Sponsor licence and sponsored worker applications

To be eligible for a sponsor licence, a UK organisation must have a director, other company officer or employee to act as the ‘Authorising Officer’ who will be responsible for the company’s sponsorship activities; this individual must be based in the UK for the duration of their role as Authorising Officer.

Sole traders are eligible to apply for sponsor licences. Sole traders tend to attract greater scrutiny from the Home Office in respect of compliance with sponsor duties.

A business owner’s own company may sponsor them to work in the UK.

The process of applying for a sponsor licence and sponsoring a foreign worker in the UK includes several stages. Changes Immigration lawyers can complete many of the following tasks your behalf:

• The company prepares HR policies to be able to fulfil sponsor duties;
• Completion and submission of the online application form;
• Submission of supporting documents;
• The Home Office processes the sponsor licence application;
• The company requests a certificate of sponsorship allocation as necessary;
• The company assigns a certificate of sponsorship to the worker via the online sponsor management system; and
• The worker completes the application form for immigration permission, e.g. a Skilled Worker visa;
• The worker submits supporting documents; and
• The worker submits biometric data whether through an app or a biometrics appointment.

Contact us to best ensure you meet the relevant requirements at every stage of the sponsorship process.

The sponsorship framework allows employers to assign work authorisations, in the form of Certificates of Sponsorship (COSs), directly to foreign workers. The Home Office requires sponsors to commit to fulfilling sponsor duties, when they apply for a sponsor licence, to ensure that they only assign Certificates of Sponsorship in line with Home Office requirements.

• A sponsor needs certain HR systems in place to be able to fulfil sponsor duties. Most of the required systems reflect HR best practice, for example:
• A system to ensure that the sponsor always checks each employee’s right to work before they commence work and keeps a copy of same; and
• A system for keeping a record of each sponsored employee’s contact details and for maintaining up-to-date contact details.

Other required HR systems are more specific to sponsorship, such as a system to ensure that significant changes to a sponsored worker’s circumstances are reported to the Home Office via the Sponsorship Management System. Job title changes and job duties changes are examples of changes that must be reported.

Changes Immigration can provide a full list of the sponsor duties relevant to your organisation and advise on HR systems you could rely on to fulfil those duties.

The Authorising Officer is responsible for the activities of all Sponsorship Management System (SMS) users. The Authorising Officer should check SMS activities at least once a month.

The Level 1 User is required to use the SMS to undertake day-to-day sponsorship activities. At least one Level 1 User listed on the sponsor licence application form must be an employee, partner or director in the sponsoring organisation.

Sponsors need to take certain requirements into consideration when nominating individuals to fill roles on the sponsor licence. Changes Immigration staff can advise on the requirements and fill some roles including Level 1 User, helping you meet the relevant requirements and fulfil sponsor duties.

The required documentation will depend on the type of sponsor licence needed and the characteristics of your organisation.

Where a company is required to file audited accounts, a copy of the latest audited accounts must be provided. Equally, if your organisation requires registration with a certain body to operate legally in the UK, evidence of the relevant registration or membership must be provided. For example a law firm would have to provide documentation of authorisation from the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Other information and documents that may be used to support a sponsor licence application include an employers liability insurance certificate, a VAT number and correspondence evidencing an Accounts Office reference number and PAYE number.

UK companies that have incorporated less than 18 months prior to applying for a sponsor licence must evidence a corporate bank account with a bank registered by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority in the UK, for which most banks require a UK resident director or shareholder.

Skilled Worker
A Skilled Worker sponsor licence is the most common and versatile type of sponsor licence. A Skilled Worker sponsor licence may be used to sponsor new hires or to transfer employees from overseas offices.

Sponsors can use the Skilled Worker route to fill medium and high-skilled roles.

The required salary level is based on a points calculation involving characteristics such as age, as well as on the ‘going rate’ for the relevant role in the UK.

Skilled Worker visa applicants must demonstrate English language ability. The Skilled Worker route leads to settlement in the UK.

The Health and Care visa is a type of Skilled Worker visa for medical and care professionals.

Senior or Specialist Worker
Senior or Specialist Worker sponsorship is designed specifically for transferring non-UK nationals employed at linked overseas entities to the UK. Only high-skilled roles are eligible.

The salary will be the higher of £48,500 or the ‘going rate’ for the role in the UK. Sponsors are only required to meet the minimum salary threshold whilst Senior or Specialist Workers are working in the UK; whilst a Senior or Specialist Worker is working for a linked overseas entity in the same corporate group, sponsors do not need to meet the salary minimum required for sponsorship.

Senior or Specialist Workers do not need to demonstrate English language ability.
Senior or Specialist Workers are not eligible for settlement.

A sponsor might use the Senior or Specialist Worker route where the relevant candidate does not meet the English language requirement for the Skilled Worker route, or where the sponsor does not wish to be responsible for the meeting the Skilled Worker salary requirements when the worker is overseas, e.g. if the worker is ‘benched’ overseas between projects.

Creative Worker
A Creative Worker sponsorship route covers short-term sponsorship in the arts and entertainment areas such as the visual arts, theatre, television, film, dance, music and fashion modelling. Members of a Creative Worker’s entourage might also be able to join them under this route.

Salary requirements are determined with reference to guidance from the relevant industry body for the Creative Worker’s area, e.g. Equity for theatre performers.

Most creative industries have their own Code of Practice that sponsors must follow when sponsoring Creative Workers. Some creative industries do not fall under a relevant Code of Practice, e.g. music. In these cases, the sponsor must ensure the role is eligible for sponsorship under the Immigration Rules and that the Creative Worker will ‘make a unique contribution to creative life in the UK’.

Most sponsored workers’ partners and dependent, minor children can join them in the UK. Workers sponsored as care workers or senior care workers cannot bring family members with them to the UK.

A sponsor licence is valid until revoked or surrendered.