Sponsor Licence: A Quick Introduction
You will usually need a sponsor licence to employ someone from outside the UK, including citizens of the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland who arrived in the UK after December 31, 2020.
You will not need a licence to sponsor certain groups, such as Irish citizens, those with settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, or those with indefinite leave to remain in the UK.
A worker must have an offer of a job which meets the relevant criteria from an approved sponsor before they can make a valid application to enter or stay in the UK on the Worker or Temporary Worker routes. The sponsor confirms this by assigning a Certificate of Sponsorship to the worker.
Sponsorship plays two main roles in a worker’s application for permission to enter or stay in the UK:
- it provides evidence that the worker will fill a role for the sponsor in an occupation that’s eligible for the route on which they’re being sponsored
- it involves a pledge from the sponsor that it accepts all of the duties of sponsorship
When you apply for a licence, you will be asked which immigration route, or routes, you wish to sponsor workers on. You can apply to be licensed on as many routes as you feel appropriate for your business or organisation.
The main ‘Worker’ routes are:
- Skilled Worker: this allows employers to recruit people to work in the UK in an eligible skilled occupation which meets the salary and going rate requirements
- Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker: this is for senior managers or specialist employees being transferred by their overseas employer to a branch in the UK; it has replaced the Intra-Company Transfer route
- T2 Minister of Religion: this for a person who has a key leading role within their faith-based organisation or a religious order in the UK
- International Sportsperson: this for an elite sportsperson or qualified coach who is sponsored in a role where they will make a significant contribution to the development of sport at the highest level in the UK
All applications for a sponsor licence must meet the eligibility and suitability criteria. When the licence is granted, there are no limitations on the number of Skilled Workers, for example, that you employ under the sponsor licence. Some companies may have a single Skilled Worker whilst others will have hundreds of Skilled Workers sponsored under the licence. The Home Office will decide numbers on a case-by-case basis.
There are now over 100,000 licensed sponsors throughout the UK. Cities like Belfast, London, Manchester and Glasgow have all increased the number of licensed sponsors expeditiously over the last 5 years. As immigration lawyers despite salary increases for a Skilled Worker visa we have received an increase of new instructions from companies based in Belfast and London for a sponsor licence to hire Skilled Workers throughout the business.
A sponsor licence can be used to fill multiple roles within your business irrespective of location such as Belfast and London. Some employers engage immigration lawyers to hire software engineers, others may use CMC Immigration to hire HR managers, accountants, engineers or welders. As immigration lawyers often we need to consider the salary rate of £38,700 per annum for a Skilled Worker visa. This salary is the same whether your company is based in Belfast or London.
Often a question we get asked from employers in Belfast and London is whether there is a restriction to the number of Skilled Workers who can be employed under the sponsor licence. Some companies we work with in Belfast or London have only a handful of sponsored workers under the licence. Whilst others may employ literally hundreds of Skilled Workers under the sponsor licence. The Home Office will judge the numbers available to your organisation in a case-by-case basis. As immigration lawyers based in Belfast and London we represent companies of all sizes and requirements when considering a sponsor licence and hiring migrant workers.
CMC Immigration can simplify the Sponsor Licence application process, minimising risks and ensuring that your organisation can successfully recruit and retain international talent.
CMC Immigration Law is an immigration practice based in London and Belfast which provides UK immigration services and solutions to businesses and private individuals throughout the world.
