A Sponsor Licence, also known as a sponsorship licence, allows UK companies to hire foreign workers. Licensed UK businesses can issue Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) to eligible non-UK nationals, whether they are within the UK or outside the UK. These certificates enable individuals to apply for a work visa, such as the Skilled Worker Visa. Additionally, educational institutions like universities, planning to recruit international students, must obtain a sponsor licence from the Home Office.

Sponsor licences are initially issued for a period of four years, after which employers must apply for renewal. The application process for a sponsor licence is stringent, and maintaining your licence requires a commitment to a strict compliance regimen. This involves ensuring that your HR processes and procedures operate smoothly and effectively in line with the Home Office’s requirements.

To qualify for a sponsor licence application, you need to fulfill the following criteria:

• Your organization must be genuine, operating, and conducting lawful business in the UK.
• Your organization should not pose a threat to immigration control.
• The key personnel in your organization, such as the Authorising Officer, should be honest and dependable.
• You must have a robust HR system in place that allows you to fulfill your obligations as a licensed sponsor efficiently and consistently over time.

Businesses seeking a sponsor licence must be legitimate and legally established in the UK, operating as a PLC, Ltd, LLP, or Sole Trader. This implies that they are genuine enterprises with a presence in the UK, conducting operations within the boundaries of the law. To establish a UK presence, businesses like limited companies or LLPs need to be officially registered with Companies House. Additionally, they must possess the necessary planning permission or consent from the Local Planning Authority for the type of business conducted at the trading address.

New start-up businesses are welcome to apply for a sponsor licence. However, if a business has been operating or trading in the UK for less than 18 months, it must provide evidence of a current corporate bank account with a UK bank registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).

Depending on the specific type of sponsor licence being sought, there may be additional eligibility requirements for the business. For instance, businesses applying for a UK Expansion Worker sponsorship licence must not be actively trading in the UK, but they must demonstrate a UK ‘footprint.’

As part of the UK sponsor licence application process, businesses must demonstrate qualities of honesty, dependability, and reliability. They need to show that they can fulfill their responsibilities as a sponsorship licence holder. Specifically, the business should:

• Have appropriate HR systems in place to meet the duties associated with being a sponsor.
• Be prepared for a compliance visit from UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), whether it is announced or unannounced, at any given time.
• Have no unspent criminal convictions related to previous immigration offences or tax evasion.
• Provide no evidence of non-compliance with previous sponsorship licences.
• Not had a sponsor license revoked in the last 12 months.

Businesses applying for a sponsor licence must demonstrate a genuine need to hire overseas workers. Meeting the genuineness test for sponsorship is a crucial part of this requirement. To satisfy the genuineness test, the business should have the intention to sponsor workers for eligible roles and possess the capability to meet the skill and salary requirements for each job type. The Home Office will also scrutinize whether the intended roles align logically with the nature of the business and the existing jobs within it.

It’s essential to emphasize that the genuineness test needs to be met not only during the application stage but also consistently throughout the entire duration of the sponsor licence.

Businesses are required to furnish information about the specific roles they intend to fill through sponsorship, and if applicable, details about any candidates under consideration. While there isn’t a strict mandate to provide exhaustive details of the recruitment process, opting to do so can potentially enhance the strength of the application.

When seeking a sponsor licence, UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) will request the names of all key personnel. Key personnel must be British citizens, have no unspent criminal convictions, be officially on the payroll, and not have any familial relations with the sponsored candidates.

There are four primary types of key personnel:

• Authorising Officer: This is a senior individual with ultimate responsibility for the licence, handling any immigration issues, and ensuring all duties associated with the sponsorship licence are fulfilled.
• Key Contact: The main point of contact between the business and the Home Office.
• Level 1 & 2 Users: These are individuals responsible for managing the Sponsorship Management System (SMS) on a day-to-day basis.

The Home Office needs to be convinced that the business applying for the sponsor license is aware of and is capable of fulfilling its sponsor responsibilities.

As per the Home Office Guidance dated 31 March 2023, on page 10; your duties as a licensed sponsor include:

When there are particular changes in a worker’s circumstances, it’s crucial to report them within either 10 or 20 working days, depending on the nature of the changes. For example, if a worker is absent from work for more than 10 consecutive working days without permission, this absence must be reported no later than 10 working days after the tenth day of absence.

You are required to retain specific documents for each worker you sponsor, and these are outlined in Appendix D of the sponsor guidance, which also specifies the duration for which you must keep them. Whether in paper or electronic form, these documents must be maintained as per the guidelines provided.

This entails hiring individuals who have the required qualifications or experience for the positions they are filling.

This goes beyond just immigration laws and includes compliance of other regulations, particularly those aimed at preventing illegal employment.

Organizations must conduct themselves in a way that doesn’t negatively impact the public good, ensuring that their behaviour and actions align with the well-being of society.

To ensure that sponsors fulfill their duties and obligations, a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) compliance officer may conduct either a planned or unplanned compliance visit at any time. These visits can occur both before and after the sponsor licence has been granted.

During a pre-compliance visit, a UKVI representative will assess whether the sponsor has established the necessary systems and processes to maintain accurate records, report changes, and monitor staff appropriately. They will also verify the authenticity and legitimacy of the business. Compliance officers have the authority to reject a sponsor licence application if they find that the organization doesn’t meet all eligibility and suitability requirements or if the required systems and processes are lacking.

Once the licence is granted, compliance officers will verify that the business is effectively monitoring, reporting, and maintaining records in line with their sponsorship licence duties. If the compliance officer is dissatisfied, they have the authority to downgrade, suspend, or revoke a sponsor licence.

Appendix A serves as the comprehensive guide where the Home Office details all the potential documents that applicants for a UK sponsor licence might need to submit. Typically, a minimum of four documents is required. However, if you are a public body recognized by the UK Government, like a local authority or a company listed on the London Stock Exchange Main Market, you may not need to provide four documents, as specified in the Appendix A guidance.

The specific documents you need to submit can vary based on your business and the type of licence you are seeking. Appendix A provides four tables that outline the documents applicable to various types of organizations. Begin with Tables 1 to 3 to identify the specific documents required for your organization. For instance, check what documents are necessary if your organization is subject to regulation or inspection. Following that, refer to Table 4 to explore additional documents that can be submitted to meet the minimum requirement of four documents.