Employers in the UK will need to apply for a sponsor license in order to employ foreign nationals, this includes EU nationals who arrived in the UK after 31 December 2020.
How much does it cost?
- Small Sponsor £536
- Large Sponsor £1476
How long does it take?
You will usually receive an outcome within 8 weeks, or can pay an extra £500 to get a decision within 10 working days. UKVI can visit your business to verify that you are capable of carrying out your duties and are trustworthy.
How do i know if i am a large or small sponsor?
For small sponsor's at least 2 of these must apply to you:
- 50 employees or less
- £5.1 million or less in total assets
- total annual turnover of £10.2 million or less
Employers must not have any unspent criminal convictions for immigration offences, as well as not have a sponsor license revoked in the last 12 months.
What is an SMS (Sponsorship Management System)?
This is for your business to manage its sponsorship system once you have a license to sponsor. Use the SMS to:
manage or renew your organisation’s licence or services
create and assign certificates of sponsorship to prospective employees (Worker or Temporary Worker)
create and assign confirmations of acceptance for studies (CAS) to prospective students
report changes of circumstances of your sponsored employees or students, including withdrawal of sponsorship
report changes to your own circumstances, for example a change of owner or a new location
Who can manage the SMS?
You will have to appoint a member of your team to manage the system, the roles are:
authorising officer – a senior and competent person responsible for the actions of staff and representatives who use the SMS
key contact – your main point of contact with UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI)
level 1 user – responsible for all day-to-day management of your licence using the SMS
Once you have a license to sponsor you can then assigns a certificate of sponsorship to each foreign worker you employ.