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Erasmus+ Government Authorised Exchange Visa Sponsor

Department for Education

This public procurement record has 6 releases in its history.

Award

18 Sep 2026 at 13:34

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Award

17 Jul 2026 at 12:02

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
TenderUpdate

15 Apr 2026 at 14:18

UK4 - Tender Notice
Tender

15 Apr 2026 at 11:03

UK4 - Tender Notice
Planning

15 Apr 2026 at 10:52

UK3 - Planned Procurement Notice
Planning

12 Feb 2026 at 10:15

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Department for Education commissioned an overarching visa sponsorship service for the Erasmus+ Government Authorised Exchange (Temporary Work) visa scheme. The appointed provider issues Certificates of Sponsorship and manages compliance with Home Office requirements for people entering the UK for supernumerary work placements, including traineeships, teacher assignments and training assignments. The requirement covers administration and support for inbound Erasmus+ mobilities, with related customer service, helpdesk, contract administration and travel-service activity. Delivery is across the United Kingdom. The procurement is for services and is intended to support the UK’s participation in Erasmus+, a grant-funded programme covering education, training, youth and sport. The Department stated that SMEs and voluntary, community and social enterprises were suitable participants, and that consortia and collaborative bids could be considered.

The procurement is complete and has been awarded following an open procedure. One lot was evaluated using a price-per-quality-point methodology: tenders had to meet minimum quality thresholds, then quality scores were combined with price to rank suppliers. Seven valid final bids were received, including five from SMEs. The award was made to IRARA Services Limited on 17 July 2026. The published award value is £5,502,364 gross and £4,585,304 in the other stated amount. The overall estimated tender value was £12,118,000. The contract was signed on 20 August 2026 and runs from 1 September 2026 to 29 December 2028, with a one-year extension option to 28 December 2029. Pricing is based on 50,000 mobilities, with additional pricing for up to 70,000 and negotiation for higher demand.

This award demonstrates substantial demand for a specialist UK-wide provider able to administer temporary-work visa sponsorship for international education and training placements. A credible competitor would need to manage Certificates of Sponsorship accurately, maintain robust Home Office compliance controls and support the end-to-end administration of inbound mobilities. Relevant operational capability includes handling high participant volumes, maintaining reliable case and contract administration, and providing responsive customer or helpdesk support to education and training stakeholders. Experience across traineeships, teacher assignments and training assignments would align closely with the requirement. The competition attracted seven valid bids, including five from SMEs, indicating that the service can be contested by smaller specialist organisations as well as larger providers. Consortia and collaborative delivery models were also contemplated, allowing complementary visa, education, administration or support expertise to be combined.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Erasmus+ Government Authorised Exchange Visa Sponsor

Notice Description

On 17 December, the UK and the European Commission reached an agreement in principle for the UK to associate to Erasmus+ in 2027. Erasmus+ is the European Union's flagship programme to support education, training, youth, and sport in Europe and beyond, with an overall estimated budget of EUR26.2 billion for the period 2021-27. It is a grant funding scheme offering a broad range of opportunities for learners and staff across the education, training, youth, and sport sectors. Procurement of a Visa Sponsor Separately, the Department is seeking to procure an overarching sponsor to issue Certificates of Sponsorship and ensure compliance with Home Office requirements for a new Erasmus+ Government Authorised Exchange (Temporary Work) visa scheme, for inbound mobilities to the UK where participants are undertaking supernumerary work placements such as traineeships, teacher assignments or training assignments. The DfE is keen to maximise opportunities to participate in procurement for Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprises (VCSEs). Consideration will also be given to consortia and collaborative bids from all forms of organisations.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: Up to 12 month extension options, which can be applied at the Department's discretion.

Planning Information

**THIS PMEN NOTICE IS TO NOTIFY SUPPLIERS OF A POTENTIAL UPCOMING REQUIREMENT THAT WE ANTICIPATE COULD BE ADVERTISED ** For the purposes of this notice, we have listed the Department for Education as the contracting authority for any awarded contract. We are looking to understand the market available to deliver our potential requirements, so that we can better understand how we may structure our requirements and develop our strategy. All details in this PMEN are subject to being updated or changed in the tender notice. This PMEN does not signify the commencement of any procurement process and does not constitute any commitment by the Department for Education. This is a Preliminary Market Engagement Notice (PMEN) for information purposes only. It is not a formal invitation to tender. You will need to respond to any tender notice that may be issued in order to be considered for any upcoming contract. The PMEN fulfils the requirement for a Preliminary Market Engagement Notice to be issued under the Procurement Act 2023. We will be holding a virtual supplier event on 24th February 2026. Please see below for details. How to engage There will be an introductory market engagement webinar via Microsoft Teams at 11am 24th February 2026, which will run for approximately 60 minutes. The purpose of the event is to: Provide an overview of the responsibility of a GAE visa sponsor. Provide indicative timelines, and thinking of the department on the procurement process. Gather feedback on the design (including timelines) and scope of the tender. We would encourage the attendance of interested suppliers at the market engagement event. We are keen to speak to as many organisations as possible to allow the market to shape our thinking and to ensure that the requirements of any invitation to tender that we may issue are deliverable. Jaggaer All communication and information will be released through Jaggaer. All information from the day, including Q&A, will be made available via Jaggaer to those who are unable to attend. To participate in this opportunity and register your organisation’s interest in attending the webinar, please register for an account and view the “current opportunities” page at Jaggaer https://education.app.jaggaer.com and search for: “project_ project_10326 - Erasmus+ Temporary Worker Visa Sponsorship Services Once you have located project_ 10326, please confirm your interest by selecting “Express Interest” to receive full access to the opportunity. All relevant documentation will be made available in the Data Room, which can be accessed via the “Buyer Attachments” section, under “ITT Details”. Please note, you must answer the question within the “My Response” section and submit your response to ensure registration at the webinar. You can then use the messaging function to provide attendee details.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-064e9a
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/088696-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

63 - Supporting and auxiliary transport services; travel agencies services

72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

75 - Administration, defence and social security services

79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

CPV Codes

63515000 - Travel services

72253000 - Helpdesk and support services

72253100 - Helpdesk services

75100000 - Administration services

75112000 - Administrative services for business operations

75121000 - Administrative educational services

75125000 - Administrative services related to tourism affairs

79342300 - Customer services

79512000 - Call centre

79994000 - Contract administration services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£12,118,000 £10M-£100M
Lots Value
£12,118,000 £10M-£100M
Awards Value
£4,585,304 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
£4,585,304 £1M-£10M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
18 Sep 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
26 May 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
15 Apr 2026Expired
Award Date
17 Jul 20263 months ago
Contract Period
1 Sep 2026 - 29 Dec 2028 2-3 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Department for Education
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SW1P 3BT
Postcode Area
South West London
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI3 Inner London - West
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI35 Westminster and City of London
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Westminster
Electoral Ward
St James's
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

IRARA Services Limited

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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