A credible Skilled Worker offer needs a coherent chain: a real employer, an eligible role, an appropriate salary and a Certificate of Sponsorship that matches the job you will actually do. Treat each as a separate check. An attractive offer letter cannot repair an unsuitable occupation code, and a sponsor licence is not a promise that every vacancy qualifies.

Start with the employing business

Write down the legal employer name, trading name, registered address, recruiter and hiring manager. Ask which entity will employ you and which will appear on the sponsorship record. A group may trade under one brand while several legal companies employ its staff. Resolve a mismatch by asking for an explanation through independently verified company contact details.

Keep the job advert, interview invitation and offer together. The records should tell the same story about duties, location, reporting line and working hours. If an intermediary refuses to let you speak to the employer, or asks for a personal transfer to release sponsorship, pause. The right next step is verification, not another deposit.

Test the role rather than the title

Ask the employer to identify the four-digit occupation code and explain how your core duties fit it. Read the official eligibility table through the government job guidance. Similar titles can describe materially different work. A manager who supervises a team and a worker who occasionally supervises a shift may not have the same classification.

List five regular duties and the approximate share of the working week spent on each. Compare that list with the role discussed at interview. If sponsorship relies on specialist work but the contract describes routine duties, ask the employer to reconcile the difference in writing. Do not invent responsibilities to fit a code.

Put the salary and hours on one page

The usual salary test compares the general threshold with the occupation going rate; exceptions and transitional provisions require their own checks. Record gross annual basic pay, contracted hours and any separate allowances or bonuses. A total remuneration figure is not necessarily the same as salary counted under the immigration rules.

For example, a written offer might describe £45,000 “package value” while basic salary is £38,000 and the balance is a discretionary bonus. That is a reason to obtain a salary breakdown, not to enter £45,000 into a checklist. Use a clearly labelled unknown rather than a favourable assumption.

Map the evidence before committing money

Set out how you will demonstrate identity, English and any other requirements relevant to the application. Ask who is responsible for correcting a CoS error and whether maintenance is being certified. If family members plan to move, build a separate record for each person rather than treating the main worker’s approval as a family approval.

Keep application preparation separate from travel planning. Resignation, a tenancy deposit and non-refundable flights create consequences that a checklist cannot reverse. Mark each commitment as refundable, conditional or irreversible, with the date you would need to make it.

A practical offer review meeting

  1. Send the hiring contact a concise list of factual questions about entity, duties, code, pay, hours and work location.
  2. Attach a one-page summary of what you understand, without sending sensitive personal records through ordinary recruitment messaging.
  3. Record the answer, date and supporting document for each issue.
  4. Escalate contradictions to the employer’s HR or sponsorship team.
  5. Keep unresolved eligibility questions for a regulated adviser rather than accepting a recruiter’s verbal assurance.

What a useful result looks like

Your completed review should show confirmed facts, open questions and next actions. It should not produce a percentage chance of approval. A good file might say “employer identity confirmed; occupation explanation received; salary calculation awaiting HR; English evidence ready.” That is more useful than a green tick hiding missing information.

Return to the review when terms change. A different location, reduced hours or revised duties may affect the analysis even if the salary headline stays the same. Save dated versions so you can explain what changed and why. The printable offer sheet below is designed for that conversation.

Worked review: the terms change after interview

An illustrative engineering candidate receives an offer headed with a familiar group brand. The contract names a subsidiary, the recruiter describes a different office, and the salary is described as a package. None of those facts proves a problem, but together they create three precise verification tasks.

The candidate makes a table with employer, location and counted basic pay. HR confirms which legal company will employ them, explains the work pattern and supplies the final salary breakdown. The sponsorship lead then reviews the duties and occupation information using the final terms. The candidate saves the response and marks only the confirmed facts complete.

If the explanation is delayed, the candidate keeps an irreversible resignation separate from the recruitment timetable. That does not establish that the offer is unsuitable; it recognises that the facts needed for a sound commitment are still missing. The outcome of the worksheet is therefore “three points resolved, one technical question awaiting review,” not “visa approved.”

Questions worth taking into the meeting

  • Which company is responsible for my employment and sponsorship?
  • What part of the remuneration is basic pay and which weekly hours are being used?
  • Who will confirm corrections before I use the sponsorship reference?
  • Which commitment can wait until the unresolved point is answered?

Keep the answers attached to the version of the offer they describe. A later revised contract should trigger another comparison, so a correct earlier review is not accidentally applied to different terms.

Sources and review date

Official rules and guidance checked on 15 October 2026. Recheck the linked page before making an application or financial commitment.

This article provides general editorial information. A regulated immigration adviser can assess how the rules apply to your circumstances.

A useful next step

Use the Job offer verification sheet to turn this guide into a working plan. Continue with Skilled Worker salary and going rate: build a calculation you can explain when you are ready to organise the next part of the file.