The Tier 2 (General) visa scheme is a points-based system for skilled employees who do not qualify as an intra company transferee. After the Tier 2 (General) quota first overdrew in December 2017, the quota was once again oversubscribed in January 2018. Under the Tier 2 scheme, the government allocates 20,700 Restricted Certificates of Sponsorship (RCoS) each year, which are divided into monthly allocations. In January 2018, there were 1651 RCoS available. For the second month in a row, the supply of RCoS was exceeded by demand and the Tier 2 (General) category was oversubscribed.

When demand exceeds supply, the applications are evaluated on a points threshold where points are awarded for salary and occupation. Applications submitted in January with a salary of less than £50k, unless a PhD level position or shortage occupation, were rejected. The rejected applications may be resubmitted provided that the advertising carried out by the employer remains valid. It is likely that applications from January will be resubmitted in February, which may result in the RCoS quota being overdrawn once again.

Employers seeking to sponsor an employee under the Tier 2 (General) scheme should be prepared to submit the request more than once, as the RCoS may continue to be overdrawn early in 2018.