For an initial consultation of a Sponsor Licence Application call our Business immigration Solicitors at Connaught Law on 0203 909 8399 or contact us online.
A Sponsor Licence application has to be made by an employer who wishes to hire foreign skilled workers from outside the UK. As of 31 December 2020, a sponsorship licence is required to hire non-settled EEA nationals.
Type of Sponsor Licence
The sponsor licence you need depends on whether the workers you want to fill your jobs are:
- ‘Workers’ – for skilled or long-term employment
- ‘Temporary workers’ – for specific types of temporary employment
Worker Sponsor Licence
You can apply for a sponsor licence covering one or both types of workers.
The first type of licence is a “Worker licence” and is suitable for employers who have long-term job offers. This licence is split into four different categories depending on the type of vacancy available. These categories are:
- Skilled Worker – the role must meet the job suitability requirements
- Senior or Specialist Worker visa – for multinational companies which need to transfer established employees to the UK, previously intra-company Transfer visa.
- Minister of Religion – for people coming to work for a religious organisation
- Health and Care Worker visas – for qualified doctors, nurses and allied health professionals of all nationalities (except British and Irish) who have been trained to a recognised standard.
- International Sportsperson – for elite sportspeople and coaches who will be based in the UK
Temporary Worker licence
A ‘Temporary Worker’ licence will let you sponsor people on a temporary basis, including for volunteering and job shadowing. You can only get a Temporary Worker licence for specific types of employment and visas.
The licence is split into:
-
- Scale-up Worker – for people coming to work for a fast-growing UK business
- Creative Worker – to work in the creative industry, for example as an entertainer or artist (up to 2 years)
- Charity Worker – for unpaid workers at a charity (up to 1 year)
- Religious Worker – for those working in a religious order or organisation (2 years)
- Government Authorised Exchange – work experience (1 year), research projects or training, for example, practical medical or scientific training (2 years) to enable a short-term exchange of knowledge
- UK Expansion Worker Visa -(Global Business Mobility) for workers sent to the UK to set up a new branch or subsidiary or an overseas business.
- Graduate Trainee (Global Business Mobility) for workers transferring to their employer,s UK branch as part of a graduate training programme.
- Service Supplier (Global Business Mobility) for workers with a contract to provide services for a UK company (6 or 12 months)
- Secondment Worker (Global Business Mobility) for workers transferring from overseas to work for a different UK business as part of a high-value contract.
- International Agreement Worker visa – for overseas nationals doing work in the UK covered by international law
- Seasonal Worker visa – for overseas nationals undertaking farm work in the UK
When making a sponsor licence application, an employer will need to select the most appropriate type of licence and category based on its business needs. It is possible for an employer to hold a sponsor licence under more than one category.
Sponsor Licence Requirements 2023
To apply for a sponsor licence, the employer must provide evidence to the Home Office that the business is lawfully trading and has a genuine vacancy. It must also satisfy the Home Office that the business has the required HR and recruitment process to monitor its employees and in particular any sponsored employees.
An employer seeking a sponsor licence must also be able to show that there are no unspent criminal convictions or immigration offences or certain other offences such as money laundering and fraud and that no sponsor licence has been revoked in the last 12 months.
The Home Office assesses each application against a rigorous criterion to ensure that any prospective sponsor can comply with the duties of a sponsor licence. In some cases, UKVI will expect to see the policies and procedures on a physical visit to the licenced premises.
Key Personnel for Licence
The Home Office also requires the organisation to nominate certain individuals to take on roles in respect of the sponsor licence. The people nominated must be primarily based in the UK. The main roles are:
- authorising officer – perhaps the most important of all the roles, this should be given to someone senior. Ideally, it should be someone who has some involvement with recruitment and/or HR as they will be ultimately responsible for the licence and ensuring that the sponsor licence duties are met.
- key contact – this person is the main point of contact with the Home Office. A legal representative can undertake this role, and it is recommended you do so, as this will enable you to chase the application on your client’s behalf if needs be.
- level 1 user – responsible for all day-to-day management of the licence via access to an online portal, the sponsorship management system (SMS). At the application stage this has to be an employee but once the licence is secured, others, including representatives, can be set up as level 1 users, or level 2 users who are able to undertake certain limited tasks on the SMS.
It is important to carefully consider whether anyone nominated has skeletons in the closet, particularly any criminal conduct or previous adverse involvement with the Home Office. Applications for sponsor licences can be refused due to the character and past behaviour of the key personnel. The Home Office can and will run its own checks on nominees.
Apply for a Sponsor Licence
Any employer wishing to apply for a licence to sponsor workers must submit the appropriate online application form and pay the application fee depending on the size of the business.
An employer must also submit the appropriate supporting documents within 5 working days of submitting the application form. The documents required are set out in Appendix A of the Sponsor Guidance. Generally, a minimum of four documents are required to support any sponsor licence application. The type of documents required can depend on the type of business. All prospective sponsors are nevertheless required to show that they are actively and lawfully trading.
- Step 1 – Assess the skilled occupation code
- Step 2 – Check the relevant supporting documents
- Step 3 – Start an online application for a sponsor licence
- Step 4 – Send your supporting documents within 5 days of submitting the online application
- Step 5 – Wait for the Home Office’s decision
Download Our Free Guide For Sponsor Licence
Duration of a Sponsor Licence
Any licence granted will generally be valid for 4-years, starting from the date of the grant. A licence must be renewed before this 4-year period is over.
How Much Does it Cost?
When an organisation applies for a sponsor licence, the Home Office charges either:
- £536 if the organisation is a charity or defined as a small entity; or
- £1,476 for large sponsors.
- £500 pre-licence priority service
The Pre-Licence priority service allows sponsors to prioritise their application for a sponsor licence, by submitting an application by email.
Sponsor Licence Compliance
In many cases prior to deciding on a sponsor licence application, the Home Office may visit the organisation to carry out a compliance review to determine whether the prospective sponsor is capable of offering genuine vacancies and carrying out its sponsor duties.
As part of a compliance visit, UKVI can carry out several checks, including a review of the organisation’s current practices, policies and HR procedures in order to ensure that it has suitable systems in place for hiring and monitoring workers.
If following a review, UKVI has any concerns, the application can be refused. It is therefore essential that the organisation reviews relevant systems and policies prior to submitting a sponsor licence application.
Which Business is Eligible for Sponsor Licence?
- Are you lawfully operating in the UK and intending to offer genuine employment to non-settled workers?
Would you be willing to adhere to sponsor duties as prescribed by the UK Home Office? - Do you have or are willing to implement appropriate systems to monitor employees and people to manage sponsorship?
- Do you and the organisation have a clean immigration and criminal history?
If the answers to the above are YES, we can help you with the rest.
How can we help
The Home Office will carefully scrutinise an application for a sponsor licence application. We are experienced in preparing sponsor licence applications to ensure a successful outcome and will provide expert guidance and assistance to organisations throughout the process with No licence no fee promise.
- Free initial consultation with our immigration advisers
- Experienced team with a proven track record
- End to End case management
- Dedicated case worker
- Save money on legal costs
Our Sponsor Licence Services
- Understand the licensing process and identify the appropriate licence type to sponsor migrant workers and/or students
- Provide specific advice on eligibility requirements, sponsorship licence cost, compliance duties and required action plan to ensure the application’s success
- Provide UK employers with Business & HR consultancy services to ensure sponsor licence applicants are granted within the right level for sponsorship.
- Conduct Mock HR audits with the Key Personnel in preparation for UKVI compliance visits and provide detailed advice on how to issue certificates of sponsorship and operate sponsorship management systems
- Prepare Organisation and Authorising officer for any Home Office Compliance Inspections as part of the UKVI sponsor licence application process
- Assist the organisation in making the skilled worker sponsor licence application online and work with the authorising officer to submit this in an efficient and timely manner
- Preparing a compelling business case evidencing that the applying business is a genuine organisation and explaining the organisation’s need for a sponsor licence
If your organisation requires legal assistance or you would just like to discuss your situation with one of our experts on a no-obligation basis, please give our team a call or make an online enquiry below.
