Fake visa sponsorship job offer? How to check it in five minutes
An offer that promises a UK job and a visa can change your life, and that is exactly why fake ones work. Before you pay anyone anything, send a passport copy, or resign from your job at home, run these five checks. They take about five minutes and every one uses an official source.
1. Is the employer on the Home Office register
Only an employer on the Home Office register of licensed sponsors can sponsor you for a Skilled Worker visa. GOV.UK says you must have a job offer from an approved UK employer before you apply, and points to that register.
Search the exact company name from the offer. Check three things: it is on the register today, it is licensed for the Skilled Worker or Health and Care Worker route, and the town matches the job. A recruiter or agent is not your sponsor. The employer who will pay your wages must be on the register.
Check a company on the register, freeGOV.UK: register of licensed sponsors
2. Is the company real
Look the company up on Companies House, the official register of UK companies. A real employer has a registered company number and an address you can match to the offer. An email from a free webmail address, a company that was set up weeks ago, or a name that is close to a famous brand but not the same are all reasons to stop and check again.
3. Does the certificate of sponsorship make sense
GOV.UK says a certificate of sponsorship is an electronic record, not a physical document. It has a reference number, which you use in your visa application, and you must apply within 3 months of getting it.
So a stamped paper certificate, a PDF with a seal, or a certificate offered before any interview are warning signs. Your employer assigns the certificate. Nobody sells one.
4. Who is asking you to pay, and for what
- The sponsor pays the certificate of sponsorship fee and the Immigration Skills Charge. GOV.UK warns sponsors that a licence may be revoked if they ask the worker to pay the fee or any costs linked to their application.
- GOV.UK says you will never be asked to pay for a visa in cash or by money transfer. You pay the visa fee and the healthcare surcharge yourself, on GOV.UK, in your own name.
- GOV.UK's guidance for health and care workers lists, as a sign of a scam, being charged for the certificate of sponsorship by an organisation promising you a visa and a job.
5. Does the job itself add up
A job you never applied for, an interview that never happens, pay far above the advert, or pressure to decide today are common in fake offers. Find the job on the employer's own careers page or on a job board under the employer's name. If the only place it exists is the message you were sent, treat it as fake until proven otherwise.
If you think it is a scam
- Stop paying and do not send more documents.
- Report it to Report Fraud, with a copy of the messages, the sender's address and anything you sent back.
- If you have already paid a fee or received a fake certificate of sponsorship, GOV.UK's health and care worker guidance says to report it as an immigration or border crime.
- This page is a plain summary of GOV.UK, not legal advice. For your own case, use GOV.UK or a regulated immigration adviser.
GOV.UK: report visa and immigration scamsHow the certificate of sponsorship scam works
Questions people ask
How do I check if a UK visa sponsorship job offer is real?
Check the employer is on the Home Office register of licensed sponsors for the right route, look the company up on Companies House, and find the job on the employer's own site. A real sponsor never asks you to pay for your certificate of sponsorship.
Is a paper certificate of sponsorship real?
GOV.UK says a certificate of sponsorship is an electronic record, not a physical document. It has a reference number you use in your visa application.
Where do I report a fake visa job offer?
GOV.UK says to contact Report Fraud. If you have already paid a fee or received a fake certificate of sponsorship, report it as an immigration or border crime.
