Skilled Worker Rules Tie Prison Officer Concessions to Certificate of Sponsorship Dates
08 Aug 2026
If you are on the Skilled Worker visa working as a prison service officer (SOC 2020 code 3314), rules updated on 3 August 2026 in Appendix Skilled Worker set firm cut-off dates for the special concessions that apply to this occupation.
Under the points option for this route, you can only claim the tradeable points if "the application has been made using a certificate of sponsorship issued by the sponsor to the applicant before 1 January 2028" and "the end date of the certificate of sponsorship is not more than three years after the start date." Separately, if you are already working as a prison officer on a Skilled Worker visa and want to continue in the role, the rules let you do so where your last grant of permission was sponsored in SOC code 3314 using a certificate of sponsorship assigned before 1 January 2027.
In plain terms, both concessions depend entirely on when your certificate of sponsorship was issued. If your CoS was issued before the relevant cut-off, you can rely on the concession. If it was issued on or after that date, or if your employer issues a new one after the cut-off, you cannot.
If you work as a prison officer on this visa, ask your sponsor for the exact issue date on your certificate of sponsorship now, and check it against these two dates before you rely on this route for an extension or further sponsorship. If you are unsure which provision applies to you, get advice from an immigration adviser.
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