What is the priority COS service?
When an employer submits a Certificate of Sponsorship (COS) allocation request through Borderless, they have the option to pay for a priority service. This means Borderless contacts the Home Office daily to request that the application is processed on a priority basis. Once a priority slot is secured, the request is considered within 5 working days rather than the standard timeline.
The priority service covers specific types of COS request: additional undefined COS allocation and annual COS allocation. Defined COS requests are not eligible and will be rejected by the Home Office. A refund will not be issued in that case.
What the fee covers and what it does not
The priority fee covers Borderless submitting and actively chasing a priority request with the Home Office on your behalf. It does not purchase a guaranteed outcome. The Home Office controls the availability of priority slots, and demand frequently exceeds the daily limit. The Home Office accepts a maximum of 100 priority service requests per day across all sponsors. If that limit is reached before your request is submitted on a given day, chasing will continue the following working day.
This service does not guarantee that your COS allocation will be approved, even if a priority slot is secured. The Home Office will assess the request on its merits within the priority processing window.
How the chasing process works
Once your priority request has been submitted, Borderless contacts the Home Office daily by email to request a priority slot. The Home Office priority service operates Monday to Friday, 7am to 5pm only. Requests made outside those hours are not accepted, so chasing resumes on the next available working day where necessary.
You can track the full history of this process in your case view in Borderless. The timeline shows the date your priority request was submitted, each daily chase sent to the Home Office, and the current status of your request. This updates automatically as events occur.
What happens once a priority slot is secured
If a priority slot is accepted by the Home Office, Borderless pays the required fee directly on your behalf. The 5 working day consideration period then begins the following working day. For example, if the slot is secured and payment confirmed on a Monday, the 5 working days begin on Tuesday.
What happens if a priority slot cannot be secured
If the Home Office does not accept the priority request, or if a slot cannot be obtained within a reasonable timeframe, Borderless will advise you on next steps. You will not automatically receive a refund in this scenario, as the fee covers the chasing service rather than a guaranteed slot.
Why you may not hear from the Home Office directly
The Home Office communicates the outcome to the key personnel listed on your sponsor licence, not to the sponsored worker. Workers should direct questions about their COS status to the employer rather than contacting the Home Office directly. Borderless will notify the employer account at each key milestone: when the priority request is submitted, each time a daily chase is sent, and when a priority slot is secured.
Typical timescales
It is important to understand that there are two separate stages, each with their own timeline. The first is securing a priority slot. At present, Borderless is seeing priority requests take approximately 40 to 50 days before the Home Office accepts a slot. This is outside Borderless's control and reflects current Home Office demand. The second stage is the consideration of your COS request once the slot is accepted, which the Home Office aims to complete within 5 working days of payment being confirmed.
Processing at the second stage may take longer if the request is complex, requires additional checks, or if UKVI requests further information. If a delay occurs for reasons outside normal case-working processes, such as a technical error, you may be eligible for a refund.