LondonSponsorship Licence and Sponsorship Visas – Guide
Sponsorship Advice for Employers
UK businesses need a sponsorship licence to employ someone from outside the European Union to work for them in the UK. Under the points based system only licensed sponsors will be eligible to issue overseas nationals with a certificate of sponsorship. When you apply, you apply for a licence on line and provide supporting documents to prove that it is a genuine business. You need to pay a fee when you apply and applications are usually refused because of mistakes in omitting to provide certain supporting documents. The licence you receive will depend on whether the workers you want to fill the jobs are Tier 2 skilled workers with long term job offers or Tie 5 skilled temporary workers. You can apply for a licence to cover either or both.
Sponsorship Process Application
You will need to appoint people within the business to manage the sponsorship process, and the main tools they will use is a sponsorship management system (SMS). The roles they will create are Authorising Officer, Key Contact and level 1 user. The roles can be filled by the same person or different people. The sponsored worker will have to be remunerated with a suitable rate of pay and has to have a suitable skill level. The job will need to be advertised, unless the job come within the shortage occupation list. Most employers will have to carry out a resident labour market test and have to advertise the job in two places. The job has to be advertised for 28 days and we can advise employers on the application for sponsorship, the process itself and supporting evidence that needs to be provided, as well as their duties as licensed sponsors.
If you would like us to help with a sponsorship, application or appeal, or you would like some general advice, call us on 020 7267 4133. We will only charge you for the first consultation if you decide to become our client and if we can assist you. Please call 020 7267 4133 to discuss your queries or to schedule an appointment.