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Skilled Worker Visa

Sponsorship Licence To Employ Workers From Outside Of The Uk

What is the UK Skilled Worker Sponsorship Licence?

UK Skilled Worker Sponsorship Licence enables to bring and employ workers with the necessary skills to work in the UK for licenced UK employers. As such, licenced UK businesses can issue Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) to eligible non-UK nationals, whether located within the UK or outside the UK, which enables them to apply for a work visa (e.g. Skilled Worker Visa).

According to the latest Home Office announcement, starting from April 2024, the requirement to renew the sponsor licence every four years will be removed. Sponsor licences with an expiry date on or after 6 April 2024, will now be automatically extended for an additional 10 years.

Sponsor licence requirements

To be eligible for a sponsor licence application, you must meet the following requirements:

  • Be genuine, operating, and trading lawfully in the UK
  • Be UK based
  • Not represent a threat to immigration control
  • Have key personnel who are “honest and dependable”
  • Have an adequate HR system in place that allows you to carry out your obligations as a licenced sponsor efficiently on an ongoing basis

 

Sponsor licence business eligibility requirements

Businesses applying for a sponsor licence must be genuine and legally operating in the UK as a PLC, Ltd, LLP or Sole Trader .

A start up business may apply for the skilled worker sponsorship licence.  However, businesses that have been operating or trading in the UK for less than 18 months must provide evidence of a current corporate bank account with an FCA and PRA-registered UK bank.

Depending on the type of sponsor licence a business is applying for, there could be additional business eligibility requirements.

Sponsor licence suitability requirements

As part of the UK sponsor licence application process, businesses need to provide their credibility in terms of being honest, dependable, and reliable. They must also be able to meet their responsibilities as a sponsorship licence holder. Specifically, the business must:

  • Have suitable HR systems in place to meet their sponsor duties
  • Be ready in the event of a UKVI compliance visit, whether announced or unannounced, at all times
  • Have no unspent criminal convictions for previous immigration offences or tax evasion
  • Have no evidence of non-compliance with previous sponsorship licences

 

Sponsor licence genuine business need requirements

Businesses applying for a sponsor licence must show they have a genuine need to hire overseas workers. To meet the genuineness test, the business must intend to sponsor workers for eligible roles and be able to meet the skill and salary requirements for each job type. The Home Office will also check to ensure that the intended roles make sense for the type of business and the existing jobs within the business. It is important to note that the genuineness test must be met at the application stage and throughout the life of the sponsor licence.

Businesses must provide information regarding the types of roles they need to fill through sponsorship and any candidates being considered.

Sponsor licence key personnel requirements

When applying for a sponsor licence, the business need to provide the key personnel’s details. There are four types of key personnel:

  • Authorising officer: senior competent person responsible for actions of staff and the SMS system,
  • Key contact: Main contact with the UKVI,
  • Level 1 and Level 2 users: responsible for day to day management of the licence.

 

Sponsor licence required documents: Appendix A

Required documents are explained in Appendix A where the Home Office outlines all the possible documents that may be submitted in the sponsor licence application. In most cases, you will be asked to submit a minimum of 4 documents

Depending on your business and the type of licence you require, you may be asked to submit some or all of the following documents (please note this list is not exhaustive and is only a small sample of the possible documents you may be asked to provide):

  • Accounts for the most recent financial year,
  • Copies of contracts for goods or services covering at least the 12 months before the date of application
  • Evidence you have a current corporate bank account with a bank registered by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority in the UK
  • VAT registration certificate
  • Evidence of registration
  • Endorsement from a governing body
  • Proof of ownership or lease of the business’s premises.

 

Additional supporting documents for sponsor licence application

In addition to the above documents, you may also be asked to provide any of the following documents:

  • Organisation hierarchy chart
  • Employer’s liability insurance certificate (providing cover of at least £5m from an insurer authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority)
  • Self-assessment tax return to HMRC (SA300 or SA302)
  • Company Tax Return (CT620 or CT600)
  • Licence for your premises to serve alcohol issued by the local authority or court.

 

Please note this list of additional supporting documents is not exhaustive.

Sponsor licence fees

A small or charitable businesses’s application fee is £ 536,00.

To be classed as a small or charitable sponsor, your business must meet at least two of the following criteria:

  • Have an annual turnover of £10.2 million or less
  • Have total assets of £5.1 million or less
  • Have 50 employees or less.

 

If a business is classed as a medium or large sponsors, then the business needs to pay £ 1,476,00 as the application fee.

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