# Get your CAS records out of the SMS through an API

> Check a CAS's status, export your CAS records and read a student's activity history in the Sponsorship Management System with one API call each. A workflow can check your intake's CAS each morning and post every move to USED or EXPIRED to your student records.

Page: https://fous.com/automate/sponsorship-management-system
Updated: 2026-11-12

Works with your own Sponsorship Management System account. Fous is an independent product.

## What you can build on the SMS

### Check a CAS status

Finds a CAS through Sponsorship duties with Manage live CAS by CAS number and reads its status, student, course dates and sponsor note.

- Takes: CAS number
- Returns: CAS number, status, family name, given names, course title, course start date, course end date, sponsor note

### Export CAS records

Runs Export CAS from the Students screen with your filters, generates the report and returns each CAS in it as a row.

- Takes: Export CAS filters (optional)
- Returns: CAS number, status, family name, given names, course title, course start date, course end date

### Read a student's activity history

Opens Report activity by CAS number and reads the activity history screen under Report student activity for that CAS.

- Takes: CAS number
- Returns: CAS number, activity type, date, details

### Report student activity

Reports an activity on a CAS: picks the Activity type, fills in the date and Please give details, and saves on the date and reason screen.

- Takes: CAS number, activity type, date, details
- Returns: CAS number, activity type, date, recorded (yes or no)

## Automate the SMS with a workflow

A [workflow](/product/workflows) runs your methods as one process, with nobody at the screen. A schedule or a call from your own system starts it, the steps run in order, and the result arrives in your inbox or in the systems you already use.

### CAS status changes for the current intake, to student records

Starts: Every weekday at 7:00

1. Export CAS records and keep those for the course titles of the current intake.
2. Keep the CAS whose status changed since the last run, for example ASSIGNED to USED or to EXPIRED.
3. Post each one, with CAS number, student, course and new status, to your student records system's webhook.

### Weekly list of expired and withdrawn CAS

Starts: Every Monday at 8:00

1. Export CAS records and keep those with the status EXPIRED or WITHDRAWN.
2. Keep the CAS that were not on the last run's list.
3. Email you the list, grouped by course title, with CAS number, student and course start date.

### Activity history check for students your registry flagged

Starts: When your system calls the workflow's webhook with CAS numbers and missed contact dates

1. For each CAS number, read the student's activity history.
2. Keep the CAS with no activity reported since the student's missed contact date.
3. Email you that list, so you can report each one within 10 working days of that date.

You can run a workflow by hand on every plan, Free included. Schedules and webhook triggers come with the paid plans, from $29 a month.

## Once built, one call from your code

Once you have built a [method](/product/methods), it is one POST to /v1/runs from your backend, or a tool an AI agent calls over MCP. This is what “Check a CAS status” would look like.

Example request:

```
curl https://api.fous.com/v1/runs \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FOUS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "method": "www.points.homeoffice.gov.uk/check_cas_status",
    "input": {
      "cas_number": "E4G7Q2K8000AB1"
    }
  }'
```

Example response:

```
{
  "status": "completed",
  "data": {
    "cas_number": "E4G7Q2K8000AB1",
    "status": "ASSIGNED",
    "family_name": "Doe",
    "given_names": "Jane",
    "course_title": "MSc Data Science",
    "course_start_date": "2027-01-18",
    "course_end_date": "2028-01-14",
    "sponsor_note": null
  }
}
```

An example with invented data, not a ready-made endpoint. The method exists in your organization once you build it, and its name, inputs and fields follow your request.

## The SMS’s own options

UKVI offers no API for the SMS. Student sponsors can move CAS data in bulk with bulk data transfer: XML files in a ZIP that a signed-in SMS user uploads and downloads by hand. Everything else, including most student activity reports, is done on the SMS screens, one CAS at a time.

| Option | What it covers | What it takes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Bulk data transfer (BDT) | Bulk CAS upload, bulk CAS export, bulk reporting of students who did not enrol, bulk fees update and graduation notifications. | XML files that match the XSD, in a ZIP, up to 1,000 CAS a file, uploaded by a logged-on SMS user. Needs a bespoke IT system. |
| Export CAS | An .XML file of your CAS records, filtered as you choose. CAS in READY TO GO or WORK IN PROGRESS are left out. | An SMS user who generates and downloads the report on the Students screen. |
| The SMS by hand | Creating and assigning CAS, Manage live CAS, sponsor notes and Report student activity, one CAS at a time. | A Level 1 or Level 2 user account on your sponsor licence, with a one-time passcode at each login. |

Read on November 12, 2026: [Bulk data transfer toolkit: frequently asked questions](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bulk-data-transfer-for-sponsors-frequently-asked-questions/bulk-data-transfer-toolkit-frequently-asked-questions-valid-from-march-2021), [SMS manual 6: Miscellaneous CAS functions](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/create-a-certificate-of-sponsorship-guide-for-business-sponsors/sms-manual-6-miscellaneous-cas-functions-accessible), [SMS manual 5: Reporting student activity](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/restricted-certificates-of-sponsorship-sms-user-manual/sms-manual-5-reporting-student-activity-accessible).

## Signing in to the SMS

The SMS asks for your user ID and password, then a one-time passcode at every login once your licence has multi-factor authentication. Level 1 users can get it by email instead of on their phone, and Level 2 users always get it by email. With Fous you sign in once through the SMS's own sign-in. The login is sealed with AES-256, a passcode sent by email is handled, and an expired session is signed back in.

## Worth knowing

- **A CAS lasts six months**: A CAS is valid for six months from the date you assign it, then shows as EXPIRED. If the student applied before expiry, UKVI changes it from EXPIRED to USED when the application is considered.
- **Reports have a 10 working day limit**: A student who does not enrol must be reported within 10 working days of the enrolment period ending. An intention to withdraw sponsorship is due within 10 working days of the last expected contact point.
- **Who may assign and report**: Only Level 1 users, or Level 2 users appointed before 9 September 2026, can assign a CAS. Level 2 users report only on CAS they created and assigned, and the role ends after 8 March 2027.
- **Limits of Export CAS and sponsor notes**: Export CAS does not return CAS in READY TO GO or WORK IN PROGRESS, and the report can take some time to generate. A sponsor note can only be added to an ASSIGNED or EXPIRED CAS and overwrites the old text.

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Other industries: [SDG&E My Account](/automate/sdg-and-e-my-account), [Glovo Manager Portal](/automate/glovo-manager-portal), [Bradesco Net Empresa](/automate/bradesco-net-empresa), [Portal Rede](/automate/portal-rede), [My.SSS Employer Portal](/automate/my-sss-employer-portal), [EPFO Unified Portal (Employer)](/automate/epfo-unified-portal-employer).

## Frequently asked questions

### Does the Sponsorship Management System have an API?

No. UKVI offers bulk data transfer instead: XML files in a ZIP, up to 1,000 CAS a file, that a logged-on SMS user uploads and downloads by hand. It covers CAS upload, CAS export, fee updates, graduation notifications and reporting students who did not enrol.

### Can I report several no-shows at once?

Yes, through bulk data transfer, which reports students who did not enrol in one data file. Other reports, such as stopping sponsorship, are made one at a time under Sponsorship duties with Report activity by CAS number or by CAS search.

### How do I see whether a CAS has been used?

Look up the CAS under Sponsorship duties with Manage live CAS by CAS number, or run Export CAS for a list. The status shows USED once UKVI has considered an application made with it. A CAS that expired after the student applied changes from EXPIRED to USED at that point.

### Can I change a CAS after assigning it?

Through a sponsor note, which you add on the Manage live CAS screen to a CAS that is ASSIGNED or EXPIRED. Fees can also be updated in bulk with bulk data transfer while the CAS is ASSIGNED or EXPIRED, not once it is USED. Amend and Delete are for CAS not yet assigned.

### Is Fous affiliated with the UK Home Office?

No. Fous is an independent product. You use it with your own SMS account, and a method reads and does only what that account can.

Fous is an independent product: it is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the operator of Sponsorship Management System (UK Home Office (UK Visas and Immigration)). The name is used only to say which system this page is about. Something here wrong or out of date? Write to legal@fous.com.