Since the law updates on January 1, 2021, every British citizen or Irish citizen requires a work visa to gain legal authority to work in the UK. The skilled worker visa will assist organizations operating in the UK in sponsoring skilled workers from abroad and providing them with permanent jobs under the Skilled Worker Tier 2 (General) visa.
Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) visas allow organizations to sponsor employees who are already working with them in other countries to come to the UK and work on a temporary task with the organization. Following the recent Brexit changes, ICT is now known as Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer).
A company must obtain a sponsor license from the Home Office authorities after completing the necessary procedures to sponsor an employee from another country. The employer must also apply for a sponsor license if he merges operations or purchases an existing business that hires employees from abroad to perform various jobs in the company in accordance with Skilled Worker requirements.
All international employees are temporarily hired to complete a specified task in pre-appointed company locations for a certain income. The home office requires organizations to keep them up to date on any changes to the above details. To keep their sponsor license, the sponsor must fulfill a set of duties and responsibilities. In the event of noncompliance with the duties, the home office has the authority to revoke the license.
Process of obtaining a sponsor license
Only organizations with active operations in the UK and a need to hire employees from abroad are granted a sponsor license. You must demonstrate to the Home Office that you are capable of carrying out the duties and responsibilities that come with the Sponsor license. Obtaining a sponsor license can be a time-consuming process. It entails submitting a written application along with supporting documentation. The procedure itself could take at least three months. The Home Office may, however, make an exception and expedite the process if the need for urgency is demonstrated by the organization applying for a sponsor license.
Documents of Evidence
The organization must submit at least four pieces of evidence along with the application form. The document requirements vary depending on the type of company applying and the size of the company’s operations. To obtain a Sponsor license, the home office usually requires the following documents.
- The company’s most recent audited financial statements.
- The employer’s certificate of liability insurance in the amount of at least £5,000,000.
- Demonstrate that you are registered with HMRC and that you have a track record of paying PAYE and National Insurance as an employer.
- Demonstrate either ownership of the business property or lease of the business premises.
- In the case of a turnover of more than £64,000, provide proof of business registration with VA as well as documentation proving that the employer has submitted the most recent VAT returns.
- Proof of a business bank account in the United Kingdom that is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK. It is required to submit it if you have been in business in the UK for more than 18 months.
Personnel of importance
It’s important for the organization to assign specific roles to the members of the organization, for example, who will be working with the Home office. The specific member must be a UK resident and hold a significant position in the office (e.g. director). The four roles to be assigned are as follows:
- Authorizing Officer: The person who has ultimate authority over the sponsor license and is responsible for carrying out all of the duties.
- A key contact is someone who is in charge of transferring information between the home office and the organization.
- Level 1 user: He is in charge of the entire Sponsor Management System and is in charge of daily sponsorship activities (SMS). SMS is an online tool for managing Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) for employees hired from abroad under Skilled Worker or ICT. The organization must have a number of Level 1 users.
- Level 2 user: The organization may have multiple Level 2 users. These users have limited SMS access and only manage the CoS and activities of Employees who they assisted with Sponsorship immigration in the UK.
If you want to learn more about sponsor immigration applications UK or sponsorship immigration laws, you should seek professional legal advice from an immigration lawyer.
