The single most effective way to protect yourself from visa-sponsorship scams is also the simplest: check whether the employer offering you a job is actually on the UK government's official register of licensed sponsors before you send them a single naira.
What a sponsor licence actually means
To legally sponsor a Skilled Worker or Health and Care Worker visa, a UK employer must hold a sponsor licence issued by the Home Office. Without it, they cannot legally issue you a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) — the document your visa application depends on. No licence means no legitimate sponsorship, no matter what an agent tells you.
How to check, in under two minutes
- Search "register of licensed sponsors worker and temporary worker" on GOV.UK
- Search the exact registered company name the employer gave you — not a shortened or informal name
- Confirm the visa route listed matches the job you were offered (e.g. "Skilled Worker")
- Check the licence status shows as "A rating" where possible — a suspended licence cannot issue new CoS
Red flags that show up before the licence check even matters
- Any request for money to "process," "secure," or "reserve" your sponsorship
- Pressure to decide or pay within 24–48 hours
- A job offer with no interview, or an interview that lasted under 10 minutes
- Communication only through WhatsApp, with no corporate email domain
What a genuine Certificate of Sponsorship includes
A real CoS has a unique reference number you can independently check relates to your visa application, states your exact job title and salary, and is issued only after you've accepted a genuine job offer — never before or instead of one.
Realistic salary thresholds
Skilled Worker sponsorship requires the role to meet both a general salary threshold and the specific "going rate" for that occupation code, whichever is higher. If an offer's salary looks unusually low for the stated job title, that's worth questioning before you invest any more time or money into the process.