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Sponsor Licence Applications

To employ someone to work for your organisation from outside the UK, you will require a sponsor licence.

This includes citizens of the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland who arrived in the UK after 31 December 2020.

The licence you need depends on whether the workers you want to fill your jobs are:

  • ‘Workers’ - for skilled or long-term employment
  • ‘Temporary Workers’ - for specific types of temporary employment

You can apply for a licence covering one or both types of worker.

The ‘Worker’ sponsor licence vs the ‘Temporary Worker’ sponsor licence.

The ‘Worker’ sponsor licence will allow you to recruit overseas nationals in various types of skilled employment in the UK, both short and long-term, or on a permanent basis, depending on the immigration route in question. 

The ‘Temporary Worker’ sponsor licence will allow you to recruit migrant workers on a temporary basis.

There are various worker routes:

The ‘Worker’ sponsor licence can be sub-categorised into the following four routes:

  • The Skilled Worker route
  • The Senior or Specialist Worker Global Business Mobility route
  • The Minister of Religion route
  • The International Sportsperson route

The ‘Temporary Worker’ licence is for specific types of temporary employment, including:

  • Scale-up Worker route
  • Creative Worker route
  • Charity Worker route
  • Religious Worker route
  • The Government Authorised Exchange route
  • The International Agreement route
  • Graduate Trainee Global Business Mobility route
  • Service Supplier Global Business Mobility route
  • UK Expansion Worker Global Business Mobility route
  • Secondment Worker Global Mobility route
  • Seasonal Worker route

Your organisation will need to apply for the correct sponsor licence category to sponsor a non-resident worker. This will depend on what role you are offering to the migrant worker.

 

  • In order to employ a skilled worker from overseas, employers will need to hold a valid sponsor license. The application process involves a meticulous inspection from the Home Office which will assess whether your organisation operates lawfully in the UK, that it has appropriate HR functions, and other bespoke systems in place to support the sponsorship duties.

    The Home Office may also carry out background checks on employers and the day-to-day running of the business, with the process taking between 8-12 weeks, or 10 working days if the processing time is expedited. Biscoes’ business immigration solicitors can assist with making the application and ensuring that you are fully complaint and prepared for an investigation.

  • The ‘Temporary Worker’ licence will allow your organisation to sponsor people on a temporary basis, including for volunteering and job-shadowing. You can only get a Temporary Worker licence for specific types of employment and visas.

    The licence is split into the following categories:

    Scale-up Worker - for people coming to work for a fast-growing UK business.

    Creative Worker - to work in the creative industry, for example as an entertainer or artist (up to 2 years).

    Charity Worker - for unpaid workers at a charity (up to 1 year).

    Religious Worker - for those working in a religious order or organisation (2 years).

    Government Authorised Exchange - work experience (1 year), research projects or training, for example practical medical or scientific training (2 years) to enable a short-term exchange of knowledge.

    International Agreement - where the worker is coming to do a job which is covered by international law, for example employees of overseas governments.

    Graduate Trainee (Global Business Mobility) - for workers transferring to their employer’s UK branch as part of a graduate training programme.

    Service Supplier (Global Business Mobility) - for workers with a contract to provide services for a UK company (6 or 12 months).

    UK Expansion Worker (Global Business Mobility) - for workers sent to the UK to set up a new branch or subsidiary of an overseas business.

    Secondment Worker (Global Business Mobility) - for workers transferring from overseas to work for a different UK business as part of a high-value contract.

    Seasonal Worker – allows people to come to the UK and work in horticulture (for example, picking fruit and vegetables) for up to 6 months, or poultry from 18 October to 31 December each year

  • A sponsor license suspension is a temporary measure where UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) prevents an employer from issuing new Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) to foreign workers, usually due to breaches of sponsorship duties, while they investigate the matter.

    The breaches of sponsor duties include failing to keep accurate records, conduct proper right-to-work checks, or report relevant changes in a timely manner.

    If your business has received notice that your sponsor licence has been suspended by UKVI, you will have 20 working days to seek a review of the decision. Your response must be submitted in writing, with supporting evidence, which grounds you believe to be incorrect and address any mitigating circumstances.

    When the Home Office have completed their enquiries, they may reinstate the sponsor licence, downgrade it or revoke it.

    Biscoes can assist in working towards reinstating the sponsor licence by addressing the concerns raised by the Home Office

  • If a UK sponsor licence is revoked, the business loses its ability to sponsor migrant workers, and the Home Office will curtail the leave of any sponsored workers, typically to 60 days, requiring them to find alternative sponsorship or leave the UK. This can be detrimental to both the employer and its employees who are sponsored.

    There is no right of appeal against a decision to revoke a sponsor licence, the sponsor may be able to apply for a Judicial Review of the revocation decision.

    Biscoes can advise on the merits of applying for a Judicial Review of a revocation decision and where appropriate, assist the sponsor with this process.

    We can also assist in applying for a new sponsor licence once the cooling off period has passed.

For further information or to speak to one of our experts, please get in touch