Certificate of Sponsorship window
Three calendar months and 90 days are not the same period. This calculator applies whichever one the published rules attach to the certificate.
Enter the date the certificate was issued to see the end of the published window.
Figures verified on 8 August 2026 · official sources: Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Worker (SW 1.2(d))
Information, not advice
This tool gives general information about the published UK immigration fees and rules — it is not advice on an individual case, and it does not decide whether anyone qualifies. Figures are summarised from GOV.UK and can change; always check the official pages before applying. For advice on a specific situation, find a regulated adviser via GOV.UK — Find an immigration adviser (the Immigration Advice Authority, formerly OISC).
Two windows, not one
The Immigration Rules set the certificate window in two limbs. An application must be made with a certificate issued no more than 3 months before the date of application — or, where the certificate is linked to a Sponsorship Reference Number, no more than 90 days before it, disregarding any days during which a sponsor-requested edit is under review.
The distinction matters because the two periods rarely land on the same date. A certificate issued on 31 January runs to 30 April under the calendar-month limb, but to 1 May under the 90-day limb.
The edit-review exclusion is limited
Days spent while a sponsor-requested edit is being reviewed are disregarded — but as drafted, that exclusion attaches to the Sponsorship Reference Number limb alone. It does not extend the calendar-month window, so this calculator applies it only to the 90-day case.
Sponsor guidance is behind the Rules here
Sponsor guidance part 2, in force from 3 August 2026, states only the 3-month rule and makes no mention of Sponsorship Reference Numbers or the 90-day window. Where the two disagree, the Immigration Rules are the authority, and this calculator follows them.
A separate rule limits how early an application can be made
The window above is a ceiling on how old a certificate can be. A different provision sets a floor at the other end: the start date stated on the certificate must be no more than three months after the date of application. The two are easily conflated but run in opposite directions.