Recruiting the right person for your business is difficult enough. When the person you want to employ needs sponsorship to work in the UK, there is another hurdle to deal with first: obtaining a Sponsor Licence.
For many UK businesses, a Sponsor Licence has become an increasingly important part of recruitment. It allows an approved organisation to sponsor eligible overseas workers under routes such as the Skilled Worker route and, depending on the type of licence held, other sponsored work routes.
The Sponsor Licence application itself is completed online. That sounds relatively straightforward, and technically it can be. The Home Office even estimates that the online form may take around 20 to 30 minutes if you have gathered the necessary information beforehand.
Unfortunately, the 20-minute form is not really the difficult bit.
The important work takes place before the application is submitted. You need to establish whether the organisation is eligible and suitable, determine the correct type of licence, nominate appropriate key personnel, identify the correct supporting evidence and make sure the business is capable of complying with its responsibilities as a sponsor. Get those foundations right and the application can be relatively straightforward.
Get them wrong and a very simple looking online form can become a rather expensive way of discovering just how detailed the Home Office sponsor guidance actually is. This guide explains how to apply for a UK Sponsor Licence, what employers should consider before applying, the evidence involved and how we approach preparing Sponsor Licence applications for businesses.
What is a Sponsor Licence?
A Sponsor Licence is permission granted by the Home Office that allows an eligible UK organisation to sponsor qualifying overseas workers. It is the employer that holds the Sponsor Licence, not the individual employee.
Once licensed for the appropriate route, the employer can normally assign a Certificate of Sponsorship, usually referred to as a CoS, to an eligible worker. That worker can then use the CoS as part of their immigration application.
For example, a worker applying under the Skilled Worker route generally needs to work for a UK employer approved by the Home Office and have a Certificate of Sponsorship for the proposed role.
There are different categories of Sponsor Licence. A Worker licence can cover various forms of skilled employment, while Temporary Worker licences cover specified temporary work routes. For most businesses approaching us because they want to employ a particular overseas worker on a longer-term basis, the Skilled Worker Sponsor Licence is usually the relevant starting point.
However, this should always be established before applying rather than simply assuming that Skilled Worker sponsorship is appropriate.
Do you actually need a Sponsor Licence?
Before worrying about documents, application forms or Home Office fees, start with the obvious question:
Does the business actually need a Sponsor Licence?
Not every person who is not a British citizen needs to be sponsored.
Some people already have unrestricted or sufficiently broad permission to work in the UK. Others may be able to work under a visa route that does not require employer sponsorship.
For example, an employer may encounter candidates with permission under routes such as Graduate, dependant or family routes, or people with settled status or indefinite leave to remain.
Their individual right to work still needs to be checked correctly, but the fact that somebody is an overseas national does not automatically mean that the business needs to sponsor them.
A Sponsor Licence becomes relevant where the person’s immigration route requires sponsorship by an approved employer.
This is why we normally start with the business, the proposed employee and the proposed job, rather than immediately starting a Sponsor Licence application.
There is little value in obtaining the wrong answer to the right question.
Can any UK business apply for a Sponsor Licence?
There is no rule saying that Sponsor Licences are reserved for large companies.
Small businesses can apply. New businesses can potentially apply. Charities and other eligible organisations can apply. Depending on the circumstances, even relatively small organisations can become licensed sponsors.
What matters is whether the organisation meets the relevant Home Office requirements.
Broadly, the Home Office will want to be satisfied that the organisation is genuinely operating or trading in the UK, is suitable to hold a Sponsor Licence and is capable of carrying out its sponsorship duties.
There are also specific requirements depending on the route for which the organisation is applying.
That means we would not normally look at a small company and say:
“You only have three employees, so you cannot have a Sponsor Licence.”
Nor would we say:
“Your turnover is below £X, so you cannot apply.”
The assessment is more nuanced than that. A smaller or newer company may simply need to think more carefully about how it demonstrates its trading activities, structure, recruitment needs and ability to comply with the sponsorship system.
The Home Office can also consider the organisation’s circumstances when assessing whether it is suitable to hold a licence. The Sponsor Licence is a position of trust: licensed organisations are effectively being permitted to participate in the UK’s immigration sponsorship system.
That trust comes with responsibilities.
Can you apply for a Sponsor Licence yourself?
Technically, yes.
There is no general requirement that an employer must appoint a professional representative simply to make a Sponsor Licence application. However, for most businesses that have not dealt with the sponsorship system, we would recommend having the application professionally prepared.
The online application form is only one part of the process.
The more important work happens before submission:
- establishing whether the business meets the requirements;
- deciding which sponsorship route is appropriate;
- considering whether the proposed job and worker can actually be sponsored;
- identifying the correct supporting documents;
- checking the organisation’s structure and circumstances;
- selecting appropriate key personnel;
- considering the HR and compliance systems already in place;
- identifying anything likely to attract Home Office scrutiny; and
- presenting the application and supporting evidence coherently.
The Home Office does not simply want an application form and a collection of company documents. It needs to be satisfied that the organisation meets the requirements for the licence it is requesting. That is where professional preparation can make a real difference.
There is obviously a professional fee involved in having an application prepared for you. However, the cheapest way of submitting an application is not necessarily the most cost-effective way of getting through the process.
A business owner or director can spend many hours working through the Sponsor Guidance, Appendix A, route-specific guidance and supporting evidence requirements. If something important is then overlooked, the business may also have to deal with delays, further enquiries or an unsuccessful application.
Our approach is therefore fairly simple:
identify and deal with potential problems before the application reaches the Home Office, rather than trying to explain them afterwards.
How to apply for a Sponsor Licence: the process
Although every organisation is different, we can break a typical Sponsor Licence application into a number of stages.
Step 1: Establish what the business is trying to achieve
This sounds obvious, but it is one of the most important parts of the process.
- Why does the organisation want a Sponsor Licence?
- Has it already identified somebody it wants to employ?
- Is that person currently in the UK?
- What immigration permission do they currently have?
- What job will they perform?
- What salary will they receive?
- When does the business need them to start?
- Or is the organisation obtaining a Sponsor Licence because it expects to recruit internationally in the future?
The answers affect how we approach the application.
For example, if a company already has an employee whose current visa is approaching expiry, timing may be particularly important.
There is little point successfully obtaining a Sponsor Licence several weeks after the employee’s immigration position has become a problem. Equally, obtaining a Sponsor Licence does not automatically mean that every job within the organisation becomes sponsorable.
The licence and the worker’s eventual visa application are connected, but they are not the same thing.
Step 2: Check whether the organisation is eligible and suitable
Before applying, the organisation should establish that it meets the Home Office’s requirements to become a sponsor. This includes looking at whether the organisation is genuinely operating or trading lawfully in the UK and whether there are any circumstances that could affect its suitability.
The Home Office guidance contains detailed suitability provisions and can take account of matters such as previous immigration compliance and relevant offences. Appendix B to the Sponsor Guidance specifically deals with immigration offences taken into account when assessing suitability.
This stage should not be treated as a box-ticking exercise.
We would want to understand things such as:
- the company’s history;
- its trading activities;
- where it operates;
- its ownership and management;
- its staffing structure;
- whether it has previously held a Sponsor Licence;
- whether key people have been involved with other licensed sponsors;
- and whether there are any previous compliance issues that need to be considered.
Most ordinary trading businesses will not have dramatic problems hiding in the background. But it is much better to ask the questions before submission.
Finding an awkward issue halfway through a Home Office enquiry is rarely anyone’s preferred Friday afternoon.
Step 3: Check whether the proposed role can actually be sponsored
This is particularly important where the business is applying because it already has a specific employee in mind. A Sponsor Licence is not permission to sponsor anybody the company wishes.
The proposed worker will still need to meet the requirements of the relevant immigration route.
For Skilled Worker sponsorship, for example, the job must meet the applicable occupation and skill requirements and the salary must meet the relevant requirements for the worker’s circumstances. The employer also needs to be offering a genuine role.
That makes the proposed job an important part of our initial assessment.
We would normally want to understand:
- What is the job title?
- What will the employee actually do?
- Which occupation code is appropriate?
- What salary will they receive?
- How many hours will they work?
- Where will they work?
- How does the position fit into the existing organisation?
- Why does the business need the role?
The job title alone is not enough.
Calling somebody a “Senior International Strategic Executive Director of Global Operations” does not magically make an otherwise unsuitable job sponsorable. Impressive stationery has its limits.
The substance of the role matters.
Step 4: Choose the correct type of Sponsor Licence
The organisation must apply for the appropriate licence and route. A Worker licence allows sponsorship in qualifying skilled employment under the routes covered by that licence. There are also Temporary Worker routes and specific sponsorship arrangements for different categories of work.
For many ordinary UK businesses recruiting an overseas professional, the relevant route will be Skilled Worker. But businesses should not simply select options on the application form without understanding what they mean.
This is particularly important where an organisation operates internationally, has connected overseas businesses, is recruiting temporary workers or has circumstances that may fall within another sponsored work route.
The route determines not only who can be sponsored but also some of the requirements that apply to the organisation and worker.
Step 5: Decide who will manage the Sponsor Licence
A Sponsor Licence needs people responsible for managing it. These are known as Key Personnel. The Sponsor Licence application requires the organisation to nominate people for three principal roles:
- Authorising Officer
- Key Contact and
- Level 1 User.
One person can sometimes perform more than one role, depending on the circumstances and applicable requirements.
Authorising Officer
The Authorising Officer is a senior and competent person within the organisation who has overall responsibility for the Sponsor Licence and the activities of those using the sponsorship system.
This should not simply be whichever person’s name is easiest to put on the form.
The person needs to understand that sponsorship carries ongoing responsibilities.
Key Contact
The Key Contact acts as a principal contact between the organisation and the Home Office.
Level 1 User
The Level 1 User carries out day-to-day sponsorship activities through the Sponsor Management System, commonly known as the SMS.
This can include important tasks after the licence has been granted, including managing sponsorship information and Certificates of Sponsorship.
There are eligibility and suitability requirements affecting who can undertake these roles.
We therefore check the proposed key personnel as part of preparing the application rather than treating their details as administrative information to be added at the end.
Step 6: Review your HR and compliance systems
This is one of the areas businesses sometimes underestimate. A Sponsor Licence is not simply permission to recruit an overseas worker. It creates ongoing responsibilities for the employer. The organisation needs to be capable of carrying out duties relating to matters such as:
- right to work;
- keeping appropriate records;
- maintaining accurate worker information;
- monitoring sponsored workers;
- reporting certain changes;
- keeping the Home Office informed about relevant organisational changes; and
- complying with the wider sponsorship requirements.
Appendix D of the Sponsor Guidance deals specifically with the records sponsors are required to retain. Sponsors must also retain the documents provided as part of the original Sponsor Licence application for as long as they continue to hold the licence.
You do not necessarily need an expensive enterprise HR system with flashing dashboards and seventeen different logins. A smaller company can have relatively simple systems. What matters is that those systems actually work.
For example:
- How does the business record employee contact details?
- How are absences monitored?
- Who carries out right-to-work checks?
- Where are employment records stored?
- Who knows when something must be reported?
- Who is responsible if the normal HR person is away?
The Home Office can assess whether the organisation is capable of complying with its sponsor duties, so these questions should be considered before the licence is granted, not afterwards.
Step 7: Identify the correct Sponsor Licence supporting documents
This is where many businesses discover that the application is not quite as simple as the online form made it look. The supporting evidence requirements are principally contained in Appendix A to the Sponsor Guidance.
For a Skilled Worker sponsor application, unless an organisation falls within one of the specified exceptions, it will normally need to submit a minimum of four documents, including any evidence specifically mandatory for its type of organisation. It must also provide additional information about the organisation and the jobs it intends to fill.
The exact evidence depends on the organisation. That is why downloading a random “Sponsor Licence checklist” from the internet and blindly gathering four documents can be a mistake.
Different organisations may have different mandatory requirements. Evidence can potentially involve matters such as:
- company registration;
- PAYE registration;
- VAT registration;
- employer’s liability insurance;
- business premises;
- regulatory registration;
- business banking;
- accounts;
- contracts;
- and other evidence of the organisation’s activities.
But the correct combination must be established against the current Appendix A requirements for the particular organisation. There may also be route-specific or organisation-specific evidence.
We have prepared a separate detailed guide to Sponsor Licence supporting documents and Appendix A, because this area warrants much more than a few paragraphs.
Step 8: Prepare the additional information about the organisation and proposed roles
The documents themselves are only part of the evidential picture.
For Skilled Worker applications, the Home Office guidance also requires specified information about the organisation and the jobs it intends to fill if granted a licence. This is an important part of properly preparing the application.
We generally want the evidence and explanation to tell one consistent story. Suppose, for example, a small company has three employees and wants to sponsor a Digital Marketing Manager.
That is not automatically a problem.
But we would want to understand:
- What does the company do?
- How large is the business?
- Who currently performs the relevant work?
- Why is the new role required?
- What will the employee actually be responsible for?
- Where does the position sit within the organisational structure?
- Is the proposed salary credible and sustainable?
- Does the company’s trading evidence support the description of the business?
- Do the duties correspond with the occupation code being relied upon?
Those questions are far more important than simply producing a beautifully formatted job description. A job description should describe a real job. The supporting evidence should support a real business.
And the application should make sense when everything is read together.
Step 9: Complete the online Sponsor Licence application
Once the groundwork has been completed, the organisation can proceed with the online application. The Home Office requires applicants to register online, complete the Sponsor Licence application and provide the required supporting evidence.
This is where preparation pays off.
If we already know:
- the correct route;
- the organisation’s details;
- the key personnel;
- the proposed roles;
- the business structure;
- and exactly which supporting documents will be provided,
then completing the application becomes considerably easier.
One practical point is particularly important. The Home Office guidance states that if you want a copy of the information entered into the application, you should make a note or take screenshots as you complete it because UKVI cannot subsequently provide you with a copy of the licence application.
We would always want an accurate record of what has been submitted.
That information may become relevant later when the organisation starts sponsoring workers or if the Home Office asks questions about the application.
Step 10: Pay the Sponsor Licence application fee
A fee is payable when applying. The amount depends on matters including the type of licence being requested, the size of the organisation and whether it has charitable status.
This is separate from some of the other costs that may arise later when actually sponsoring a worker. Depending on the circumstances, employers may subsequently encounter costs associated with:
Certificates of Sponsorship;
- the Immigration Skills Charge;
- and professional assistance.
The worker’s own visa application may involve separate application fees and, where applicable, the Immigration Health Surcharge. It is therefore important not to look at the Sponsor Licence application fee and assume that represents the total cost of sponsoring an employee.
We cover this separately in our Sponsor Licence Fees and Costs Guide, including examples of what sponsoring a worker can cost from beginning to end.
Step 11: Submit the supporting documents
Submitting the online application is not the end of the process. The supporting evidence must then be provided in accordance with the Home Office requirements. Current guidance tells applicants to make sure they are in a position to send all required documents within five working days of submitting the online application.
The submission sheet and supporting documents can be scanned or photographed and sent electronically to the address specified on the submission sheet.
The Home Office currently requires electronic files to be in PDF, JPEG or PNG format, with descriptive file names of no more than 25 characters, and the documents must be sufficiently clear to read. Documents that are not in English or Welsh require a certified translation.
Five working days can disappear surprisingly quickly when somebody suddenly discovers that a required document is sitting with the accountant, another is in an old email account and the person who knows the login is on holiday.
This is why we prefer to have the evidential pack ready before the online application is submitted. Submission should be the final stage of preparation, not the beginning of a document hunt.
What happens after the Sponsor Licence application is submitted?
The Home Office will consider the application and supporting evidence. There are broadly several possible directions the case can take.
The application can be granted
If UKVI is satisfied that the organisation meets the relevant requirements, it can grant the Sponsor Licence.
The organisation can then move on to the sponsorship process, including obtaining or assigning the appropriate Certificate of Sponsorship where applicable.
The Home Office can request further information
UKVI may require additional evidence or clarification.
This is one reason why consistency matters.
If the application says one thing, the supporting documents suggest something different and the company’s website appears to describe an entirely different business, questions may follow.
The Home Office may carry out checks
UKVI has compliance powers and can assess whether an organisation is suitable and capable of meeting its sponsorship responsibilities.
The possibility of scrutiny is another reason we encourage employers to treat Sponsor Licence preparation as more than a paperwork exercise.
The application can be refused
If the requirements are not met, an application can be refused.
Depending on why this happens, the consequences can extend beyond simply losing the application fee. It can affect how and when the organisation can proceed again.
Proper preparation cannot guarantee approval, but it can reduce the risk of avoidable problems.
Will the Home Office visit my business before granting a Sponsor Licence?
It can, and it often does.
Not every Sponsor Licence applicant receives a compliance visit, but businesses should apply on the assumption that the Home Office is entitled to scrutinise whether the organisation genuinely operates as described and is capable of fulfilling its sponsorship duties.
That is a useful mindset.
If the thought of a Home Office compliance officer asking:
“Can you show me how you monitor employee absences?”
causes everyone in the office to stare silently at one another, there is probably some work to do.
A business should be able to explain its systems.
This does not mean creating artificial processes purely for the Sponsor Licence application.
Quite the opposite.
We want sensible systems that actually work for the organisation and can continue working after the licence is granted.
How long does a Sponsor Licence application take?
Sponsor Licence processing times can change, and individual applications may take longer depending on their circumstances.
Employers should therefore check the current Home Office position when planning recruitment rather than relying on an old blog or a timescale somebody remembers from their last application.
A pre-licence priority service is available for eligible applications. The current Home Office guidance provides a specific process and eligibility criteria for using that service.
Priority does not mean:
“Pay extra and the Home Office stops looking at the application.”
It accelerates consideration. The application still needs to meet the requirements.
If the business has an employee facing an immigration deadline, we would normally consider the timing of:
- Sponsor Licence approval;
- Certificate of Sponsorship;
- and the employee’s eventual visa application
as one overall timeline.
Looking at each stage in isolation can create unnecessary problems.
What happens when the Sponsor Licence is granted?
Getting the licence is an important milestone, but it is not the finish line. The organisation becomes a licensed sponsor and must comply with the responsibilities that come with that status.
The next immediate step will often be sponsorship of the intended worker.
For a Skilled Worker, that normally involves assigning the appropriate Certificate of Sponsorship and ensuring that the proposed role and worker meet the relevant requirements.
The worker then uses that CoS in their Skilled Worker application.
The business must also continue meeting its sponsor duties for as long as it holds the licence.
That is why we encourage employers to think beyond:
“How do I get the Sponsor Licence?”
and consider:
“How are we going to manage the Sponsor Licence properly once we have it?”
A licence that is obtained successfully but managed badly afterwards can create much bigger problems than the original application.
Common Sponsor Licence application mistakes
There are certain problems that are particularly avoidable.
Applying before checking the proposed job
Sometimes the entire reason for obtaining the licence is to sponsor one particular person.
If the intended role or proposed salary does not meet the requirements of the relevant route, obtaining the Sponsor Licence may not solve the underlying problem.
Check the worker and job first.
Treating Appendix A as a generic four-document rule
The requirement is not simply:
“Pick any four business documents.”
There can be mandatory evidence depending on the organisation and route, together with additional information requirements. Infact, many businesses that have attached their evidence in this way have simply been refused.
Appendix A should be applied to the actual organisation.
Choosing key personnel without checking suitability
The Authorising Officer, Key Contact and Level 1 User have important responsibilities.
Do not choose them simply because they happen to be available when the application form is being completed.
Ignoring compliance until after approval
If the business does not have workable systems for monitoring and record keeping, the time to fix that is before the Sponsor Licence application.
Not after a Home Office officer asks to see them.
Inconsistent information
The application, Companies House records, website, accounts, organisational structure, job description and supporting evidence should make sense together.
Small discrepancies can often be explained.
A fundamentally inconsistent story is harder.
Applying too late
This is particularly important where the business already employs somebody on another immigration route. If their existing permission expires soon, waiting until the last minute to start thinking about a Sponsor Licence can leave very little room for delays.
Immigration deadlines have an unfortunate habit of refusing to move just because somebody forgot to put them in the calendar.
Is a Sponsor Licence difficult to get?
For a genuine, compliant business with an appropriate reason for sponsorship, a Sponsor Licence application does not need to be unnecessarily difficult.
The problem is usually not that the application is inherently impossible.
It is that businesses sometimes underestimate what the Home Office is actually assessing. UKVI is not simply asking:
“Does this company exist?”
It is considering whether the organisation meets the requirements to enter and remain within the sponsorship system. That includes whether the organisation is suitable, whether it has appropriate people and systems in place, and whether the relevant route requirements are met.
For an established business with straightforward circumstances, the application may be relatively uncomplicated.
For a new business, unusual corporate structure, previous compliance issue or less obvious proposed role, considerably more thought may be required. This is why we prefer to assess the application first and determine where the real risks are.
Not every case needs to be turned into War and Peace.
But equally, a complicated case should not be treated as simple merely because the online form looks short.
Should I use a professional for my Sponsor Licence application?
The better question is whether doing so is the best use of your time and whether you are confident that you understand the requirements and systems well enough to prepare the application properly.
For businesses that deal with sponsorship regularly and have experienced HR or immigration teams, handling the process internally could work, especially if they know and understand UK immigration well.
For a company applying for its first Sponsor Licence, professional assistance can provide considerably more value.
A good adviser should not simply ask you for four documents and fill in an online form.
The work should begin by understanding the business.
When we approach a Sponsor Licence application, we want to know:
- what the organisation does;
- why sponsorship is required;
- who it wants to sponsor;
- what role is proposed;
- whether the role is suitable;
- how the business operates;
- who will manage the licence;
- what evidence is available;
- whether the HR systems are adequate;
- and whether anything needs addressing before submission.
Only then should the application be prepared. That is the difference between completing a Sponsor Licence form and preparing a Sponsor Licence case.
The second is what businesses should really be paying for.
How professional Sponsor Licence assistance can save time and money
Professional assistance is an additional cost. There is no point pretending otherwise. But cost should be considered in context. A director spending several evenings trying to understand hundreds of pages of Home Office guidance has a cost.
An HR manager spending working hours trying to determine which documents apply has a cost. Delaying the recruitment of an important employee has a cost. Having to deal with an avoidable Home Office query has a cost.
And an unsuccessful application can have both financial and operational consequences.
This does not mean every self-prepared application will go wrong. Some may not.
It means that for many businesses, paying somebody who works with the sponsorship system to prepare the application can be the more efficient and commercially sensible option. Our objective is not to make a straightforward Sponsor Licence application sound frightening.
Quite the opposite.
Our job is to make the process straightforward by doing the complicated work properly in the background.
Preparing the strongest possible Sponsor Licence application
There is no magic wording that guarantees a Sponsor Licence. There is no special cover letter that turns an unsuitable business into a suitable one. And nobody should promise an employer that an application will definitely be approved.
A strong application comes from getting the fundamentals right.
The organisation should meet the relevant requirements. The proposed sponsorship should make sense. The evidence should be correct. The information should be consistent. The key personnel should be appropriate. The compliance systems should work.
And the application should be properly prepared.
When those pieces fit together, there is usually no need to drown the Home Office in unnecessary paperwork. More documents do not automatically mean a stronger application. The aim is to provide the right evidence and the right information, presented clearly.
Need help applying for a Sponsor Licence?
If your business is considering applying for a Sponsor Licence, we can manage the application from the initial assessment through to submission.
We start by understanding the business and what you are trying to achieve. Where you already have a proposed worker in mind, we can consider the role and sponsorship position before progressing with the licence application.
We can then help identify the appropriate route, review the business and proposed key personnel, establish the supporting evidence required, consider your sponsorship compliance arrangements and prepare the Sponsor Licence application and supporting representations.
Most importantly, we look for potential problems before submission.
You can apply yourself. But for most businesses making their first Sponsor Licence application, there is a considerable difference between completing the online form and knowing that the case behind it has been properly prepared.
Our aim is to take that work away from you, make the process as straightforward as possible and give the application the strongest possible prospects of success.
Because running your business should probably take priority over spending your evening reading Appendix A of the Sponsor Guidance.
Unless, of course, that’s your idea of a good evening. For the rest of us, professional help exists for a reason.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How do I apply for a UK Sponsor Licence?
A Sponsor Licence application is made online to the Home Office. Before applying, the business should check its eligibility, choose the correct sponsorship route, nominate suitable key personnel and prepare the required supporting evidence. The online form is relatively straightforward; establishing that the business meets the requirements and preparing the application properly is usually the more important part.
2. Can I apply for a Sponsor Licence myself?
Yes, an employer can prepare and submit its own Sponsor Licence application. However, businesses applying for the first time should consider professional assistance. Sponsor licensing involves eligibility, supporting evidence, key personnel, compliance systems and potentially the proposed sponsored role. Professional preparation can identify problems before submission and save the business considerable time working through detailed Home Office guidance.
3. How much does a Sponsor Licence application cost?
The Home Office Sponsor Licence application fee depends on the size and type of organisation and the licence being requested. This is not necessarily the total cost of sponsoring a worker. Employers may subsequently need to pay for a Certificate of Sponsorship and, where applicable, the Immigration Skills Charge, alongside any professional fees associated with the application.
4. How long does a Sponsor Licence application take?
Processing times can change and some applications take longer where the Home Office needs additional information or carries out further checks. An eligible employer may also be able to request the pre-licence priority service. Businesses with a worker facing an immigration deadline should plan the Sponsor Licence, Certificate of Sponsorship and worker’s visa application as one overall timeline.
5. What documents do I need for a Sponsor Licence application?
The documents required depend on the type and circumstances of the organisation. Appendix A of the Home Office Sponsor Guidance sets out the supporting evidence requirements. Many Skilled Worker Sponsor Licence applicants will normally need at least four supporting documents, subject to relevant exceptions and mandatory requirements. Additional information about the organisation and proposed roles may also be required.
6. Can a small business apply for a Sponsor Licence?
Yes. Sponsor Licences are not restricted to large employers and there is no general rule requiring every applicant to have a particular minimum turnover or number of employees. A small business must nevertheless satisfy the relevant eligibility and suitability requirements, provide appropriate supporting evidence and demonstrate that it is capable of complying with its responsibilities as a licensed sponsor.
7. Can a new company get a Sponsor Licence?
A relatively new business can potentially obtain a Sponsor Licence provided it meets the relevant requirements. New businesses may have a shorter trading history and different supporting evidence available, so their circumstances need to be considered carefully. The Home Office will still need to be satisfied that the organisation is genuinely operating or trading and capable of meeting its sponsorship duties.
8. Does getting a Sponsor Licence mean I can sponsor any employee?
No. A Sponsor Licence allows an organisation to participate in the sponsorship system, but an individual worker and their proposed job must still satisfy the requirements of the relevant immigration route. For Skilled Workers, this includes requirements relating to the proposed occupation, salary and sponsorship. Employers should therefore check the intended role before beginning the licence process.
9. Can the Home Office visit my business during a Sponsor Licence application?
Yes. The Home Office can carry out compliance checks when considering whether an organisation is suitable to hold a Sponsor Licence and capable of meeting its sponsor duties. Not every application results in a visit, but employers should have genuine and workable HR, record-keeping and compliance arrangements in place rather than creating systems only after the licence has been granted.
10. What happens after my Sponsor Licence is approved?
Once approved, the organisation becomes a licensed sponsor and can use the sponsorship system for the routes covered by its licence. Where the business intends to sponsor a Skilled Worker, the next stage will usually involve obtaining or assigning the appropriate Certificate of Sponsorship. The employer must also continue complying with its reporting, record-keeping and other sponsor duties.