Your establishment will need to have a valid sponsor licence to sponsor most types of skilled overseas nationals to work for you in the UK, including Skilled Visa workers.
To secure a UK visa sponsorship licence, you will need to make an application to the Home Office and pay the relevant fees.
The Home Office will only grant a sponsor licence to an establishment that can show the roles they are recruiting for, and the workers they intend to sponsor, meet the necessary requirements. The establishment must also have active HR systems in place that comply with various sponsorship compliance duties.
In this article, we will explain the requirements employers have to meet when making a sponsor licence application and the duties they have to comply with once they have secured the licence.
What is UK visa sponsorship?
Under the UK’s points-based immigration system, the main routes for non-UK residents working in the UK include the following sponsored work visas:
- Skilled Worker visa
- Global Business Mobility visas
- Health and Care Worker visa
- Temporary Worker visas
For the purpose of this article, we will concentrate on the skilled worker and Global Business Mobility visas and briefly discuss what each entails.
Skilled Worker Visa
The Skilled Worker visa allows employers to sponsor non-UK nationals to work in the UK in eligible, skilled roles. The visa is open to individuals who attain 70 points by meeting specific eligibility requirements such as skill and salary level, English language ability and having a qualifying job offer from a UK employer with a valid sponsorship licence.
The Skilled Worker visa makes provision for spouses, ‘durable’ partners and dependent children to apply to join the main visa applicant in the UK as Skilled Worker dependants.
The Skilled Worker visa is granted for up to five years, after which, the worker can become eligible to apply for UK Indefinite Leave to Remain.
Global Business Mobility Visa
The specialist and senior workers is one of five Global Business Mobility (GBM) visas for overseas establishments looking to establish a UK presence or transfer staff to the UK.
The GBM senior or specialist worker visa, is specifically for senior or specialist employees looking to transfer to a UK subsidiary or branch of their overseas employer.
The GBM senior or specialist worker visa is a category of visa under the UK’s points-based immigration system that replaces the old Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) visa. Applications for an ICT visa will no longer be accepted, although existing ICT visa-holders are not affected.
What are the Sponsor licence requirement
The Home Office uses the application process to assess the employer’s ability to meet the eligibility and suitability requirements. There are no restrictions on the size or type of establishment that can hold a sponsorship licence, provided they meet the eligibility and suitability criteria for the specific category or tier that is applying for.
Failure to meet either, the eligibility and suitability criteria will result in a refused application.
Eligibility criteria
The establishment is genuine and operating and/or trading lawfully in the UK. The establishment must be a bona fide operation. Limited companies, for example, must be registered with Companies House. To apply for a sponsor licence as a sole trader in the UK, you will need to demonstrate to UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) that you meet the following criteria:
- Your sole trader business has a UK presence, and it is operating legally in the UK.
- You plan to sponsor individuals to work in your sole trader business (i.e. you are not sponsoring yourself) for genuine eligible roles. A sole trader is a self-employed person who owns and runs their own business but can employ others to work within their business.
- You can pay salaries to sponsored workers that meet or exceed the minimum requirements. For the UK Skilled Worker visa, at least £26,200 per year, £10.75 per hour, or the ‘going rate’ for the role.
- You do not have any unspent criminal convictions for immigration offences or other relevant offences (e.g. fraud or money laundering).
- You have not had a sponsor licence revoked in the last 12 months.
- Your business has the necessary HR systems and processes in place to manage your sponsored workers and meet your sponsorship duties.
There are no provisions in the guidance that the establishment should have been trading for any particular period of time, but there should be someone resident in the UK working at the establishment that is available to coordinate with the Home Office on any queries relating to the application.
Without operating or trading presence in the UK, the application will be refused. If the establishment does not occupy premises in the UK but operates a virtual business model, it may still apply for a sponsor licence. However, it will need to clearly evidence that it can meet its sponsor duties and obligations and that it is operating or trading lawfully in the UK.
Suitability criteria
The Home Office will look to confirm a potential sponsor:
- Is offering a genuine vacancy which meets the skilled worker criteria.
- Have the HR and recruitment systems in place to render it capable of complying with the sponsor duties and responsibilities, and evidencing that compliance.
- Is “honest, dependable and reliable”. This means the establishment and its owners; directors and appointed key personnel do not have any unspent criminal convictions.
- Does not represent a threat to immigration control with any evidence of any previous non-compliance by the establishment.
- If relevant, has the appropriate planning permission or Local Planning Authority consent for the type of business operated at the trading address.
Sponsor licence duties
When applying for a sponsorship licence, the establishment is committing to obey to certain administrative duties designed to confirm the prevention of illegal working.
Essentially, compliance with the duties ensures comprehensive and up to date records are maintained by sponsors that must be made available to the Home Office for inspection at any time.
The Home Office uses the licence application process to evaluate the employer’s ability to meet these sponsor duties.
The duties, as prescribed in the Home Office’s Sponsor Guidance, are as follows:
- Record-keeping- Sponsors must keep records relating to their sponsored workers and their right to work in the UK documentation, NI numbers (where applicable) as well as the history of and up-to-date contact details. The employer must retain copies of documents as specified in Appendix D, such as:
- Passport
- Immigration status documents, including their period of leave to remain/stay in the UK)
- Biometric residence permit
- Monitoring & reporting- The employer must have in place systems and processes to track and monitor sponsored employees, reporting within ten working days if the sponsored individual:
- Fails to start work when expected
- Has ten days of consecutive unauthorised absence
- Has their contract terminated earlier than expected e.g. resignation
- Moves into another immigration category, for example, from the skilled worker visa to indefinite leave to remain.
The sponsor also has to notify the Home Office of any reasonable concerns or evidence that a sponsored worker is in breach of the conditions of their stay in the UK.
- Absence monitoring- The sponsor has to ensure all sponsored employee absences are authorised and recorded, including sickness, annual leave, study leave and overseas travel.
- Notifying the Home Office of change in circumstances- Key personnel listed on the sponsor licence must still be employed or engaged by the sponsor, and if there have been any changes, these must be reported to UKVI via the SMS.
Sponsor licence management & compliance
Appointing key personnel
Sponsor licence holders are required to nominate individuals who will assume specific responsibilities to manage the licence in compliance with Home Office guidance. These are referred to as key personnel.
The roles are:
1.Authorising officer- The Authorising Officer (AO) should be an individual in a senior position in the establishment with responsibility for recruitment and/or HR. They should preferably have oversight of HR processes, systems and people involved in the management and operation of the licence. Only one AO can be appointed at any one time and it is essential to always have an AO in place.
2.Key contact- This is the person the Home Office will contact in relation to the establishment’s application and the licence on an ongoing basis. The key contact’s details are to be provided when the licence application is made. Only one key contact can be appointed at any one time.
3.Level 1 user- Level 1 users will use the Sponsor Management System (SMS) to administer the licence on a day to day basis. Multiple level 1 users can be appointed at any one time.
4.Level 2 user- Similar to level 1 users, level 2 users are appointed to carry out administrative tasks on the licence, though with fewer permissions than level 2 users.
Applying for a sponsor licence
Completing the sponsorship licence application form- The licence application form is online and accessible via the Sponsorship Management System (SMS).
While relatively straightforward, it is an old system and applications are advised to save regularly to avoid losing any of their information.
The form will require the following:
- Specify which type of licence you will be applying for
- Contact information
- Nominate the key personnel on the licence
- List which supporting documents will be submitted
While the form can be completed with the guidance of a legal representative, the rules are clear that a relevant person from the establishment itself must ultimately ‘press the button’ and submit the application to the Home Office.
At this stage, the licence application fee must be paid (see below for details of the costs).
Once the fee has been paid, a submission sheet will be generated and this must be signed by the AO and submitted along with the supporting document bundle.
How long does it take to get a sponsor licence?
There are various stages to the sponsorship licence process, and timing is an important factor in ensuring you progress through the application correctly.
Understanding the processing timescales can also help with recruitment planning.
If you are applying for your first licence, you will need to allow for up to 8 weeks for the application to be processed. Processing times can usually be reduced if the application is comprehensive and correct, but at best, licence application decisions will generally be no quicker than 4-6 weeks.
The priority application service allows licence applicants to pay an additional £500 to receive a decision on their application within ten working days. This service can be of value where the employer is concerned not to lose a candidate through protracted processing.
Factors which can affect processing times include:
- Pre-licence compliance visit
- Supporting documents
- Availability of key personnel
- Processing of sponsored worker’s application
How much does a sponsorship licence application cost?
As part of the online submission process, the AO will be required to pay the appropriate sponsor licence application fee.
The fee to apply for a sponsor licence will depend on the size and type of the establishment.
‘Small’ business sponsor licence fee £536: If the UK establishment has charitable status or is subject to the small company’s regime per sections 381 – 384 of the Companies Act 2006. A company will usually qualify as a small company if it meets two of the following criteria in its financial year:
A turnover of not more than £10.2 million.
A balance sheet total of not more than £5.1 million.
It employs no more than 50 employees.
Large sponsor licence fee £1,476: This will apply to any establishment that does not meet the criteria for, or is exempt from, the small company regime.
The sponsor licence application also carries a number of other related charges and fees:
- Assigning the CoS – £199 per certificate
- Immigration Skills Charge – £1000 per year, per worker, or a reduced rate of £364 for smaller companies & charities
- Fees for the sponsored worker’s visa application
Pre-licence compliance visit
The Home Office has powers to undertake a compliance visit before making a decision on a sponsor licence application. The inspections are used to determine the applicant’s ability to meet the suitability requirements.
During the visit, Home Office officials will want to assess the establishment’s HR systems and can request access to documents relating to the employer’s sponsored workers. They will also want to speak with the Authorising Officer and can interview sponsored workers to verify that the role is genuine.
Applicants are not always given notice of the inspections, as such, it is advisable to prepare for the visit prior to submitting the licence application. In the event the Home Office opts to conduct a pre-licence visit, you will be well placed to pass the inspection.
Where breaches are identified during the inspection, the application can be refused.
Home Office decision
The Home Office will email the establishment with their decision. If successful, the employer will be added to the UK’s register of licensed sponsors.
In practical terms, the notification letter will also include confirmation of the number of CoS allocated and the user ID for the Level 1 user.
The AO should send on the user ID to the Level 1 user, who will separately be sent a password to access and use the SMS.
Sponsors are advised to keep the password and user ID separately and securely, and to ensure no one but the named Level 1 user accesses the system using these credentials.
How long is a sponsor licence valid for?
Once granted, a sponsor licence is valid for a period of four years. Licences do not automatically renew. The establishment must instead make a renewal application in advance of their old licence expiring, to avoid any issues with their sponsored workers’ visa validity.
If your sponsor licence application is refused or rejected
A refused or rejected licence application will be hugely disappointing and frustrating for employers. After the effort and investment placed in the application process, without securing a licence they are not able to proceed with their recruitment plans and may potentially lose out on a candidate who is awaiting their Certificate of Sponsorship.
The options open to you after a failed application will depend on why the application failed. The main source of information will be the Home Office decision letter.
If the application has been rejected, this means the application itself is at issue. For example, incomplete or incorrect supporting documentation may have been provided and the caseworker is unable to make a decision on the basis of what has been submitted. If the application is rejected, you do not have to wait to make a new application. It will however be important to ensure the new application addresses the faults of the original.
If the application has been refused, you may be subject to a cooling-off period of at least six months before you can apply again.
This is because a refusal usually relates to failing to meet any of the sponsorship licence requirements. For example, if the establishment is not operating in the UK or the role does not meet the minimum salary requirement, the application will be rejected.
How can we help?
Our solicitors can help to ensure a smooth process of your visa application. For further information, please contact Hammad Azam in our immigration team on 01474 351199 or email hammad.azam@hatten-wyatt.com. Hatten Wyatt has offices in Gravesend, Maidstone, Chatham, Tenterden and Tonbridge.