The regulation policy for immigration of migrant workers in the UK is a strict affair. From 1st January 2021 onwards, the companies must have a sponsor license to sponsor non-EU employees. If they employ an illegal worker, they may face civil penalties as well as criminal conviction.
Sponsor Licence (formerly Tier 2 Sponsor License) issued to companies after approval from the UK Home Office. It is important to note that not all migrant workers require a sponsorship since they may be lawfully in the UK on some other immigration category allowing them to work but most migrant workers need a sponsorship. It means that they should have an eligible job offer from a company holding a sponsored license.
What is required before applying for Sponsor Licence
Before applying for a Sponsor license, the employer must ensure that they can prove the following:
- The organisation is genuine and lawfully operating in the UK
- The appointed key personnel are honest, reliable, as well as dependable
- They are aware of their duties as a sponsor license holder
- Furthermore, they have an appropriate and suitable HR system in place (suitability requirement)
- The employment offers are genuine, meet the required skill as well as the pay levels. As the sponsor, you will be responsible for the payment of the worker’s salary as per the rules (suitability requirement)
The Application Process of Sponsor Licence
The online application form is available on the official UK Home Office website. To apply for a license, follow the given steps:
Step 1: Ensure that your organisation is eligible for application
Step 2: Once you are satisfied that you meet the prerequisites, fill in the application and then pay the fees.
- The application has two parts – firstly, an online application and secondly, submission of the copies of supporting documents.
- After submitting the online application, you must submit the copies of the supporting documents within 5 working days.
Step 3: The Home Office will then assess the application and will most likely arrange an audit to check if your company can comply with the requirements and fulfil the duties.
- The audit can be informed or uninformed. Moreover, the audit can take place during the ongoing licensing procedure or after the license is issued.
Step 4: On approval of your application, you will receive access to the Sponsorship management system or SMS.
- The SMS will then be used for several purposes like requests on the certificates of sponsorship, replacing users or authorising officers reporting duties, etc.
Notes:
- You can choose to apply for Sponsor Licence with one or more categories such as Skilled Worker, ICT, Sportsperson, Ministers of Religions. Furthermore, you can also add additional categories after the sponsor license is issued.
- You will be required to appoint individuals to fulfil the following roles:
- Authorising Officer
- Key Contact
- Level 1 User
You can appoint a single individual for all these roles.
Processing Time of Sponsor Licence Application
The standard processing time as notified by the UK Home Office is 8 weeks. During this period, the authorities can perform an audit that can be informed or uninformed.
If your application is successful, the Home Office will issue you a license rating. Then, you will be able to issue certificates of sponsorship for jobs that suit the sponsorship requirements.
Cost Involved while Applying for Sponsor Licence
The cost of a sponsor license varies depending on the size and type of your organisation. The sponsor license is renewable every 4 years, and the organisation must pay the application fees each time it renews its license.
- The sponsor license fee for organisations classified as medium or large – £1,476
- The sponsor license fee for organisations classified as small – £536.
An organisation is classified as small if it meets any two of the following requirements:
- Your annual turnover is equal to or less than £10.2 million
- The worth of your total assets is equal to or less than £5.1 million
- Your organisation has less than or equal to 50 employees
Also, organisations registered as Charity also fall under ‘small’ sponsors.
What Are Sponsor License Ratings
There are two kinds of sponsor license ratings, A-rating and B-rating.
- A-rating – The highest rating awarded by the Home Office to reliable organisations that have successfully proved that they can comply and meet the sponsor duties
- B-rating – If the business does not comply with sponsor duties, the Home Office may downgrade the license of B-rating. These organisations will then have to meet a time-bound action plan to regain their A-rating status. The Home Office can revoke the sponsor license if the organisation does not meet the requirements with the stipulated time.
Reasons for Sponsor Licence Application Rejection. How to do Re-application?
The list of reasons for your sponsor license rejection is not an exhaustive one. Some of the reasons are listed below:
- You did not pass the Compliance Audit
- The organisation does not have the appropriate means to meet the sponsor duty
- The organisation failed the genuine vacancy test
- The organisation did not retain sufficient documentation on migrant workers
- The organisation did not reply to the enquires by the Home Office on time
On rejection of your sponsor license on appropriate grounds, you will have to comply with a 6-months cooling period during which you cannot re-apply for the sponsor license.
If you believe that the Office has made an error while making a decision, you can submit a pre-license error correction. Even then, if the decision is not overturned, the last resort is to lodge a judicial review to challenge the decision.
We Have Helped Many Companies in Applying for Sponsor Licence.
Sometimes, hiring overseas workers is essential to the growth of an organisation. It allows them to fulfil roles for which there is a shortage of skilled workers in the UK. Furthermore, it also promotes creativity and new perspectives. A Sponsor license (Tier 2 Sponsor license) is mandatory for hiring migrant workers. Companies that do not have a Sponsor license will be unable to hire migrant workers.
We do have 15+ years of experience in helping UK businesses with their Immigration matters. We offer excellent legal service at a competitive price. Schedule a call with us today and let us help you with your Sponsor Licence Application.
