priority service typically guarantees faster consideration, but it does not guarantee acceptance or approval of the priority request or change. It does not guarantee that a decision can be reached in 5 days, but 5 days is the typical timeframe for a case worker to consider the request. 

Which sponsor requests can be prioritised?

Eligible requests for prioritisation include worker requests like additional CoS allocations or organisational requests like adding or changing users. UKVI lists the following as eligible requests for the priority service.

Worker (Allocation) Requests

Organisational Requests 

If your request is not one of the above, it cannot be considered for the priority service and must progress through the standard SMS processing system. 

Which Requests Cannot Be Prioritised?

There are several disqualified requests that cannot be prioritised and must be processed through the standard SMS. These include:

• Global Business Mobility route requests cannot be considered for priority service processing. 
• Defined CoS requests for workers applying from outside the UK
• Student sponsors have a separate priority service and request process
• Adding a route to a sponsor licence
• Other SMS changes that are not on the eligible priority list

CoS allocation priority service: undefined and defined CoS

The CoS allocation priority service can help an eligible sponsor ask UKVI to consider an additional or annual allocation of undefined CoS. Undefined CoS are used for sponsored workers applying from within the UK. The priority service does not cover a defined CoS request for a worker applying from outside the UK.

Selecting the wrong type of CoS request can lead to rejection, and UKVI says a fee will not be refunded for a defined CoS request submitted through this service. 

Post-licence priority service eligibility

To use the Worker and Temporary Worker priority service, your organisation must:

• hold a fully active, A-rated sponsor licence on an eligible Worker or Temporary Worker route;
• have submitted the relevant change of circumstances request through SMS before emailing UKVI;
• make the priority request before the SMS request is in progress or has been allocated to a caseworker;
• use an eligible request type and submit a complete priority service application; and
• provide any required submission sheet and supporting evidence.

The Worker and Temporary Worker service cannot be used for Student sponsor cases. Separate guidance applies to Student sponsors. UKVI also excludes post-licence priority requests connected with the Global Business Mobility UK Expansion Worker, Service Supplier and Secondment Worker routes.

For requests to replace an Authorising Officer, appoint a representative or update organisation details after moving premises, the form requires a printed submission sheet. Send it to [email protected] and attach it to the priority request email. If you close the SMS request without printing the sheet, the form says it cannot be obtained afterwards and the priority request will not be eligible.

The official Worker and Temporary Worker priority service request form (PDF) lists the supporting evidence for each request type. Complete it electronically and check the form before sending it.

How to apply for the sponsor licence priority service

The priority request is a second step. You must first submit the underlying change in SMS.

1. Check the request type and your eligibility. Confirm that your sponsor rating, route and SMS request qualify. For a CoS allocation request, check whether you need undefined CoS.
2. Submit the change through SMS. Follow the relevant instructions in the SMS manual. Do not email the priority team before making the SMS request.
3. Complete the priority request form. Download the current form (PDF) from GOV.UK, complete it electronically and attach the documents or signed submission sheet required for your request.
4. Email UKVI during the service window. Send the completed form to [email protected]. Use this subject format: Priority service request: organisation name (sponsor licence number): request type. The organisation name should match the name on the sponsor licence.
5. Wait for UKVI’s response and payment link. The service is open from 7am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. UKVI says it accepts a minimum of 120 priority requests each day; the SMS message board is used to communicate any change to the limit. Requests can be unsuccessful if the daily limit has been reached, the request is ineligible or it is submitted outside the service hours. If you receive no response, UKVI says to assume the priority request has not been successful.
6. Pay within 72 hours if UKVI accepts the priority request. UKVI sends a confirmation email and a separate Worldpay payment link. The 72-hour payment window includes weekends. If payment is not made in time, the priority request expires and you must apply again to be considered.
7. Monitor the Authorising Officer’s email. UKVI sends the outcome to key personnel listed on the licence. It may ask for more information, so check inboxes and junk folders while the request is being considered.

Supporting documents and submission sheets

The form’s evidence requirements vary by request. It lists identity and immigration-status documents for relevant personnel changes. For a move to new premises, it asks for a lease or rental agreement, a signed affidavit or letter from a practising solicitor or notary confirming the lease details, or land registry documents if the premises are owned. Utility bills and bank statements are not accepted as evidence of the premises change.

If the form says supporting documents are required, email them with the form to both [email protected] and [email protected]. The same applies to a required submission sheet: send it to SCOC and attach it to the priority-service email.

UKVI accepts supporting files in PDF, JPEG, PNG or Word format. File names should be descriptive and no more than 25 characters, and each file must be clear enough to read. For a Level 1 user request, the form also asks for the person’s full name and, if they work for a legal representative organisation, whether that organisation has already been formally appointed and approved by UKVI.

What should the priority service request email say?

The form itself asks for the sponsor licence number and name, current licence address, Authorising Officer or active Level 1 user, request type and the date of the SMS request. There is no need to repeat these details in a long email body. UKVI requires the subject line to show the organisation name as it appears on the licence, the sponsor licence number and the request type. It does not prescribe wording for the body.

To: [email protected]
Subject: Priority service request: [organisation name] ([sponsor licence number]): [request type]

The email does not replace the SMS submission or the completed form. There is no need to ask for a payment link: UKVI sends one if it accepts the priority request. If sending more than one request in an email, make sure they all relate to the same sponsor licence; UKVI will not consider forms for different licences in one email. The £350 fee applies to each request.

What if I do not receive a response to my priority email?

UKVI says to assume that the priority request has not been successful if you receive no response. Check that your email was sent within the service hours and that the form and subject line were complete before deciding what to do next.

What the priority service does not do

The post-licence priority service:

• does not guarantee UKVI will approve the sponsor change or CoS allocation;
• does not make an ineligible request eligible;
• does not cover defined CoS requests or every SMS change;
• does not replace the underlying SMS submission;
• does not assign a CoS to a worker after an allocation is approved; and
• does not speed up a sponsored worker’s visa application.

If you need to assign a CoS after an allocation is granted, you must complete that step through SMS and meet the applicable sponsorship requirements.

How IAS can help

An incomplete form, a missing submission sheet or the wrong CoS request type can delay an urgent sponsor change. IAS can review your proposed request, check whether it appears to meet the priority service criteria, help prepare the form and supporting documents, and advise on the next steps after submission.

Our immigration specialists can also advise on wider sponsor licence matters, including CoS allocations and sponsor compliance. Contact IAS to discuss your priority sponsor request.