Is it normal to pay for a Certificate of Sponsorship?

No. UK sponsor guidance prohibits sponsors from passing sponsorship fees and related administrative costs on to the workers they sponsor, and the Home Office will normally revoke a sponsor licence where a Skilled Worker sponsor tries to recover the Certificate of Sponsorship fee from a worker. See the GOV.UK sponsor guidance.

Can an agent guarantee me a UK visa or a CoS?

No. A Certificate of Sponsorship can only come from a licensed UK employer, and the visa decision is made by UK Visas and Immigration. GOV.UK warns about people who claim they can easily get you a UK visa.

How do I check if a UK employer is genuine?

Search the exact company name on the free Hiredge Sponsor Checker, which reads the Home Office Register of Licensed Sponsors. Then contact the employer using details from its own website, not the ones in the message you received.

The recruiter only talks to me on WhatsApp. Is that a problem?

It is a warning sign. Genuine UK employers use company email addresses, formal application systems and video interviews. A recruiter who refuses to use anything except WhatsApp or a free email account may be hiding who they are.

I have already paid. What should I do?

Stop paying immediately, keep every message and receipt, and report it. In India you can report online fraud on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (cybercrime.gov.in). If the scam involved a UK company or bank account, you can also report it to Action Fraud in the UK.

Where do I apply for a UK visa?

Only through the official GOV.UK service at gov.uk/apply-uk-visa. Anyone who asks you to pay visa fees to them, rather than through GOV.UK, is a red flag.

Fake UK Job Offers: How Indian Applicants Can Spot a Visa Scam

The Short Answer

A UK job offer is almost certainly fake if anyone asks you to pay for the job, the visa or a "guaranteed" Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS). Genuine UK employers are not allowed to charge you for sponsorship, and only an employer on the Home Office Register of Licensed Sponsors can sponsor you at all. Before you pay anyone anything, check the employer for free on the Hiredge Sponsor Checker.

Why Indian Applicants Are Targeted

Scammers go where demand is highest. India sends large numbers of skilled workers, nurses and students to the UK, and many people apply through agents or contacts they have never met. That makes it easy for criminals to pose as recruiters, use the names of real UK companies, and send official-looking offer letters.

The cost is not just money. People resign from good jobs, sell property and borrow from family based on an offer that was never real. GOV.UK has reported cases like a fake care recruiter that took upfront fees from overseas workers and never filed a single visa application. That company was not on the Home Office register.

Warning Sign 1: You Are Asked to Pay Upfront

This is the clearest sign of a scam. Fees may be described as "visa processing", "CoS charges", "registration", "training", "security deposit" or "placement fees".

GOV.UK's fraud, tricks and scams guidance says a legitimate employer would never ask for payment to secure a visa. The only fees you pay for a UK work visa go to the UK government through the official GOV.UK application service.

Warning Sign 2: A "Guaranteed" Certificate of Sponsorship

Nobody can guarantee you a CoS except a licensed UK employer that has offered you a real job. And nobody can guarantee you a visa, because UK Visas and Immigration makes that decision after you apply.

Why paying for a CoS is a red flag. The UK's sponsor guidance prohibits sponsors from passing sponsorship fees and related administrative costs on to their sponsored workers. It also says the Home Office will normally revoke a sponsor licence where a Skilled Worker sponsor tries to recover the CoS fee from a worker. So a genuine employer that asks you to pay for your CoS is risking its licence, and anyone selling a CoS on its own, without a real job, is selling something that does not exist.

Warning Sign 3: Agents Charging You for Sponsorship

Some agents claim to have "direct links" with UK companies or "spare CoS slots". A recruitment agency does not sponsor you. The employer does.

For health and care jobs, the Code of Practice for international recruitment says employers should not use agencies that charge fees to candidates, and that charging job seekers a work-finding fee is illegal for recruitment agencies based in Great Britain. If an agent wants money from you to find you a job, walk away.

Warning Sign 4: The Employer Is Not on the Register

Only organisations on the Home Office Register of Licensed Sponsors can sponsor a Skilled Worker or Health and Care Worker visa. If the company is not on the register, it cannot sponsor you, however convincing the letter looks.

How to check in under a minute:

Search the exact company name on the Hiredge Sponsor Checker. We check the register every working day.

For hospitals and care, use the NHS sponsor list.

Make sure the name on your offer matches the licensed organisation exactly. Scammers often use names that are one word different from a real company.

Being on the register does not prove that an offer is genuine, because scammers also borrow real company names. So if the employer is on the register, contact it directly using the phone number or email on its own website and ask it to confirm your offer.

Warning Sign 5: WhatsApp-Only Contact

Real UK employers use company email addresses, online application systems and video interviews. Be very careful if:

All contact is on WhatsApp, Telegram or a personal phone number

Emails come from free accounts such as Gmail or Yahoo instead of a company domain

There was no proper interview, or the "interview" was a short chat

You received a job offer for a role you never applied for

You are pressured to pay quickly "before the slot is gone"

GOV.UK lists unsolicited job offers and job offers made only by email as signs of a scam.

What to Do If You Think It Is a Scam

Do not pay, and do not send your passport or bank details.

Check the employer on the Sponsor Checker.

Contact the company directly using details from its official website.

Report it. In India, use the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (cybercrime.gov.in). For UK companies or UK bank accounts, you can also report to Action Fraud.

Warn others. Share this guide with family and friends who are applying. Scams spread fastest in the same WhatsApp groups where genuine advice is shared.

How to Find Genuine Sponsored Jobs

You do not need an agent to find a sponsored UK job. Every listing on Hiredge visa sponsorship jobs comes from an employer verified on the Home Office register, and you apply directly to the employer.