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What is Sponsor Licence

A Sponsorship Licence (also known as a Sponsor Licence or a UK Sponsor Licence) is official permission granted by the UK Home Office to employers who want to hire skilled workers from outside the UK, including from the EU. With this licence, a business becomes an approved sponsor and can issue Certificates of Sponsorship(CoS) to eligible foreign workers. These workers can then apply for a Skilled Worker Visa or other work routes.

Worker Sponsor Licence: for long-term employment (e.g. Skilled Worker).
Temporary Worker Licence: for short-term roles (e.g. seasonal or charity workers).

Holding a sponsor licence provides access to skilled shortage occupation lists, improves staff retention by offering international employees a clear pathway to UK residency, and enables global scaling opportunities by tapping into worldwide talent markets. It's important for any UK business that wants to hire people from around the world legally and properly.

Type of Sponsor Licence

There are 2 main types of sponsor licences available for employers:

Workers licence
Temporary Workers licence

Each type caters to different employment needs and visa categories, ensuring businesses can sponsor the right type of worker for their specific requirements.

We may obtain a Sponsor Licence to include one or both types.

Worker Sponsor Licence

The Worker Sponsor Licence is designed for employers seeking to hire skilled international workers for short-term, long-term, or permanent positions. This licence provides flexibility in addressing the company’s staffing needs or business growth.

This Licence allows businesses to sponsor employees several specific visa categories, including:

Skilled Worker Visa: The job must meet specific suitability requirements (typically RQF level 3 or above) and candidates must meet the UK points-based system requirements, including minimum salary thresholds.
Senior or Specialist Worker Visa (Global Business Mobility): Popular with multinational companies that need to transfer employees to their UK branch. Also known as the Intra-company Transfer Visa.
Minister of Religion Visa: For individuals coming to the UK to work within a faith community, such as ministers, missionaries, or religious workers.
International Sportsperson Visa: Designed for elite sportspeople or qualified coaches who can make a significant contribution to the development of their sport in the UK.

Temporary Worker Sponsor Licence

The Temporary Worker Sponsor Licence enables UK employers to recruit international staff for short-term temporary roles, including volunteer positions. This helps organizations access a wider pool of talent to support their operations. This licence is ideal for roles needing skilled or specialist candidates without requiring long-term commitment.

Various visa categories fall under the Temporary Worker Sponsor Licence, such as:

UK Expansion Worker Visa (Global Business Mobility): For employees sent to the UK to set up a new branch or subsidiary of the overseas company. Previously known as the Sole Representative of an Overseas Business Visa.
Creative Worker Visa: To work in the creative industries, as a performing artist, model, actor, dancer, film crew member or musician.
Government Authorised Exchange Visa: Supports short-term work experience such as training, research, language programme or or fellowship through a government-approved exchange scheme.
Graduate Trainee Visa (Global Business Mobility): As part of a graduate training programme involving work at the employer’s UK branch.
Service Supplier Visa (Global Business Mobility): To fulfill a service contract for a UK company, up to 6 or 12 months.
Secondment Worker Visa (Global Business Mobility): To transfer overseas workers for a different UK business, as part of a high-value contract.
Charity Worker Visa: For unpaid volunteer roles at charities, for up to 1 year.
Religious Workers Visa: To support the activities of religious institutions.
International Agreement Visa: To cover contract for work governed by international agreements or international law, for example employees of overseas governments.
Scale-up Worker Visa: For a fast-growing UK business to sponsor an eligible candidate for at least 6 months.
Seasonal Worker Visa: Allows temporary work in the poultry or horticulture sectors for up to 6 months.

Requirements and Eligibility

Genuine & Operating Lawfully

Sponsor Licence applicants must be genuine and lawfully operating trading companies in the UK with a physical presence. Your company must be bona fide entity, commonly a Public limited company (PLC), Private Limited company (LTD), Limited liability partnership (LLP), Sole Trader or other legal UK business structure. As a Sponsor Licence holder, the organization must adhere to the Sponsor duties and Prevention of Illegal Working.

Startups are eligible for a Sponsor Licence as long as you meet these requirements.

The Home Office recognizes that companies may operate a remote working model. This is allowed, however you may need to provide additional evidence to substantiate the need for to sponsor migrant worker in the UK.

Good Compliance History

Applicants must not have any unspent criminal convictions for immigration offences or certain other crimes, such as fraud or money laundering, nor have had a Sponsor Licence revoked in the last 12 months.

Monitoring and Management

You will need to show evidence of appropriate Human Resources and recruitment process in place to monitor sponsored workers and personnel to manage sponsorship in your business. The business must also demonstrate that it has suitable systems to manage the Sponsorship process, always act in accordance with UK employment laws and prevent illegal working.

Additionally, businesses must undergo a Genuine Vacancy Test to prove that the roles you are sponsoring make sense for the nature of business and existing jobs within the organization. This is to ensure that the Sponsorship is not misused and that there is a genuine business need for the skilled workers you intend to hire.

Suitability Requirements

Businesses must demonstrate honest and reliable operations with no unspent criminal convictions for serious offences like immigration fraud or tax evasion.

This suitability check ensures that the business and its Key Personnel are trustworthy and capable of fulfilling their Sponsor Duties without posing a risk to immigration control.

Genuine Business Need

To demonstrate a genuine business need, businesses must show that you intend to sponsor workers for eligible roles and provide evidence of a Genuine Vacancy that needs to be filled by a foreign worker.

The genuineness test ensures that the roles are appropriate for the type of business, its business case, and the scale of the organization. This often requires proof of the recruitment process and evidence that the role meets specific skill and salary requirements.

Turnover

There is no minimum turnover requirement for applying for a Sponsorship Licence. However, the level of turnover will impact the application fee, which is lower for businesses that qualify as a Small Sponsor, usually if you qualify under the small companies regime of the Companies Act 2006 and if at least 2 of the following apply:

your annual turnover is £10.2 million or less
your total assets are worth £5.1 million or less
you have 50 employees or fewer

You may also pay a Small Sponsor fee if you are Charitable Sponsor as:

a registered charity in England or Wales
a registered charity in Scotland
a registered charity in Northern Ireland - if you’re not on the register, you must provide proof of your charitable status for tax purposes from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
an excepted charity
an exempt charity
an ecclesiastical corporation established for charitable purposes

Who Is NOT Eligible for a Sponsor Licence

There are some types of businesses and situations that automatically make you ineligible for a sponsor licence for employers. Before you start your UK sponsor licence application, please read these exclusions:

Sole traders (must be a registered business)
Businesses that don't really trade in the UK
Companies that have not yet served their time for immigration or serious financial crimes
Entities that can't show real business activity

Quy trình đăng ký

Sponsorship Licence applications are made online via the government UKVI website. The application process requires careful and advanced preparation to ensure the correct documentation steps are followed and you are prepared for questions throughout the application process.

Priority Service

The fees for both Pre-licence and Post-licence Priority Services have increased. The Pre-licence Priority Service is now £750 per request (up from £500), while the Post-licence Priority Service for Change of Circumstances (SCOC) reporting via the SMS is £350 per request (up from £200).

Priority slots are limited and it may sometimes take several attempts to secure it, especially during busy periods. Application decisions are typically available within 10 working days, rather than 8 weeks as per the standard application. Nevertheless, this timeline may differ should the Home Office conduct an Audit or request further information during the decision-making process.

KP Immigration can help you with the application process, advise you on the monitoring systems required to ensure compliance and deal with the Home Office on your behalf. We can ensure that you get things right the first time, helping you save time and resources by managing the process for you.

Supporting Documentation

In most cases, you need to send at least 4 documents, depending on the Sponsor Licence route you are applying for, the type of organisation you are and how long you have been operating in the UK.

Typical required documentation may include and not limited to:

Latest annual accounts
Proof of registration with HMRC as an employer for PAYE and National Insurance
HMRC VAT registration certificate
Corporate bank statements
Evidence of business premises in the UK (purchase or lease)

The specific documentation requirements are outlined in the Home Office's Appendix A guidance.

Covering Letter

There are additional requirements depending on the type of roles being sponsored. For example, if you are applying for a licence to sponsor Skilled Worker Visa or Minister of Religion Visa, you must provide:

An explanation of why you are applying for a Sponsor Licence
The sector you operate in
Your opening/operating hours
Contact details
Details about the jobs you wish to fill, including the following information for each job:

Job title and occupation code
Duties
Where the job fits in the organizational hierarchy
Minimum salary you would guarantee if the job were vacant today
Required skills, experience, and qualifications

This can all be covered in a covering letter which KP Immigration can draft on your behalf to ensure that your justifications are strong and compliant with the UK government's latest expectations.

Submitting Documents

To ensure your Sponsor Licence application is valid, you must send all required documents within 5 working days of submitting your online application. These must be sent along with the submission sheet, signed and dated by your Authorising Officer.

The Home Office may request to receive additional original or certified copies of the documents. In this event, you should send the documents by the stipulated deadline.

Sponsor Licence Fees

The type of licence and the classification of the sponsor as Small/Charitable or Medium/Large, influence the Sponsor Licence application fee. The below fees are Home Office's fees and are NOT included our consultation fees.

Type of Licence	Fee for small or charitable sponsors	Fee for medium or large sponsors

Worker and Temporary Worker	£536	£1476
Temporary Worker	£536	£536
Worker	£536	£1476

Certificate of Sponsorship (COS)

Once you have a Sponsor Licence, you are then able to issue a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) to eligible foreign workers. The CoS is an electronic record that an employer (Sponsor) issues to a staff member (Applicant) to support their visa application. It shows that the employer is sponsoring the worker to come to the UK for a qualifying job.

Issuing a CoS does not guarantee the worker's Visa will be approved. Furthermore, before you can issue a CoS, you need to have received an allocation of CoS issued and available in your account. The number of CoS you can assign will be determined by the Home Office as part of your Sponsor Licence application.

There are two types of CoS - Sponsors must understand the difference between them and assign the correct one for each worker, as getting it wrong can lead to refusals resulting in losing the application fees and delayed timeline.

Defined Certificates of Sponsorship

Defined Certificates of Sponsorship (DCoS) are specifically for Skilled Worker visa applicants applying from outside the UK. The approval process for Defined CoS is typically swift, often within one working day. Occasionally, the Home Office takes several days or weeks to consider the DCoS application, if they need to conduct further verification.

Undefined Certificates of Sponsorship

Undefined CoS (UCoS) are necessary for visa applicants switching to a Skilled Worker visa within the UK and for other applications from abroad such as the Global Business Mobility: Senior or Specialist Worker Visa. Employers can assign Undefined CoS to workers through the Sponsorship Management System (SMS) without needing to submit an individual application each time, until you use up the allocation.

Sponsor Licence Duties and Compliance

Monitoring and Reporting

After being granted a Sponsor Licence, employers must comply with all Sponsorship Duties, including monitoring sponsored employees and preventing illegal working. Adequate HR systems are essential for managing the sponsor licence.

Sponsors must report any significant changes, such as business ownership changes or if a sponsored worker stops coming to work, to UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) within 10 working days in most cases. Failure to comply can result in severe consequences, including licence Sponsor Licence suspension, downgrading, or revocation.

It is the responsibility of Key Personnel to report updates or changes in the sponsored worker’s employment status to ensure compliance with Home Office requirements and avoid potential issues.

Record-keeping

Sponsors must maintain good records for 1 year after the Sponsorship of a Worker or student has ended. Records can be kept in either electronic or physical format.

Right to Work Checks

Businesses need to conduct a Right to Work check before the person starts working. Conducting follow-up checks shortly before the worker’s permission is due to expire is also required.

Resident Labour Market Test

While the formal Resident Labour Market Test (RLMT) has been abolished, you must still justify how you have carried out a fair recruitment process demonstrating that you are not displacing a suitable settled worker.

Job Advertisements

Advertisements for each job advertisement you placed must be retained, which include:

Job title
Job location
Main duties and responsibilities
Required skills, qualifications, and experience
Salary package or salary range
Application closing date

Salary Info

Keep copies of the Worker’s payslips and contracts, clearly showing:

Name
NI number
Tax code
Any allowances paid
Deductions made

Absences

Sponsors need to approve and record all employee absences, including sick days, vacation time, study leave, and travel abroad.

The guidance around record keeping does evolve and differ for different sponsorship routes. KP Immigration can help you ensure your records meet the latest requirements, which will include:

Renewing and Maintaining Your Sponsor Licence

Starting in April 2024, Sponsor Licences with an expiry date will receive an automatic extension to the validity up to 10 years, eliminating the need for renewal every four years.