Sponsor License

What is a Sponsor License?

A sponsor licence enables UK businesses to employ overseas workers from outside the UK on a short-term or long-term basis. If an organisation wishes to employ an overseas worker who does not have immigration permission to work in the UK, they will need to be authorised by the Home Office. This authorisation is known as a sponsor licence, and employers who hold a sponsor licence are known as sponsors.

What Are the Key Eligibility Requirements for a Sponsor License?

In order to successfully apply for a sponsor licence, an applicant must meet the following key requirements:

• Must be a genuine organisation, operating lawfully in the UK i.e., a limited company must be registered with Companies House;
• Must submit a minimum of 4 mandatory documents to demonstrate that the organisation is genuine and operating lawfully in the UK. The specific documents which are required vary depending on the type of
• organisation and how long it has been operating in the UK;
• Must be honest, dependable, reliable, and are not engaging and have not engaged in behaviour or actions that are not conducive to the public good – the Home Office will look at an applicants history and
• background of key personnel named on their application;
• Must be capable of carrying out their sponsor duties and evidence their compliance in a timeframe and manner – the Home Office judge this, by looking at the current human resources and recruitment practices to
• make sure applicants will be able to fulfil their sponsor duties, and they may conduct a compliance check before they grant a licence; and
• Must meet any relevant route-specific requirements – for example, applicants are applying under the Skilled Worker route, the Scale-up route or any of the Global Business Mobility (GBM) routes, must be able to offer genuine employment that meets the skill level and any salary requirements of the route.

How Long is a Sponsor License Valid for?

A sponsor licence is valid for 4 years. The 4 years runs from the date that the licence is granted. If the sponsor licence application is granted, the organisation will be able to assign certificates of sponsorship (CoS) - explained further below.

The business must keep records of all migrants they sponsor including up to date contact details and a copy of the migrant’s biometric residence permit (‘BRP’) (explained further below).

Sponsor licences do not automatically renew, sponsors must submit a renewal application before their licence expires.

Sponsorship Management Roles

Before applying for a sponsor licence applicants will need to appoint people within their business to manage the sponsorship process when they apply for a licence. The main tool they will use is the sponsorship management system (‘SMS’). The roles are:

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

These roles can be filled by the same person or different people. Applicants can also appoint an optional level 2 user once they have their licence. This is an SMS user with more restricted access than a level 1 user, for example they cannot withdraw a certificate of sponsorship.

Licence Rating

Applicants will get an A-rated licence if their application is approved. An A-rated licence lets organisations start assigning certificates of sponsorship and their business will be listed in the register of sponsors. An applicant’s A-rated licence may be downgraded to a B-rating if they do not continue to meet their sponsor duties. If this happens, they will not be able to issue new certificates of sponsorship until they have made improvements and have been upgraded back to an A-rating. Applicants still be able to issue certificates to workers they already employ who want to extend their permission to stay.

Responsibilities

Applicants must:

• Check that their foreign workers have the necessary skills, qualifications or professional accreditations to do their jobs, and keep copies of documents showing this;
• Only assign certificates of sponsorship to workers when the job is suitable for sponsorship; and
• Tell the Home Office if sponsored workers are not complying with the conditions of their visa.

A licence may be downgraded, suspended, or withdrawn if an organisation does not meet their responsibilities.

Monitoring employees

Applicants must have HR systems in place that let them:

• Monitor their employee’s immigration status keep copies of the relevant documents for each employee, including passport and right to work information
• Track and record employee’s attendance
• Keep employee contact details up to date
• Report to UKVI if there is a problem, for example if your employee stops coming to work.

Changes to their business

Applicants must report any significant changes in their own circumstances within 20 working days, for example if they:

• stop trading or become insolvent.
• substantially change the nature of your business
• are involved in a merger or take-over.

Applicant’s must also tell UKVI if they are changing their details, like an address or allocated roles.

What is a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS)?

A CoS is an electronic document which is assigned to a foreign worker who an organisation wishes to employ. The organisation must assign a CoS using the SMS account. A reference number is generated, and the visa applicant must include the reference number in their application. Once a CoS is assigned, it must be used by the visa applicant within three months. If the CoS is not used during this period, then the CoS Will expire, and they will be required to apply for a new one.

Certificates are free for citizens of the following countries Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, north Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden or Turkey. For other citizens, you need to pay for each certificate.

Type of Certificate	Cost per Certificate
Worker	£199
Temporary Worker	£21

Applicants may have to pay an additional charge when they assign a certificate of sponsorship to someone applying for a Skilled Worker visa or Senior Specialist Worker visa. This is called the immigration skills surcharge. Applicants must pay the immigration skills surcharge if they are applying for a visa from:

• outside the UK to work in the UK for six months or more
• inside the UK for any length of time

The amount applicants need to pay is based on:

• the size of their organisation
• how long the worker will work for them, using the start and end dates on their sponsorship certificate

Period	Small or charitable sponsors	Medium or large sponsors
First 12 Months	£364	£1000
Each additional 6 months	£182	£500

If the worker will be in the UK for longer than 6 months but less than a year, applicants must pay for at least 12 months. Applicants must pay the full charge in one go.

How Long Does it Take for a Decision to be Made?

Most applications are dealt with in less than 8 weeks. 

Applicants may be able to pay an extra £500 to get a decision within 10 working days. This service is limited to a small number of applications every working day.

How Much Does it Cost?

The Home Office fee is £536 for a small company or £1476 for a medium or large company.

An organisation is usually a small sponsor if two of the following apply:

• their annual turnover is £10.2 million or less
• their total assets are worth £5.1 million or less
• they have 50 employees or fewer

Other fees which will be incurred are:

• Certificate of Sponsorship fee - £199 for a Worker CoS or £21 for a Temporary Worker CoS
• Immigration Skills Surcharge - £364 or £1,000 per annum for the duration of the migrant’s visa (as mentioned above).

How We Can Help You

Our highly experienced team will provide expert advice and guidance to you throughout your immigration journey.

If you have any questions, please complete our online enquiry form or email us at [email protected]. Alternatively, you can call us on 01724 701111 and one of our experts will be happy to assist you.