Sponsoring Workers - You can currently apply for licences to sponsor tier 2 and tier 5 workers.
You must have a licence to sponsor skilled workers, temporary workers or students under the new points-based system. Contact Immigration AdvisorsSponsoring Workers Under the Points Based System
The tiers and categories
You can currently apply for licences to sponsor tier 2 and tier 5 workers.
Tier 2 has four categories of workers:
Skilled workers (general);
intra-company transfers;
sports people; and
ministers of religion.
Tier 5 has two categories of workers:
Temporary workers; and
the youth mobility scheme.
Temporary workers include the following sub-categories:
Creative and sporting workers;
charity workers;
religious workers;
government authorised exchange;
international agreement.
HR systems and compliance
Before you apply, you must have good human resource systems and compliance in place to allow you to monitor and keep records of the migrants you employ or teach. We will give your systems a full assessment and make necessary alterations to obtain the best ranking for your licence.
Sponsorship duties
Sponsors are expected to take responsibility for making sure that migrants comply with their immigration conditions, by keeping records on each migrant, and reporting any changes, such as if they do not turn up for work. If you do not comply with your duties, you can have your licence downgraded to a B rating or withdrawn.
As a licensed sponsor, you will be given an A rating or a B rating and you will be added to our published register of sponsors. Sponsors that we think could be a risk to immigration control or those who do not have the correct systems in place will be given a B rating. B-rated sponsors must follow a sponsorship action plan designed to help them become A-rated or they risk losing their licence.
Certificates of sponsorship
Sponsors are responsible for assigning certificates of sponsorship to migrants. As well as having a certificate of sponsorship, migrants must also pass a points-based assessment to come to or stay in the United Kingdom.
Preventing illegal working
Employers should check all prospective employees’ entitlement to work in the United Kingdom, or they risk breaking the law. The checks that should be, or have been, undertaken depend on when the employee is, or was recruited. Employers can find details on these pages about their current legal responsibilities and check whether they complied with the law when taking on employees in the past.
Penalties for employers
If employers are found to not possess adequate records and systems for monitoring and recording migrant workers details and there is no suitable compliance with the legislation, the UK Border Agency can fine up to £10,000 for each employee where compliance has found to be inadequate. The Home Office can also downgrade or revoke an employer’s licence and they will no longer be able to have any migrant workers employed in the company at all in any capacity.
How we can help you
We will:
Assist with the task of Sponsor Registration, ensuring wherever possible that our clients (you – the employer) are awarded an A-rating from the start, and are allocated the maximum quota of certificates of sponsorship. This will include an initial compliance audit of your HR systems and procedures. The processes and materials that we use are designed to be as efficient as possible in helping clients ensure that they meet the requirements of the new system.
Deal with the administration of the Sponsor Management System, on your behalf including: keeping accurate records of all issued Certificates, and of all information provided through the SMS to the UK Border Agency; updating all relevant details or changes in the sponsored migrant worker’s job or status as we are informed of them, and highlight any mistakes or discrepancies before they cause any problems with the UKBA.
Administer the issuing of Certificates of Sponsorship on behalf of the sponsoring employer in accordance with the UK immigration authorities criteria. This wil include checking the situation meets current guidance, making a case for each certificate, and making checks as necessary on the documentary evidence available to confirm a person’s qualifications and/or work experience. We will also ensure the necessary supporting documentation is adequately collated and filed, in preparation for the compliance inspections conducted by the UK Border Agency.
Ensure all important updates regarding specific areas of compliance which the Border Agency may have identified are expeditiously implemented.
Carry out periodic checks on the status of migrants to ensure line management do not omit to update the sponsors’ management system with relevant significant information, and we’ll ensure these update take place swiftly.
Distribute guidance documents and updates to all line managers of sponsored staff, or HR Officers to ensure that the right issues are reported to the UK Border Agency in a timely fashion.