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SPONSOR LICENSE FOR EMPLOYERS

SPONSOR LICENSE FOR EMPLOYERS

If your company wishes to recruit skilled workers from outside the UK, it will usually first apply for a sponsor’s licence. Workers must have a minimum qualification and an offer of work from an employer who has successfully applied for a sponsoring license before applying to enter or stay in the UK.

THE RIGHT TO RECEIVE A SPONSOR LICENSE

To obtain a sponsorship license, your company must convince the Ministry of the Interior of the following:

  • your company is a legal entity operating under UK law;
  • your company has an effective personnel management system that ensures compliance with the sponsorship requirements established by the Ministry of the Interior;
  • you are known as an honest, reliable and trustworthy person;
  • you are ready to fulfill your sponsorship obligations and submit relevant reports in a timely and appropriate manner;
  • you can offer a real job that meets the qualifications and pay requirements.

Trading and doing business in the UK

Your company must be able to demonstrate that it is real and legally carrying on business or trade in the UK. The UK Home Office will consider an organization to be operating or trading in the country from the date of its registration. To demonstrate compliance with this requirement, it is necessary to provide at least four mandatory documents. The exact list of required documents depends on the type of your organization and the level at which you want to sponsor migrants.

Presence in Great Britain
If your company does not have offices in the UK and runs a virtual business, it can still apply for a sponsorship licence. However, she will need to prove that she fulfills her sponsorship obligations and is working or trading legally in the UK. In this case, the Home Office is likely to carry out an authorized person check at the address before making a decision on the application. The Home Office will consider what work the sponsored worker(s) will do in the UK and where they will carry out their work duties. The Home Office expects the company to have adequate systems in place to meet its recordkeeping obligations.
Compliance systems and obligations

The Ministry of Home Affairs will scrutinize your recruitment and hiring practices to ensure that you can fulfill your duties as a sponsor. If the Ministry of Home Affairs conducts a compliance audit, it will analyze the following aspects:

  1. Monitoring the immigration status of workers and preventing illegal employment;
  2. Saving contact information of migrants;
  3. Maintaining documentation and hiring practices;
  4. Tracking and monitoring of migrants;
  5. General obligations of the sponsor.

Key personnel

The Ministry of Home Affairs will conduct a verification of your honesty, reliability, and integrity by examining your history, biography, as well as the histories and biographies of key employees listed in your application, and all individuals involved in the day-to-day management of your business.

Each of the key employees must meet the following requirements:

  • permanently reside in Great Britain during the entire period of performance of their duties;
  • have no outstanding convictions for relevant immigration offences;
  • be an employee of the company or employed in an eligible position.

Three key staff roles must be identified in the initial sponsorship license application. One person or several different persons can fill these roles.

These three roles are:

  1. Authorised Officer (“AO”): The person responsible for the recruitment of all migrant workers and ensuring the sponsor duties are fulfilled within the organization. The AO must be a senior individual and responsible for granting access to the Sponsor Management System (SMS) and ensuring that each SMS user fulfills the sponsor requirements. The Ministry of Home Affairs will communicate with the AO during any visits to verify compliance with the requirements. It is recommended that the АО is well versed in the duties and obligations of the sponsor.

  2. Key contact: The person who acts as the main link between the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the sponsor. In many cases this will be an appointed legal representative.

  3. Level 1 User: A person who has full access to SMS and is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the license. It can perform various functions, including changing the organization information in the license summary, requesting additional Level 1 or Level 2 Users, and submitting and issuing sponsorship certificates. The initial Level 1 user must be an employee, director or partner of a UK organisation.

After obtaining a license, it is recommended to appoint at least one more Level 1 User to ensure continuous access to SMS in the absence of the primary user.

Salaried employees

Your company must have at least one “resident employee” who can perform the duties of a Level 1 User when applying for a sponsor license. A Level 1 user is responsible for the company’s day-to-day sponsorship activities through the online sponsor management system.

“Sedentary worker” must:

  • be a British citizen;
  • Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) or Settled Status, granted under the EU Settlement Scheme, is required.
  • be a person who has settled in another way and has indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

Sponsored workplaces

Any proposed sponsored role must meet the sponsorship criteria:

  • meet the minimum salary threshold for the relevant category;
  • be a real vacancy;
  • meet the required level of qualification. According to the “Immigration Rules for Skilled Workers,” qualified workers must hold positions at or above RQF level 3 in order to be eligible for entry to the UK.

If the proposed role does not meet the sponsorship criteria, obtaining a sponsorship license will not be possible, except in situations where the company intends to sponsor

A real vacancy

It is necessary to have a real vacancy for the position that the migrant plans to perform in Great Britain. Some vacancies provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs may be rejected if they do not meet the following requirements:

  • The job description is excessively enlarged to fit the requirements of the desired category.
  • The migrant does not have the necessary skills, qualifications or experience to perform the job.

The Ministry of Home Affairs will regularly request sponsors for additional details and evidence to ensure the genuineness of the vacancy. They may ask about the position in the organizational hierarchy, as well as the experience and qualifications required.

Certificates of sponsorship

To become a sponsor for a foreign worker, it is necessary to have a job that meets the sponsorship requirements published by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

After choosing a place of work, it is necessary to ensure that the potential foreign worker has the necessary skills, qualifications or professional accreditation to perform this work

Monitoring of employees’ activities

As a sponsor, you need to have appropriate systems in place to monitor the performance of your employees. Such systems include:

  • tracking their immigration status;
  • keeping copies of relevant documents of each employee, including passport and information on the right to work;
  • tracking and accounting of visits by your employees;
  • maintaining up-to-date information about the contact details of your sponsored employees;
  • UKVI (UK Visas and Immigration) will notify the sponsor in case of any issues with the sponsored employee, such as non-compliance with the conditions of their sponsorship visa.

Notification of changes

If there are any significant changes in your company, such as:

  • termination of activity or insolvency;
  • a significant change in the nature of the activity;
  • participation in a merger or acquisition;

You are required to notify the Ministry of Home Affairs within 20 working days. You must also notify the Home Office of any changes to your business information, such as your address or role allocation. You can notify these changes via SMS.

Validity of the sponsor license

Your sponsorship license will be valid for four years, after which you will be able to apply for an extension. After successfully obtaining the sponsorship license, your organization will be included in the list of registered sponsors, which is regularly updated by the Ministry of Home Affairs. You will be given a license rating and Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) approval, allowing you to hire qualified workers who meet the requirements.

TYPES OF LICENSES FOR EMPLOYEES

Depending on the jobs offered, you can apply for two types of licenses:

Worker’s license

Having received the “Worker” license, you will have the opportunity to hire qualified workers of the following categories:

  • qualified employee – the position must meet the requirements of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for employment;
  • intra-company visas – intended for multinational companies that need to transfer to the UK already working employees or graduate trainees;
  • Religious minister – for people who come to work for a religious organization in Great Britain;
  • Athlete – for elite athletes and coaches.

Temporary worker’s license

If you plan to hire foreign workers on a temporary basis, you need to obtain a temporary worker license in order to sponsor them. You have the opportunity to sponsor temporary workers in the following categories:

  • Creative worker – for workers in the creative field, such as artists and performers (up to 2 years).
  • Charity worker – for those who work for free in charitable organizations (up to 1 year).
  • Religious worker – for workers working in a religious order or organization (2 years).
  • Authorized Exchange – for those who wish to gain work experience (1 year), participate in research projects or educational programs, such as practical medical or scientific training (2 years), within the framework of short-term knowledge exchange.
  • International agreement – when an employee comes to perform work that is subject to international law, for example, employees of foreign governments.
  • Seasonal worker – for those who come to the UK to work in horticulture for up to 6 months, for example picking fruit and vegetables.

You can also use a seasonal worker visa to sponsor:

  • meat shop workers engaged in pork production (up to 6 months);
  • poultry workers – until December 31, 2021
  • truck drivers engaged in food transportation – until February 28, 2022
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