VisaUK updates its visa fraud guidance for applicants
The Home Office refreshed its fraud guidance on 13 November. Skilled Worker applicants can use it to separate a sponsorship demand from a legitimate visa charge.
Official source date: 2026-11-13
Last verified against linked sources:
Edited and checked by the VisaWand editorial team
Pause if a recruiter says a visa or job depends on a payment
If you receive a UK job offer and are asked to transfer money to secure the visa, verify the demand before sending funds or identity documents. UK Visas and Immigration refreshed its fraud guidance on 13 November 2026. The update log describes a general refresh of fraud and scam information. It does not identify a new filing requirement or change to the visa fee. Its sections on fake job websites and messages from supposed officials are particularly relevant if you are applying for sponsored work.
UKVI warns that a message can sound credible even if it already includes your name, address or the fact that you applied. It also describes demands for payment to a personal account, through gift cards or by email. Leave the payment page and open the relevant official visa page independently. For example, a message calling an emailed invoice a mandatory Home Office sponsorship deposit gives you two things to verify separately: who is requesting the payment and which charge they claim it covers.
Check who must pay the sponsorship charge
For the Skilled Worker route, the employer assigns an electronic Certificate of Sponsorship and gives the worker its reference number. The employer-facing certificate page lists the certificate cost as £525. Skilled Worker sponsor guidance says that for certificates assigned on or after 31 December 2024, sponsors must not try to recover the certificate fee or the associated administrative costs from sponsored workers. That restriction applies to a real sponsor too. A request for reimbursement can be a problem even when the certificate itself exists.
Ask for the certificate reference and check the employer identity, occupation code, job title and salary against the official application checklist and the details from the employer. The documents page also asks applicants for identity and English language evidence, with other evidence depending on circumstances. If the details in an unsolicited message differ, use contact details you obtain independently from the employer. Keep a copy of the payment request and the job paperwork so you can describe any mismatch.
Pay your own application charges through the official route
Applicants starting abroad must use the official online Skilled Worker application. The application guide explains that you will be directed either to the identity app or to a visa application centre to prove your identity. Follow the instructions provided by the genuine application service for your case. A recruiter’s promise that they can bypass identity checks gives you no basis to treat the payment request as an official part of filing.
For an ordinary overseas Skilled Worker application, the public cost page lists £819 for permission of up to three years and £1,618 for longer permission. It lists a healthcare surcharge usually charged at £1,035 per year. Check your own category because reduced charges can apply. Those costs are distinct from the sponsor’s certificate fee and from savings evidence. The worker normally uses the certificate within three months of assignment, so check the date while resolving a disputed demand.
Use the reporting channel that matches the incident
The government’s phishing guidance directs people to forward suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk and suspicious texts to 7726. Its fraud reporting campaign directs people who have lost money to Report Fraud in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, or Police Scotland on 101 in Scotland. The campaign also says to contact your bank if you have transferred money to a scammer. The government’s visa scam reporting page asks for the suspicious message, its sender and when it arrived, along with a description of any information sent in reply. Keep the transfer record and use the official reporting service to give these details.
If the issue is specifically about a Certificate of Sponsorship, the Fair Work Agency’s reporting guidance points to the Home Office immigration or border crime form. The form’s public instructions say the reporter can leave out their name and address and should explain the incident in English. The reporting pages do not give an individual visa decision or resolve a fee dispute at the point of filing. Check the visa application separately through the account or instructions from UKVI.
