UK Pravasi Helpdesk Impact: Delayed 478 COS approved by Home Office delights healthcare workers

LONDON Nov 18: Hundreds of healthcare workers were facing life uncertainties with their COS coming up for renewal with no notifications from the Home Office to their employer about their request for renewals. The firm was doing all it can to get the COS renewed. At the same time, the UK Pravasi Helpdesk, a community based organisation supporting people from India living in the UK, too came to the forefront in providing support to these healthcare workers. UK Pravasi Helpdesk launched a WhatsApp group for these healthcare workers to provide them with timely updates from the government and also obtaining legal help from solicitors. Thus they kept the group members in good spirits.

Anoop also anchored a Zoom meetings for the members with Solicitor Suresh Unnikrishnan answering questions on their concerns about the delays in COS being issued.

The group made correspondence with the Home Secretary and lobbied MPs to raise the issue of the delay in renewing the COS for these 478 healthcare workers. Finally, today, 18th November 2025, the care provider received confirmation from UKVI that their application for 478 Certificates of Sponsorship has been approved in full. The CoSs will be duly added imminently to their Licence so they can begin allocating them to staff immediately thereafter.

The firm has begun preparing the necessary e-documentation to assign Certificates in order of priority, i.e. to those closest to RTW expiry first, and they will let everyone on the list know that who they can now provide them with a valid CoS.

The WhatsApp Group created by Anoop Sasidharan in April 2024 to support the healthcare staff with around 500 members, was buzzing with congratulatory messages for Anoop and the team, who were in the forefront in keeping the spirits up.

An elated Anoop Sasidharan of UK Pravasi Helpdesk, which is now registered as a limited company in the UK, said: “I am elated with this news as it has brought smiles on the face of 478 families. I had with a good team to work towards supporting this group of healthcare workers. I would like to thank Solicitor Suresh Unnikrishnan of Krishmorgan Solicitors, Adv Geo George, Adv Dileep Kumar and media personality Balagopal.”

“Each day, I would receive calls from these healthcare workers and I would try to allay their fears. Finally, it reached a point where I decided to seek advise from the solicitors and I drafted letters to the Home Secretary and also asked the staff to write through their MPs. I also raised the matter through the media and finally the glad news came out”