Sponsorship License

1. Eligibility Requirements

To obtain a sponsor licence an employer must:

• not have any unspent criminal convictions for immigration offences and other crimes
• have no history of failing to carry out sponsorship duties

Sponsors are no longer needed to do a Resident Labour Market test under the UK’s new immigration laws, although the Home Office may still demand the employer to present adequate documentation demonstrating the necessity of the foreign worker’s employment.

An employer can complete a sponsor license application to sponsor either regular workers or temporary workers. The license which the employer needs depends on the nature of the work the employee will be doing. If the employer’s sponsor license application is accepted, the employer must assign a Certificate of Sponsorship to each foreign worker.

2. Types of Sponsor Licenses

Worker Sponsor Licenses

Long-term skilled workers with the ability to work for at least three years are eligible for the skilled worker visa. There are several subcategories under the skilled worker visa, such as:

• Senior or Specialist Worker Visa
• Sportsperson Visa
• Minister of Religion Visa

Temporary Worker Sponsor Licenses

Skilled people who plan to pursue temporary jobs are eligible for the Temporary Worker Visa. These are the subclasses of the Temporary Worker Visa:

• International Sportsperson
• Creative Worker
• Charity worker
• International agreement worker
• Religious worker
• Government Authorized Exchange

3. Supporting documents

The list of documents varies depending on the nature of the business as well as the types of licenses.

A detailed list of documentation needed by organizations to apply for a sponsor license under the Worker, Temporary Worker, or Student pathways is provided in Appendix A.

You are required to provide a minimum of four mandatory documents from Appendix A. Businesses can provide more documents depending on the nature of the business and how long the business has been trading in order to prove the genuineness of the business to the Home Office.

With the correct supporting documents checklist, our team will put together comprehensive and sound evidence to make sure you succeed in submitting a valid sponsorship license application.

All supporting documents must be sent within five working days of submitting the online application. The original form of the documents should be retained. However, the Home Office might accept certified documents.

4. How much does it cost to apply for a Sponsor License?

The cost of applying for the sponsor license depends on the company’s size:

• if you are classified as a “medium” or “large” business, you will need to pay £1,476 before applying for a Sponsorship license in the UK
• for small businesses, including registered charities in the UK (having an annual turnover of £10.2 million or less), you will be required to pay £536
• if you add a temporary worker subcategory to an existing ‘worker’ sponsor license, no Home Office fee will apply if you are a small or charitable sponsor
• even if you are applying for extra worker subcategory licenses with a current license, a charge of £940 must be paid first for “medium or large sponsors.”

There are additional costs associated with the Sponsor License including CoS assigning fee, Immigration skills charge.

5. Sponsorship Management Roles

You will need to appoint people within your business to manage the sponsorship process when you apply for a license. The sponsor license operations will be conducted via the sponsorship management system (SMS).

The specific roles which need to be filled are:

• the key contact – will act as the main point of contact with UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI)
• authorizing officer – will be responsible for the actions of the staff and representatives
• level 1 user – will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the license

These roles can be implemented by just one person. At least one level 1 user must be an employee of the company. However, other-level users can be employed by third-party organisations.

6. What is the Sponsor License rating?

If your application is successful, you will be awarded a license rating by the Home Office and placed on the UK Sponsorship License register.

After this, you will be able to issue Certificates of Sponsorship to any non-EEA or Swiss nationals if you have jobs that are suitable for sponsorship.

Upon the date of issue, your license will be valid for four years. If you do not adhere to your duties as a sponsor, you could face Sponsor License suspension, Sponsor License revocation, or the possibility of receiving a Civil Penalty from the Home Office.

7. Sponsor Responsibilities

Before and during employment, an employer of a foreign worker has a lot of obligations to fulfil:

• ensure that your foreign workers have the necessary skills and qualifications for the 
 role, with documents to prove this fact
• only assign Certificates of Sponsorship to workers when the job is suitable for 
 sponsorship
• inform the UKVI if your employee is not complying with the conditions and terms of 
 the visa

8. Sponsor license application rejected

Rejecting a sponsor license application can be a frustrating affair. The following are the most frequent explanations for application rejections:

• false or deceptive documents
• incomplete application
• the previous sponsor license was cancelled
• the company has not provided the extra information that was asked for in the allotted time

You do not have the option to file an appeal if your application for a sponsor license is denied. Requesting an administrative review of the decision might be possible, but it’s not a guarantee that the outcome will be changed.

Working with experienced immigration advisers to create the finest application possible and guarantee that you can save time and money is the greatest approach to avoid having your application rejected.

9. How can BS Immigration help you with your Sponsor License Application?

Our highly qualified business immigration advisers will carefully compile and file the required documentation, as well as provide you with information on what is required in order to apply for a skilled worker sponsor license.

We will evaluate your eligibility and take into account all pertinent information to make sure you meet Home Office regulations. Regarding the steps necessary to obtain a skilled worker sponsor license, we offer professional guidance. Our advisers will help you keep an appropriate HR system for your company and will support you during the Home Office audit visits.