SPONSORSHIP LICENCE FOR THE UK-BASED EMPLOYERS

To employ someone from outside the EEA and Switzerland to work for you in the UK, you might need a sponsor licence.

To get a licence, you cannot have:

• unspent criminal convictions for immigration offences or certain other crimes, such as fraud or money laundering;
• any history of failing to carry out your sponsorship duties.

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) will review your application form and the required documents. They may visit your business to make sure you’re trustworthy and capable of carrying out your duties.

The type of licence you need depends on whether the workers you want to fill your jobs are:

• Tier 2 – skilled workers with long-term job offers;
• Tier 5 – skilled temporary workers.

You can apply for a licence covering either Tier or both.

Tier 2

Tier 2 is for skilled workers who you want to employ long-term or permanently. It can be:

• General – the role must meet the job suitability requirements;
• Intra-Company Transfer – for multinational companies which need to transfer employees to the UK;
• Minister of Religion – for people coming to work for a religious organisation (for up to 3 years);
• Sportsperson – for elite sportspeople and coaches who will be based in the UK.

Tier 5

Tier 5 is for skilled workers you want to employ on a temporary basis. It’s split into:

• Creative and Sporting – to work as a sportsperson (up to 1 year), entertainer or artist (up to 2 years);
• Charity Worker – for unpaid workers (up to 1 year);
• Religious Worker – for those doing preaching, pastoral and non-pastoral work (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;
• International Agreement – where the worker is coming to do a job which is covered by international law, for example employees of overseas governments.

Sponsorship management roles

You need to appoint people within your business to manage the sponsorship process when you apply for a licence.

These roles are:

• authorising officer – a senior and competent person responsible for the actions of staff and representatives who use the SMS;
• key contact – your main point of contact with UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI);
• level 1 user – responsible for all day-to-day management of your licence using the SMS.

These roles can be filled by the same person or different people.

You can also appoint an optional level 2 user once you have your licence. This is an SMS user with more restricted access than a level 1 user, for example they cannot withdraw a certificate of sponsorship.

Suitability checks

You and your staff will be checked to make sure you’re suitable for these roles. You may not get your licence if anyone involved in sponsorship has:

• an unspent criminal conviction;
• been fined by UKVI in the past 12 months;
• been reported to UKVI;
• broken the law;
• been a ‘key person’ at a sponsor that had its licence revoked in the last 12 months;
• failed to pay VAT or other excise duty.

You and your allocated staff must also:

• be based in the UK most of the time;
• not be a contractor or consultant contracted for a specific project;
• not be subject to a bankruptcy restriction order or undertaking, or a debt relief restriction order or undertaking;
• not have a history of non-compliance with sponsor requirements.

Your allocated staff must usually be paid members of staff or office holders. Do contact our immigration specialists in London for an initial free consultation!

HR contractors and agency staff

You must have at least one level 1 user who is your employee. You can have other level 1 or level 2 users employed by third-party organisations contracted to provide you with HR services. Your level 2 user can be a temporary member of staff supplied by an agency.

UK-based legal representatives

You can allocate any of the roles to a UK-based legal representative, apart from the authorising officer role. Your representative must be qualified to give immigration advice or services.

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) may visit your business to check it’s suitable.

After you apply

You’ll be given a licence rating if your application is successful.

You’ll be able to issue certificates of sponsorship if you have jobs that are suitable for sponsorship.

Your licence will be valid for 4 years. You may lose your licence if you do not meet your responsibilities as a sponsor.

How can we help?

At Master Legal Services, an expert advisor will assess your specific circumstances and assist you with the correct application, a list of the sufficient documents for a successful application.

For more immigration-related issues such as applying for UK marriage visas, applying for fiance visas, EU settlement scheme or UK naturalization please contact our office to speak to an expert today:

T: 020 8935 5205

M: +44 7710987064

E: a.s@master-legal-services.com

Our Fees

Our consultation fee is currently between 65 – 125 GBP. However, if you subsequently proceed with your immigration matter, we deduct the consultation fee from our total costs.

Published 23 December 2019