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Additional SMS manuals

There are 12 SMS manuals available, plus a supplementary policy guide for completing a CAS. The manuals are grouped into three categories: common, CAS and CoS. The table below describes the purpose and audience of each manual.

You should read all manuals applicable to your licence before contacting the relevant helpdesk.

Manual reference	Manual title	Type	Purpose	Audience
Manual 1	Introduction to SMS	Common	Use this manual to log into SMS, change your password, manage SMS users and view important messages posted by the Home Office. In addition, this manual explains who should use SMS and for what purpose. The manual features a full introduction to SMS as well as a comprehensive troubleshooting section.	All sponsors
Manual 2	Managing your licence	Common	To help sponsors manage their key personnel, change their licence details, manage PAYE references, and apply for allocations of CoS/CAS.	All sponsors
Manual 3	Apply for Premium customer service, Basic Compliance Assessment and manage Action plans	Common	To help sponsors apply for Premium customer service, Basic Compliance Assessment and manage action plans.	All sponsors
Manual 4	Creating and assigning CAS	CAS	To help sponsors create and assign individual and batches of CAS.	Sponsors licensed in the Student Route
Manual 4a	Creating a CAS – guide for education sponsors	CAS	This manual contains supplementary information on completing a CAS. Use this guide to determine what information is necessary in each field of the CAS.	Sponsors licensed in the Student Route
Manual 5	Reporting student activity	CAS	To help sponsors report student activity, for example if a student’s circumstances change. This manual also contains help with reporting fee updates and adding sponsor notes to CAS that have already been assigned.	Sponsors licensed in the Student Route
Manual 6	Miscellaneous CAS functions	CAS	To help sponsors complete all other functions of CAS, such as managing batches of CAS, managing pre-stored addresses for use when creating CAS, transferring ownership of CAS, printing CAS and exporting CAS.	Sponsors licensed in the Student Route
Manual 7	Bulk Data Transfer of CAS	CAS	To help sponsors use the bulk data transfer (BDT) functions of SMS, including graduate notifications. You must have a bespoke IT system in place to use BDT.	Sponsors licensed in the Student Route
Manual 8	Creating and assigning CoS	CoS	To help sponsors create and assign individual and batches of CoS.	Sponsors licensed in any Worker or Temporary Worker route
Manual 9	Reporting worker activity	CoS	To help sponsors report worker activity, for example if a worker’s circumstances change. This manual also contains help with adding sponsor notes to CoS that have already been assigned.	Sponsors licensed in any Worker or Temporary Worker route
Manual 10	Miscellaneous CoS functions	CoS	To help sponsors complete all other functions of CoS, such as managing batches of CoS, managing pre-stored addresses for use when creating CoS, transferring ownership of CoS, and printing CoS.	Sponsors licensed in any Worker or Temporary Worker route
Manual 11	Temporary Work – Creative Worker Group of CoS	CoS	To help sponsors create and manage groups of CoS. Groups of CoS are only available to sponsors licensed in Temporary Work - Creative Worker	Sponsors licensed in the Temporary Work - Creative Work Route
Manual 12	Defined CoS	CoS	To help sponsors apply for defined CoS, track applications for defined CoS and once granted, create defined CoS.	Sponsors licensed in Skilled Worker

Glossary

SMS

Sponsorship Management System

CoS

Certificate of Sponsorship

CAS

Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies

AO

Authorising Officer

KC

Key Contact

BDT

Bulk Data Transfer

SELT

Secure English Language Test

.XML

Extensible Mark-up Language

.PDF

Portable Document Format

Automation

On 6 April 2014 we introduced new functionality in SMS to automatically renew CoS allocations and to apply changes to your organisation address, or the address of your AO and KC. We will write to you if you meet the criteria and automation has been set.

CAS status

The information below shows each status which can apply to a CAS.

WORK IN PROGRESS

The CAS is still ‘in draft’ as one or more mandatory fields are yet to be completed.

READY TO GO

All mandatory fields are complete and the CAS is ready to be assigned to an individual.

ASSIGNED

The CAS has been assigned to an individual and is ready to be used in support of an application for leave to enter/remain in the UK.

WITHDRAWN

You have used the ‘Manage live CAS’ function in SMS to withdraw the CAS.

OBSOLETE

SMS has automatically changed the CAS status to ‘Obsolete’ as it has detected that another CAS assigned to the same individual has been marked as ‘Used’ within the validity period of this CAS.

USED

The CAS has been used in support of an individual’s application for leave to enter or remain.

EXPIRED

Either: the individual has not made an application for leave to enter or remain before the expiry date of the CAS. In this instance a new CAS is required.

Or: the individual has applied by the CAS expiry date but we have not considered their application before that  date. In this case, no action is required on your part; we will change the status of the CAS from EXPIRED to USED when the application is considered.

CANCELLED

The CAS has been cancelled as your licence has been revoked or has expired, or you have surrendered the relevant route / your whole licence prior to the CAS being used.

SMS guides

Guide 1: How to upload a batch of CAS using Bulk Data Transfer (BDT)

Follow the step by step instructions to upload a batch CAS records using BDT. This function is useful if you wish to transfer a large number of records from your IT systems directly into SMS. You must have installed a bespoke IT system on your network to create the .XML files required to use the BDT function.

You should read the Sponsorship policy guidance, SMS guide 4a – Creating a CAS – guide for education sponsors and the BDT toolkit before uploading a batch of CAS.

Step 1

From the Student screen, select Create CAS.

Step 2

From the Create a CAS screen, select the relevant route (Student or Child Student) and choose Next.

If you are only licensed in one of these routes, the drop-down list will default to that route.

Step 3

From the second Create a CAS screen, choose Create new batch of CAS, then select Next.

Step 4

From the final Create a CAS, enter the name of the batch, then select Next.

Note

The name of the batch should be something memorable as you might need to retrieve it later.

Step 5

From the Batch details screen, select Upload (two buttons available).

Step 6

From the CAS bulk file upload screen, select Browse and navigate to the location of the .zip file on your computer or network, select it then select Open.

Step 7

You are now ready to begin the upload process. Select Next.

Step 8

The CAS bulk file upload summary screen is displayed. Your .ZIP file was successfully uploaded. Select Next to apply the data to the batch. This can take some time.

Note

You may receive warnings regarding your file. Please check you are content with these before proceeding.

Step 10

The CAS bulk file upload successful screen is displayed.

Your upload was successful. You can now see the number of CAS records that have been added to your new batch. Select OK to return to the Batch details screen.

If you have received any warning messages, please check the details as you may have accidentally used a CAS number that is associated with another CAS.

Step 11

From the Batch details screen, you can see that all CAS in the batch have a status of READY TO GO.

Step 12

From the Batch details saved screen, select OK.

Your batch has now been saved. You are now ready to either add more CAS to the batch, or assign and pay for the batch.

Guide 2: How to report multiple student ‘no-shows’ in bulk using BDT

Follow the step by step instructions below to report student ‘no-shows’ (i.e. the individuals have not arrived for enrolment) using the BDT functionality. This function is useful if you have had multiple student ‘no-shows’.

If you need to report another type of activity, or if you need to provide further details about a student not arriving for enrolment, you should use the Report Activity by CAS Search or Report Activity by CAS Number functions to submit the appropriate details to us.

You should read the Sponsorship policy guidance and SMS guide 4a – Creating a CAS – guide for education sponsors and the BDT toolkit before reporting student no shows in bulk.

Step 1

From the Students screen, select Sponsorship duties.

Step 2

From the Sponsorship duties screen, select Report bulk student activity.

Step 3

From the Reporting bulk upload screen, select Browse.

Step 4

From the Choose File to Upload dialogue box, navigate to the file you wish to upload, select it and choose Open. This must be a compressed (.ZIP) file.

Step 5

The CAS bulk file upload summary screen is displayed, which indicates that your file is in the correct format. Select Next.

Note

You may receive warnings regarding your file. Please check you are content with these before proceeding, as you may have uploaded the same file previously.

Step 6

The CAS bulk file upload successful screen is displayed. Your data has now been successfully uploaded.

You may receive a warning if your file contains errors. In this example, none of the errors were critical and the upload was successful. If your file contains a critical error, please see below.

Select OK to return to the Sponsorship duties screen.

Step 7

Warnings:

You may receive a critical error, which will prevent you from being able to progress; the Next button will be unavailable (greyed out).

The most common problem when uploading bulk data is that the .XML file does not conform to the BDT schema, as set out in the BDT Toolkit.

You will need to edit your file to ensure the data is correct, for which you might need to contact your IT provider. Once complete, compress the file (.ZIP format) and try the upload again.

Step 8

When the upload is successful, you will be returned to the Sponsorship duties screen.

Guide 3: How to provide bulk fee updates using BDT

Follow the step by step instructions below to report bulk fee information using the BDT functionality. This function is useful if multiple students pay their fees after you have applied for a CAS, but before the students’ have submitted their applications to us.

You can only use this function if the CAS has a status of ASSIGNED. Once the CAS has been marked as USED, you will no longer be able to update the fee-related information. It is important to keep SMS updated with any fees charged or paid.

You should read the Sponsorship policy guidance and SMS guide 4a – Creating a CAS – guide for education sponsors and details of the BDT toolkit before reporting bulk fee updates.

Step 1

From the Students screen, select Sponsorship duties.

Step 2

From the Sponsorship duties screen, select Provide bulk fee update.

Step 3

From the Bulk CAS financial data upload screen, select Browse.

Step 4

From the Choose File to Upload dialogue box, navigate to the file you wish to upload, select it and choose Open. This must be a compressed (.ZIP) file.

Step 5

The Bulk CAS financial data summary screen is displayed, which indicates that your file is in the correct format. Select Next.

Note

You may receive warnings regarding your file. Please check you are content with these before proceeding, as you could have uploaded the same file previously.

Step 6

Warnings: You may receive a critical error, which will prevent you from being able to progress.

A common problem, as in this case, is when the data does not match any CAS records.

You will need to edit your file to ensure the data is correct. Once complete, compressed the file (.ZIP format) and try the upload again.

Step 7

When the upload is successful, you will be directed to the Bulk CAS financial data upload successful screen. Select OK to return to the Sponsorship duties screen.

Step 8

If you wish to check that the fees have been updated as intended, navigate to Sponsorship duties/Report activity by CAS number and search for the CAS you just reported against.