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Key Take aways for ILR Sponsor Letter
- The ILR employer support letter must be issued within 28 days of the application date not before, not after.
- It must include the employee's full name, job title, SOC code, CoS reference number, current gross salary, and a statement that employment is ongoing.
- If your employee changed roles or salary since their original CoS was issued, the letter must explain that change explicitly or risk a delay.
- Previous employers must also issue a letter (or provide payslips and a P45) if the employee worked for them during the five-year qualifying period.
- Missing or vague employer letters are one of the most common causes of ILR refusal on work-based routes. Getting this right protects your employee and your sponsor licence.
Most ILR applications that hit problems don't fail because of absences or the Life in the UK Test. They stall because the employer letter is wrong. A missing SOC code, a salary figure that doesn't match the latest payslip, or a letter dated a day outside the 28-day window any of these can delay settlement for an employee who has waited five years.
As the sponsor, this is firmly in your court. Here is exactly what the Home Office expects from you.
What the ILR Employer Support Letter Actually Does
The employer support letter is the primary document confirming that your employee's visa conditions are still being met at the point of application. A Home Office caseworker uses it to verify three things: ongoing lawful employment, compliance with salary thresholds, and the continuing need for the role.
For Skilled Worker and Health and Care Worker routes, the letter directly links to the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) on file with UKVI. Caseworkers cross-reference what you write against their own records. Vague or inconsistent letters trigger further evidence requests and that adds months to the process. For more on your broader obligations as a sponsor, see our guide to supporting employees through the UK ILR process.
What to Include: Field by Field
The Home Office does not publish a rigid template, but their settlement guidance is clear about what caseworkers look for. Your letter must cover all of the following.
Company Details
Employee Details
When to Issue the Letter
Timing is where most HR teams get this wrong. The letter must be dated within 28 days of the employee's online application submission date not 28 days before they plan to apply, not on the day you discuss it internally. Twenty-eight days from submission.
In practice, this means coordinating with your employee on their exact submission date before drafting the letter. If your HR processes mean letters take several days to approve, factor that in. Issuing it a day too early is enough to trigger a rejection. To understand the full application window and preparation timeline, our ILR application timeline guide for Skilled Workers walks through each stage month by month.
Who Should Sign It
The signatory matters to caseworkers. Acceptable options are
- HR Director or HR Manager
- Head of People or People Operations (equivalent role)
- Company Director or Managing Director (for smaller businesses)
- The Authorising Officer named on your sponsor licence, this carries the most weight
The employee cannot sign their own letter, even if they are also a company director. An external recruitment agency cannot sign it either. The letter must come from the actual employing entity, signed by someone with authority over that employment relationship.
Scenarios That Need Extra Care
Three situations require more than a standard letter.
Role or salary change. If your employee was promoted or received a salary increase that required a new CoS, the letter must explain the change, including the original role and salary, when the change happened, and the updated CoS reference. Any mismatch between your letter and Home Office records can trigger requests for further evidence.
Employee changed employers. If the employee joined your company partway through their five-year qualifying period, their previous sponsor should provide evidence covering that earlier period, such as an employer letter, payslips, and P45. Your responsibility only covers the time they were sponsored by your organisation, but employees should contact previous employers early, as obtaining documents can take longer than expected. For more detail on eligibility timelines, see our guide on when to apply for ILR in the UK.
Common HR Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
- Salary figure differs from the employee’s most recent payslip, even by a small amount
- SOC code omitted entirely
- No forward-looking statement, only confirming past employment, not ongoing intent
- Standard HR reference template used without adding the immigration-specific fields
- Letter issued too early, then the employee delays, you’ll need to redate it
If you are managing ILR applications across a team of international employees, the risk of one of these errors slipping through scales quickly. Jobbatical coordinates the employer letter alongside the full document pack , drafting, reviewing for compliance, and aligning the timing with the submission date. Book a demo to see how we manage this at scale.
Disclaimer: Immigration rules change quite frequently; please verify with official sources or contact us for the latest info before making any decisions.
Frequently Asked Questions : ILR Employer Support Letter
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