You may have found the right person for a role only to discover that they need immigration sponsorship before they can work for you.
For an employer new to sponsorship, it can be difficult to know where the process actually starts.
Do you need a sponsor licence? Does the job qualify? What salary must be paid? What is a Certificate of Sponsorship? And what responsibilities will the business take on afterwards?
We help employers work through those questions in the right order before sponsorship begins.
Discuss Your Sponsorship Plans
Start With the Worker and the Role
Finding a candidate who needs sponsorship does not necessarily mean the first step is applying for a sponsor licence.
We first look at the person you want to employ and the job you want them to perform.
That helps establish:
- whether the worker actually requires sponsorship
- which immigration route may be relevant
- whether the proposed job is suitable for sponsorship
- whether the salary and working arrangements can meet the relevant requirements
- whether your organisation already has the immigration permission or sponsor licence needed to proceed
This initial assessment can prevent a business from starting the wrong process.
Does the Business Need a Sponsor Licence?
Many employers wishing to sponsor workers under routes such as Skilled Worker will need an appropriate sponsor licence.
If your organisation does not already hold one, the next stage is to consider whether it is eligible and ready to apply.
That means looking beyond the application form. The Home Office expects a sponsor organisation to be genuine, operating lawfully and capable of carrying out the responsibilities that come with sponsorship.
The business will also need suitable people to manage the licence and appropriate systems for keeping records, monitoring sponsored workers and reporting relevant changes.
Is the Job Suitable for Sponsorship?
The proposed job should be considered before a Certificate of Sponsorship is assigned.
Depending on the route, this may involve looking at:
- the actual duties
- the occupation code
- the skill level
- salary
- working hours
- the applicable going rate
- whether a salary concession is available
- whether the role genuinely exists within the business
The job title alone is not enough.
What matters is whether the substance of the role fits the immigration requirements.
Is the Business Ready to Become a Sponsor?
Obtaining a sponsor licence creates an ongoing relationship with the Home Office.
It is therefore worth considering at the outset who will be responsible for sponsorship and how the organisation will manage its duties.
That may involve:
- identifying the Authorising Officer
- appointing the appropriate Sponsorship Management System users
- maintaining worker contact and immigration records
- carrying out right to work checks
- monitoring attendance and changes in employment
- reporting specified changes to the Home Office
- keeping the organisation’s own sponsor details up to date
For a business sponsoring its first worker, putting these arrangements in place early can make the process considerably easier to manage later.
Applying for the Sponsor Licence
Where a licence is required, the organisation will need to make an online sponsor licence application and provide the supporting documents appropriate to its circumstances.
The application is not simply about proving that the company exists. The Home Office may consider the organisation, the people managing the licence, its systems and the type of workers it intends to sponsor.
It may also ask for additional information or carry out a compliance visit before reaching a decision.
We therefore prepare the licence application with the future sponsorship activity in mind rather than treating it as an isolated registration exercise.
What Happens After the Licence Is Granted?
A successful sponsor licence is the beginning of the sponsorship process rather than the end.
The employer may then need to obtain the appropriate Certificate of Sponsorship and assign it to the worker.
The information entered on the Certificate should accurately reflect the proposed employment, including the role, occupation, salary and other relevant details. The worker then uses the Certificate of Sponsorship details when making their immigration application.
The employer and worker applications are separate parts of the process.
A sponsor licence or Certificate of Sponsorship does not by itself guarantee that the worker will be granted permission.
The Sponsorship Journey
For an employer starting from the beginning, the process may look broadly like this:
Worker identified → Role assessed → Sponsor position checked → Sponsor licence prepared → Licence granted → Certificate of Sponsorship → Worker application → Employment begins → Ongoing compliance
Not every employer will need every stage. A business that already holds the correct sponsor licence may be able to begin much further along the process.
The purpose of the initial assessment is to establish where your organisation actually needs to start.
Where Cases Become More Complicated
Closer analysis may be needed where:
- the proposed role does not clearly fit an occupation code
- the salary is close to the required level
- the job falls within a medium-skilled occupation
- the business is newly established
- the organisation has never employed sponsored workers
- the proposed role is senior compared with the size or structure of the business
- the candidate already holds another UK visa
- the worker is currently sponsored by another employer
- the business has several PAYE schemes or trading entities
- the employer wants to sponsor several workers
- previous sponsor licence issues exist
- the organisation is unsure whether its HR systems are sufficient
These circumstances do not necessarily prevent sponsorship.
They simply mean that the relevant issue should be understood before the process moves forward.
How Knightsbridge Immigration Helps
We begin by establishing what the business is trying to achieve.
We consider the worker, the proposed role and the organisation’s current sponsor position before deciding what needs to happen next.
Our approach is:
Worker → Role → Sponsorship route → Business readiness → Sponsor licence → Certificate of Sponsorship → Worker application → Compliance
Depending on where the organisation is in that journey, we can assist with the relevant stages rather than requiring the business to work out the sponsorship system for itself.
Your Possible Next Step
Your organisation may already be ready to sponsor the worker.
You may first need a sponsor licence.
The role or salary may need closer assessment before proceeding.
The worker may have another immigration option that does not require sponsorship.
Or the proposed role may not meet the sponsorship requirements in its current form.
Establishing the position early helps the business understand both the immigration process and the commitment it is taking on.
Timescales and Costs
Timescales depend on where the organisation is starting.
A business that already holds the correct sponsor licence may move directly towards Certificate of Sponsorship and worker preparation.
A first-time sponsor may need to prepare and submit a sponsor licence application before the worker can be sponsored.
We will explain the stages required, anticipated preparation work, Home Office charges and our professional fees before proceeding.
Ready to Sponsor Your First Worker?
Tell us about your business, the person you want to employ and the proposed role.
We can assess where you need to start, identify the sponsorship steps required and help you move through the process in the correct order.
