UK employers need to complete a sponsor licence application if they want to employ a skilled worker from overseas.
Typically, sponsor licences fall under the categories of a Worker Licence and Temporary Worker Licence. The type of job the organisation is hiring for will determine which sponsor licence the employer needs to apply for.
Organisations will need to fulfil a number of duties and obligations as the employer of a foreign worker, both before and during the employment. First, you must decide which company member(s) will be representing the company. Any members who represent you must be an executive/senior member of the company and not a shareholder.
As part of the application process, you will be required to prove that you are a legitimate business which needs the use of migrant talent. To make sure that your application is successful, you can seek the assistance of VISA IMMIGRATION SERVICES & APPEALS. Call us on +443301 222 991Â to speak with our team.
To be eligible for a sponsor licence, the employer must:
The sponsor licence application process is complex and requires the employer to provide detailed information on their organisation.
Under the UK’s new immigration system, sponsors are no longer required to conduct a Resident Labour Market test ,but the Home Office may still expect the employer to provide sufficient evidence to prove that the employment of the foreign worker is necessary.
An employer can complete a sponsor licence application to sponsor either regular workers or temporary workers. The licence which the employer needs depend on the nature of work the employee will be doing.
If the employer’s sponsor licence application is accepted, the employer must assign a Certificate of Sponsorship to each foreign worker.
The organisation is obligated to fulfil a number of other duties and responsibilities as the employer of an overseas worker.
Worker Sponsor Licenses
The Skilled Worker Visa is for long-term skilled workers who have the right to work for at least three years, and usually five. Within the Skilled Worker Visa there are sub categories which include:
Temporary Worker Sponsor Licenses
The Temporary Worker Visa is for skilled workers who will undertake temporary employment. The Temporary Worker Visa is divided into these subcategories:
The employer will need to complete the Appendix A sponsor licence form for a sponsor licence application.
The fee for the application depends on the size of the organisation, as set out in the table below.
Licence | Small or charitable sponsor fee | Medium or large sponsor fee |
Worker | £536 | £1,476 |
Temporary Worker | £536 | £536 |
Worker and Temporary Worker | £536 | £1,476 |
Worker added to existing Temporary Worker | £0 | £940 |
Temporary Worker added to existing Worker | £0 | £0 |
You will need to appoint people within your business to manage the sponsorship process when you apply for a licence. The sponsor licence operations will be conducted via the sponsorship management system (SMS).
The specific roles which need to be filled are:
These roles can be carried out by just one person if necessary. At least one level 1 user must be an employee of the company. However, other level 1 and level 2 users can be employed from third-party organisations.
Every person who works within the sponsorship process will need to undergo certain checks, which will include an analysis of any unspent criminal convictions and whether the person has been reported to the UKVI.
To support your case, you will need to send certain supporting documents. In most cases, you will need to provide at least four documents. The specific required documents vary depending on the nature of your business and the vacancy you are filling.
For example, if you are completing a Sponsor Licence application for a Skilled Worker Visa or Temporary Worker (Creative Worker Visa), you will need to include a document highlighting the endorsement from a governing body of the sport.
All documentation needs to be provided within five working days of the online application. The documents should be in their original form. However, the Home Office might accept certified documents. Please note you may be required to provide more documents at the request of the Home Office.
Visa Immigration Services & Appeals  have dealt with countless sponsor licence applications of all persuasions. With our sponsor licence guidance, we can ascertain which documents you need to include in your sponsor licence application. Call us now on 03301222991 for more information.
A sponsor licence number is a unique ID on a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS), a digital document with job details for overseas workers applying for a work visa. To get a CoS, someone in your organisation applies via the Sponsorship Management System (SMS). Once approved (typically taking one day to be approved, but processing times for CoS may differ), the CoS is issued to the worker, confirming their job offer and allowing them to apply for a work visa. A CoS costs around £25 to £239. There are specific documents you need to apply for a Certificate of Sponsorship.
There are two certificate of sponsorship types:Â Defined CoSÂ for Skilled Worker visa applicants outside the UK, needing approval before assigning, and Undefined CoS for those in the UK or applying for other visas, which can be assigned without a new application each time.
If your application is approved, your business will receive an A-rated licence and will be listed in the register of sponsors.
If you do not meet your duties as a sponsor, your licence could be downgraded to a B rating. In this situation, the UKVI will provide you with an action plan which you will need to follow to upgrade your licence back to an A-rating. The action plan costs £1,476.
You will not be able to issue new certificates of sponsorship until you prove that you have made improvements and upgraded back to the A-rating.
There are many responsibilities which an employer of an overseas worker needs to fulfil, both before and during the employment.
To obtain a UK sponsor licence, businesses must demonstrate honesty, dependability, and reliability, ensuring they have suitable HR systems, readiness for compliance visits, no criminal convictions for immigration offenses or tax evasion, no history of non-compliance with previous sponsorships, and no recent revocation of a sponsor licence.
As an employer, you must:
Contact our team for support on 03301 222 991.
For companies with a Points-based System (PBS) Sponsor Licence, sponsor licence compliance and audits are crucial, as the Home Office may conduct visits to ensure adherence to immigration control. Failure to maintain proper procedures could lead to licence revocation and visa issues. To secure and maintain an A-rated sponsor licence, it’s essential to excel in areas such as monitoring immigration status, record-keeping, and recruitment practices.
Your business must ensure compliance by keeping filings up to date, organising HR files, creating checklists, ensuring easy access to records, implementing systems for training and file improvements, and conducting mock audits and staff appraisals.
Businesses must renew their sponsor licence every four years to avoid interruption. Renewal, before the sponsor licence expires, requires checking if all sponsorship requirements are met and necessary systems are in place. The sponsor licence renewal application fee is typically £536 for small or charitable sponsors and £1,476 for medium and large businesses, can be completed online using the Sponsorship Management System.
It can be a frustrating experience to have a sponsor licence application rejected. The most common reasons why an application might be rejected include the following reasons:
Companies are advised to avoid having their sponsor licence application refused wherever possible because the application fee is not refunded and companies are unable to re-apply until a cooling-down period has passed.
The length of time will depend on why the application was refused. Most companies will be unable to reapply until at least six months from the date of the refusal letter.
If your sponsor licence application is rejected, you do not have the right to appeal the decision. You may be able to request an administrative review of the decision, but this does not guarantee that the decision will be reversed.
The best way to prevent a rejection is to work with a qualified immigration solicitor to submit the strongest possible application, and in so doing, ensure that you can save time and money.
As a business, you are also entitled to withdraw your sponsor licence application.