Sponsorship License Application Documentation
If you’re an employer aiming to hire an overseas national without settled worker status or existing permission to work in the UK, you’ll need to apply for a sponsor license from the Home Office.
The type of license application you make will vary based on the immigration route the overseas worker intends to take. Each license type comes with its own set of requirements.
What is a Sponsor License?
So, what exactly is a sponsor license? Essentially, it grants UK businesses permission to employ workers from outside the UK within their operations. This includes a wide range of overseas workers, from Skilled Workers to UK Expansion Workers interested in coming to the UK as sponsored workers.
To obtain a sponsorship license, you’ll need to apply to the Home Office along with the required application fee. Regardless of your business size or sector, as long as you meet the eligibility criteria and job suitability requirements for your chosen license category, you can apply for a sponsor license.
Essential Criteria for Obtaining a Sponsor license
In your sponsor license application, it’s crucial to demonstrate to the Home Office that:
- Your organization is genuine and operates lawfully in the UK.
- You uphold principles of honesty, dependability, and reliability, avoiding any actions contrary to the public good.
- You possess the capability to fulfill sponsor duties and provide evidence of compliance as outlined in sponsor guidance.
To establish your organization’s genuineness and lawful operation, you’ll need to furnish various company-related documents. The specific documents required may differ based on your organization type and the route(s) you intend to sponsor migrants on.
- Assessing your honesty and reliability involves examining your business's history, the background of key personnel listed in your application, and those involved in its day-to-day operations.
- Demonstrating your capacity to fulfill sponsor duties involves showcasing your current human resources and recruitment procedures to ensure you can meet sponsor obligations.
Route-Specific Requirements for a Sponsor license
In addition to the general requirements, employers seeking to sponsor overseas nationals must meet specific criteria related to the immigration route the worker intends to be sponsored on.
For instance, applying for a Skilled Worker sponsor license entails satisfying requirements such as offering employment meeting skill and salary level criteria, ensuring genuine job opportunities, and maintaining a direct employer-employee relationship.
Alternatively, obtaining a UK Expansion Worker sponsor license involves meeting conditions like offering employment meeting skill and salary level criteria, establishing a qualifying link between the sponsor and overseas business, and demonstrating genuine intent and ability to expand business operations to the UK.
Various other Worker and Temporary Worker immigration routes exist, each with its own set of requirements. Failure to meet these requirements will result in the refusal of your sponsorship license application.
Required Documents and Key Personnel for Your Sponsor license Application
To initiate your sponsor license application, you must furnish a minimum of four mandatory documents specified in Appendix A of the Home Office sponsor guidance. The specific documents vary based on your application’s circumstances. Alongside details about your organization, the proposed job role, and the prospective candidate, you must articulate to the Home Office the rationale behind your sponsor license application.
Crucial to this process is appointing key personnel:
Typically a senior figure involved in recruitment or HR, responsible for overseeing the license and ensuring compliance with sponsor duties.
The primary liaison between your business and the Home Office, often filled by a legal representative.
Tasked with day-to-day management of the Sponsorship Management System (SMS), an online portal; must be an employee at application but can include legal representatives once the license is granted.
These key personnel, essential to your application, can be the same individual or a combination of different people. Each must be based in the UK during their tenure, free of unspent criminal convictions or civil penalties, and either a paid staff member or engaged as an ‘office holder.’
Application Process and Costs
Your sponsor license application is submitted online, accompanied by an application fee, and all pertinent supporting documents must be provided within five working days. While legal representatives can aid in completing the application and advising on required documents, the submission itself must be done by the sponsor.
The application fee varies based on your organization’s size, with small companies or charities charged £536.00 and medium or large entities charged £1,476.00.
Processing Time and Duration
Home Office decisions on sponsor license applications typically take up to 8 weeks, though a priority service offering a decision within 10 working days is available for £500.00. If successful, your license is valid for 4 years, with the option to renew before expiry. UK Expansion Worker licenses cannot be renewed but may be supplemented with other routes once a UK trading presence is established.
Maintaining Compliance and Responsibilities
Upon receiving your sponsor license, you’ll be listed as ‘A’ on the register of licensed sponsors or ‘Provisional’ for UK Expansion Worker licenses if certain conditions are met. Access to the Sponsor Management System (SMS) enables management of your license and reporting of specific events, such as migrant non-attendance. Failure to meet sponsorship duties, including right to work checks, risks license revocation.
