Local businesses that want to explore global talent and invest in their workforce must obtain a UK sponsor licence. Before they are issued the sponsor licence, they must be recognised in the UK. After obtaining the sponsor licence, businesses can issue foreign workers a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS).
Businesses sponsoring foreign workers to come and work for them are vested with several sponsor duties. In this article, we intend to examine the sponsor licence, its requirements, how to apply, and how it may help local businesses.
What is a Sponsor Licence?
Sponsor licence is the licence given to businesses that allow them to recruit migrant workers through work routes like the Skilled Worker visa, Global Mobility routes and Scale Up visa. Businesses that do not hold sponsor licences are not permitted to sponsor foreign workers to the UK.
The businesses eligible to obtain a sponsor licence must be registered in the UK and meet every other requirement to sponsor foreign workers. Once the licence is issued, all sponsors must comply with their immigration duties. Also, they must have systems and records to prove their compliance. The requirement to renew the sponsor licence every 4 years has been removed since April 2024.
If any business doesn’t fulfil their sponsorship duties, the Home Office may downgrade, suspend or revoke their sponsor licence. Because of this, such a business will no longer be allowed to bring migrant workers to boost their workforce. Besides that, the hired foreign workers in the UK may likely be deported.
Types of UK Sponsor Licence
Businesses can select from the options of sponsor licence in the context of UK Work visas. They include:
- Temporary worker sponsor licence
- Worker sponsor licence.
Temporary Worker Sponsor Licence
The UK Home Office issues the temporary worker sponsor licence to businesses that wish to bring volunteers or migrant workers temporarily. The types of temporary work businesses would hire foreign workers to do include:
- The Religious Worker route
- The Scale-Up Worker route
- The Seasonal Worker route
- The International Agreement route
- The Charity Worker route
- The Government Authorised Exchange route and more.
Worker Sponsor Licence
The worker sponsor licence allows businesses to recruit foreign workers in different skilled employment types in the UK. Depending on the immigration route, the employment could be short-term, long-term or permanent. The worker sponsor licence has 4 subcategories, namely:
- The Skilled Worker route
- The International Sportsperson route
- The Senior or Specialist Worker route
- The Minister of Religion route.
Generally, the type of sponsor licence businesses will obtain to recruit workers from outside the UK depends on the employment they will offer the migrant workers.
Requirements for Sponsor Licence
To qualify for a sponsor licence, businesses must meet the following requirements:
- They should be based in the United Kingdom.
- They must not pose a threat to immigration control.
- They must be authentic, operating and legally carrying out their business in the UK.
- They must have an equipped HR system that ensures optimum administration of sponsor duties.
- They must have honest and reliable key personnel in place.
How to Apply for Sponsor Licence
Local businesses in the United Kingdom can obtain a sponsor licence by taking the following steps:
- Choose which category to add to their sponsor licence.
- Check their suitability and eligibility for each category and make changes to their HR systems, if required.
- Appoint key personnel such as the Authorising officer, Key contact, Level 1 User and Level 2 User of the SMS (Sponsor Management System).
- Gather all the required documents that will be attached to the application.
- Select the number of Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) they wish to allocate within the first year of getting the licence.
- Finish and submit the online application alongside the hard copy to the UK Home Office.
- Be ready to attend the Home Office visit at the business premises or offices.
- Get a decision on the application.
How Long Does it Take to Get Sponsorship Licence UK?
It typically takes less than 8 weeks for the UK Home Office to issue the sponsor licence. However, you may pay £500 to get a decision on your sponsor licence application within 10 working days. There is a limit on applications for this service on each working day and applications are treated according to when they were submitted.
How UK Sponsor Licence Can Help Local Businesses
The UK local businesses can benefit from holding a sponsor licence in different ways that include:
Boost of Reputation
Reputation is essential for businesses and the sponsor licence is proof of a business’ commitment towards exploring global talent to boost their workforce. It also shows that a business is open to having divergent perspectives and ideas. This will certainly increase the loyalty and trust employees have for the UK business.
Expansion and Growth
Every local business wishes to grow and expand into other countries. Therefore, getting a sponsor licence will help them start the journey of being recognised globally. When businesses obtain a sponsor licence, they’ll be opportune to recruit professionals from different countries with key insights in their market. Understanding these insights and implementing tailored strategies will help businesses expand into foreign markets seamlessly.
Economic Growth
Foreign workers recruited through the sponsor licence contribute immensely to local businesses. The reason is that when they enter the UK, they’ll patronise local businesses and even become their customers. Additionally, they pay taxes, contribute to the communities where they live and encourage international partnerships which helps to boost the country’s economy.
Access to Global Talent
The sponsor licence allows local businesses to hire professional skilled workers worldwide. It helps businesses to have a wider reach of the best talents with different cultures, perspectives, and ideas on how to meet customers’ needs worldwide.
Final Thoughts
The UK sponsor licence helps local businesses hire workers from different countries. It allows them to choose the best-skilled professionals from different occupations. The process of getting a sponsor licence can be overwhelming. Local businesses must meet several eligibility criteria and provide documents to obtain the sponsor licence.
For this reason, businesses should consult an immigration lawyer to help recruit foreign workers without breaking immigration rules. The immigration lawyer will also help them ensure they comply with their sponsorship duties so that their licence won’t be downgraded, suspended or revoked by the Home Office.
Description: If any business doesn’t fulfil their sponsorship duties, the Home Office may downgrade, suspend or revoke their sponsor licence.
Description: If any business doesn’t fulfil their sponsorship duties, the Home Office may downgrade, suspend or revoke their sponsor licence.
