UNITED KINGDOM: Tier 2 (General) Oversubscribed For Second Month

January 31, 2018

The monthly allocation of the Tier 2 (General) Restricted Certificates of Sponsorship (RCoS) has been exceeded for the second consecutive month.

The total number of RCoS available to employers in January 2018 stood at 1651, after 91 RCoS were carried over from the December 2017 allocation.

RCoS applications submitted in January were rejected where the applicant’s salary was less than £50k, other than those employed in PhD-level or Shortage Occupation, or recruited via a Milkround exercise for recent graduates.

RCoS applications that were rejected last month may be resubmitted in February, providing that the advertising carried out by their prospective employer remains valid.

RCoS Allocation

As explained by Newland Chase, there is an annual allocation of 20,700 RCoS, divided into monthly allocations. UKVI holds monthly allocation meetings – where allocations are under-subscribed, the remaining RCoS are carried over to the following month; where there are not enough RCoS to fulfil demand, a points threshold is triggered.

As we reported recently, the RCoS annual quota will be reset in April 2018.

Our Advice

The deadline for the next monthly allocation is 5th February with a panel meeting date of 12th February 2018. On the basis that the unsuccessful RCoS applications from January are likely to be resubmitted,  employers may find that February’s RCoS quota will once again be oversubscribed.

Employers are advised to consult their Newland Chase immigration specialist if they have any queries.

For advice and information on immigration to the UK in general, please email us at [email protected].