Here are steps required to qualify for a UK Sponsor License, from the Home Office in United Kingdom, England for those looking for a Sponsor Licence.
What is a Sponsor License?
The official permission given by the UK Home Office to a UK organization to sponsor non-UK citizens under specific work visa pathways is known as a sponsor license.
For businesses of all sizes in every sector of the UK economy, sponsor licenses are now operationally essential due to the skills and labor shortages in the post-Brexit labour market.
A key component of the UK’s immigration system, sponsor licenses are intended to control and streamline the hiring of highly qualified foreign workers.
An organization can sponsor employees in its operations with the sponsorship license. The only people who can be licensed “sponsors” are organizations.
Employers apply to the Home Office for a sponsor license in order to demonstrate their eligibility and compliance with immigration regulations.
After being approved, it enables a company to provide Certificates of Sponsorship to potential workers, allowing them to apply for a work visa under the appropriate immigration category, such the skilled worker route.
In the past, sponsor licenses had a four-year expiration date and required renewal applications in order to maintain licensing status. However, you won’t need to apply to renew your license because the renewal requirement was eliminated in April 2024.
Benefits of Sponsor Licences
Employers might profit from having a sponsor license in a number of ways.
a. Access to Global Talent: It helps companies hire highly qualified individuals from around the globe to fill important positions that could be challenging to fill with only domestic applicants.
b. Adherence to Immigration Laws: It guarantees that companies continue to abide with UK immigration laws, preventing harsh consequences such as fines and possible prohibitions from hiring employees in the future.
c. Competitive advantage: Companies may keep a competitive advantage in their sector by ensuring they can hire the best people available worldwide.
Sponsor Licence Types
There are two primary categories of sponsor licenses in the UK: the Temporary Worker Sponsor Licence, which is used to sponsor workers on short-term visas, like those for seasonal or charitable work, and the Worker Sponsor Licence, which enables companies to sponsor skilled workers under categories like the Intra-Company Transfer and Skilled Worker visas.
Criteria for Sponsor Licence Eligibility
Applicants for sponsor licenses must fulfill the following requirements:
a. The company is legitimate and legally conducting business in the United Kingdom.
The organization needs to be legitimate. For instance, limited firms need to register with firms House.
The guidelines don’t specify that the company must have been in business for a specific amount of time, but it does state that the company must have a UK-based employee who may communicate with the Home Office about any application-related issues.
b. The company is headquartered in the United Kingdom.
The application will be rejected if there is no operational or commercial presence in the UK. The organization may still apply for a sponsor license even if it has a virtual business model and does not have physical space in the UK. It must, however, provide unambiguous proof that it is able to fulfill its sponsor responsibilities and that it is conducting business or dealing legally in the UK.
The UK Expansion Worker sponsor license and visa, which enables foreign businesses to send important workers to establish UK-based operations, is a good option for organizations that are considering visa sponsorship but do not have a presence in the UK.
Appendix A and Required Records
The required paperwork and supporting documentation for a sponsorship license application are listed in Appendix A. To prove that the organization satisfies the eligibility requirements—that is, that it is authentic and functioning legally in the UK—a minimum of four required documents must be presented.
However, the criteria may become unclear, making it challenging for employers to determine how they apply to their particular application.
The employer must use the tables in Appendix A to decide which papers are required to be included with their application.
The documents may consist of (but are not restricted to) the following, depending on the kind of organization and the length of time it has been in operation in the UK:
- Most recent annual audited accounts
- The certificate of employer’s liability insurance
- A VAT registration certificate
- The most recent statement of a corporate bank account
- Proof of HMRC registration, such as an accounts office reference number and PAYE number
- Proof of ownership or a commercial lease for commercial real estate
Other Documents in Support
In addition to the four required documents, employers are required to:
- a. Describe their motivation for submitting a sponsor license application.
- b. Indicate the sector in which they operate.
- c. List their business hours and opening times on weekdays.
- d. Provide a current hierarchy chart that lists all of the board members, directors, and owners.
- e. If the company employs 50 people or fewer, submit a list of each employee’s name and work title.
- f. Complete the online sponsor license application by listing the names of all the people who can access the email account provided.
- g. Give a landline phone number for contact
You will need a Covering Letter
Typically, a covering letter would contain this information.
If a skilled worker is being hired, the organization must also give particular information about the function or roles to be sponsored in addition to the required documented evidence about the organization. This comprises:
a. The position’s employment title and Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code.
b. A job description that outlines the responsibilities of the position
c. Specifics of the abilities, background, and credentials needed to carry out the position.
d. The guaranteed pay in the event that the position was unfilled on the day the sponsor license application was submitted.
e. Information on the position’s placement on the organizational hierarchy map. Which positions are open at the moment must be disclosed by the organization.
How to Submit a Sponsor Licence Application
Applying for a Sponsor Licence requires proving that your company is legitimate, that it operates legally in the UK, and that it can responsibly handle the sponsorship of foreign employees.
Businesses must submit proof of their HR systems, financial stability, and capacity to fulfill their sponsoring responsibilities as part of the application.