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Sponsor Licence

A Sponsor Licence allows a company or sole trader to hire migrant workers. This can be beneficial for certain businesses that may struggle to find suitable candidates in the UK talent pool alone.

The Home Office sets out that being able to sponsor migrant workers is a privilege and not a right. A licenced sponsor must comply with numerous rules and requirements both during the application process, and throughout the duration of the licence itself. The Home Office take non-compliance seriously and this may result in the loss of your licence. The Home Office can carry out compliance checks at any time, with little or no warning so you must ensure you are constantly complying with your duties.

Types of licence

There are many different routes on which a business can hold a sponsor licence, and the route that is right for you will depend on the type of worker you wish to hire. Sponsor licences are divided broadly into “Worker Routes” and “Temporary Worker Routes”. Common examples of routes under the Worker Routes heading include Skilled Worker and Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker. Under the Temporary Worker Route can be found Scale-up and Seasonal Worker. It is important to make sure at the outset of any application that you know which route best fits your business.

Application form

A sponsor licence can be applied for with a specified Home Office form, hosted on their Sponsor Management System (SMS). If your licence is granted, you will then be able to use the SMS to hire and monitor your migrant workers.

As well as providing information about your business on the form, the Home Office also requires that certain documents be submitted alongside your application to verify that your business is operating lawfully in the UK, and that you are capable of carrying out your sponsorship duties.

The required documents vary depending on your business, the route on which you wish to sponsor migrant workers, and whether you are subject to any government or regulatory oversight. In general, prospective sponsors must send a minimum of four documents, though this may be more in certain circumstances. Common documents that can be sent for limited companies are:

• HMRC PAYE Registration
• HMRC VAT Registration
• Company Tax Returns
• Business Bank Statements
• Business Annual Accounts
• Ownership of Business premises

Please note that this list is not exhaustive.

Key Personnel

As part of your sponsor licence application, you must also identify at least three key personnel to perform different roles once your licence is granted. All three key personnel roles can be the same person, but there are different requirements for each. General requirements that apply to all are that:

• They must be based in the UK for the period of the role you have appointed them to
• They must not have any unspent criminal convictions
• They must be paid staff members (unless an exception applies)
• They must not be a contractor or consultant
• They must not be subject to bankruptcy or debt relief restrictions and must not be legally prohibited from being a company director

The first role is that of Authorising Officer (AO). Your AO is responsible for access to the SMS once your licence is granted. The AO does not automatically have access to the SMS. This must be the most senior person in your organisation responsible for the recruitment of migrant workers.

The second role is that of Key Contact (KC). Your KC is the person who will be the main contact between your organisation and the Home Office. The KC does not automatically have access to the SMS.

The third role is that of Level 1 User (L1U). Your L1U is the person who will assign certificates of sponsorship (CoS) to migrant workers to that they can make visa applications. Your L1U must be settled in the UK (this means they must have Indefinite Leave to Remain).

Certificates of Sponsorship

Once your licence is granted, your L1U can then assign CoS to your intended workers. There are two different types of CoS depending on whether your migrant worker is in or out of the UK. Defined CoS are for workers outside of the UK and undefined CoS are for workers inside the UK. These CoS have different fees to assign depending on the circumstances. You must note, SMS users must not assign CoS to themselves, relatives or partners.

Cost, Time and Outcome

The cost of your sponsor licence application will depend on the type of licence you are applying for, as well as whether the Home Office consider your organisation to be a small sponsor or a large sponsor. The fee for licences ranges, at time of writing, from £536 to £1,476.

It normally takes 8 weeks to get a decision on a sponsor licence application, though priority service is sometimes available for an extra £500. This will shorten the decision-making period to around 10 working days.

When you assign a CoS to a worker, there is a further fee. This can range from £25 to £239 depending on your type of licence. Additionally, you may have to pay the Immigration Skills Charge if your prospective worker is coming to work in the UK for six months or more or is already in the UK. This fee depends on how long your worker’s visa is but is £364 per year for small sponsors and £1,000 per year for large sponsors.

If your licence application is successful, it will usually be granted indefinitely. In some circumstances for some work routes, your licence may be time limited.

If you continue to meet the eligibility and compliance requirements, your licence will be A-rated, and you will be able to sponsor migrant workers.

Compliance

As-above, the Home Office takes compliance seriously. As a licenced sponsor you must:

• Ensure migrant workers have the skills necessary for the job they are doing
• Only assign certificates of sponsorship to workers when the job is suitable for sponsorship
• Inform the Home Office if your worker is not complying with the conditions of their leave
• Comply with UK employment law in respect of the jobs you are offering
• Have competent HR systems in place to keep records of workers, track attendance, hold details, and monitor visa statuses
• Inform the Home Office of any changes to your business

Please note that this list is not exhaustive.

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As each case is unique, and no one circumstance fits all, please contact our specialist Immigration Advisors to assist with your application.

Our advisors can:

• Assist with making a sponsor licence application
• Review documents to ensure that each meets the strict Home Office requirements, and provide advice on how documents could be brought in line with requirements
• Prepare detailed covering representations, tailored to your circumstances, to give your sponsor licence application the best chance of success
• Assist with the submission of applications and provide advice on the assigning of CoS once an application is successful
• Communicate and chase up with relevant authorities until a decision is made
• Provide follow up support and services