Frequently Asked Questions

A sponsor licence is permission from the Home Office that allows your business to employ workers from outside the UK and Ireland under the Skilled Worker or other sponsored routes. Without one you cannot legally issue a Certificate of Sponsorship and any overseas hire cannot obtain their visa. The licence is issued by UKVI and remains valid for 4 years, after which it must be renewed.

To be eligible your business must be a genuine trading organisation registered in the UK, have a physical UK premises, be registered as a PAYE employer with HMRC, have adequate HR systems and have no unspent criminal convictions relevant to immigration. There is no minimum trading period, though newer businesses face greater scrutiny. We confirm eligibility on the free assessment call before any work begins.

Yes. There is no minimum trading period requirement. We have obtained licences for businesses under 12 months old. The key is demonstrating that you are a genuine, operating business with a real need to hire overseas workers. Newer businesses should ensure their bank statements show active trading, their premises are clearly occupied and their HR policies are in place before applying.

No. Sponsor licence applications do not require a solicitor. We are a specialist corporate immigration advisory and handle the full end-to-end application process on your behalf. Immigration solicitors typically charge significantly more for the same service. What matters is specialist knowledge of the process and the Home Office guidance, not legal qualifications.

A Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) is a unique reference number that a licensed sponsor assigns to an overseas worker via the SMS portal. The worker uses this reference to apply for their Skilled Worker visa. The CoS must accurately state the job role, SOC code, salary, start date and employer details. Errors on the CoS are a common cause of visa delays and refusals.

Core documents include: certificate of incorporation, PAYE registration evidence, employer liability insurance certificate, business bank statements (3 months), premises evidence (lease or title deeds), HR policies (right to work, recruitment, absence), and job descriptions for the roles you intend to sponsor. The exact list depends on your business type, sector and trading history. We provide a complete personalised list on the assessment call.

Yes. Your HR policies must demonstrate that your business has adequate systems to meet sponsor duties. A right to work policy must show you understand and apply the checking requirements. A recruitment policy must show you are hiring genuinely and not using sponsorship as a shortcut around the resident labour market. We review your existing policies and advise on any gaps before submission.

We work with you to get everything in order before submission. For documents that need to be created, such as HR policies or job descriptions, we draft these as part of our service. For documents that need to be obtained, such as PAYE evidence or employer liability insurance, we advise exactly what is needed and from where. Nothing is submitted until the full package is ready.

We have your application submission-ready within 5 working days. Standard Home Office processing takes approximately 8 weeks from submission. If you need a faster decision, priority processing is available at an additional UKVI fee of £500 and takes approximately 10 working days. We submit the priority request on your behalf.

Standard Skilled Worker visa processing takes approximately 8 weeks for applications made outside the UK. Priority processing (where available) takes approximately 5 working days. Super priority processing takes approximately 1 working day. Processing times vary by country and volume at the relevant visa application centre. We advise on the most appropriate processing route for each worker's situation.

Once the licence is approved we can assign the CoS immediately. The worker then applies for their visa. Allowing for standard processing the total end-to-end timeline from licence application to worker arriving is typically 4 to 5 months on standard processing. With priority licence processing and priority visa processing this can be reduced significantly. We plan the full timeline with you on the assessment call.

As a sponsor you must: report certain events to UKVI within 10 working days (worker failing to attend, job role changes, early termination), maintain right to work records for all employees, keep accurate records of sponsored workers including salary, contact details and immigration status, manage the SMS portal correctly, conduct right to work checks before employment begins, and cooperate with any Home Office compliance visit.

Suspension means you cannot assign new CoS while the investigation is ongoing but your existing sponsored workers can continue working. Revocation means your licence is cancelled. Your sponsored workers will have their visas curtailed to 60 days to find a new sponsor or leave the UK. If you receive a suspension or revocation notice, contact us immediately. We submit urgent representations to the Home Office on your behalf. Time is critical, delays significantly reduce the chance of a successful outcome.

After a refusal there is normally a 6-month cooling-off period before you can reapply. We diagnose every reason for the refusal, identify what needs to be fixed and build a stronger application for the second submission. We have successfully obtained licences for businesses that were refused by other firms. The refusal letter is the starting point, contact us as soon as you receive it.

The Home Office application fee is £536 for small or charitable sponsors and £1,476 for medium or large sponsors. These are government fees paid directly to UKVI and are non-refundable. Our advisory fee for preparing and managing the application is confirmed separately, upfront, before any work begins. There are no hidden charges at any stage.

The Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) is paid by employers when they assign a Certificate of Sponsorship for a Skilled Worker visa. The charge is £1,000 per year of the visa for medium and large sponsors and £364 per year for small or charitable sponsors. For a 3-year visa this means £3,000 or £1,092 respectively. The ISC is paid at the CoS assignment stage and is separate from the visa application fee paid by the worker.

The sponsor licence application fee paid to the Home Office is non-refundable regardless of outcome. The Immigration Skills Charge can be refunded in certain circumstances, for example if the worker withdraws their visa application before it is decided, or if the CoS is withdrawn before use. The rules around ISC refunds are specific and have strict timescales. We advise on refund eligibility as part of our service.

From April 2024 the general minimum salary threshold for a Skilled Worker visa is £38,700 per year, or the going rate for the specific occupation code, whichever is higher. New entrant rates apply in certain circumstances and reduce the threshold. Some shortage occupations and healthcare roles have different rules. We verify the correct threshold for every role before any CoS is assigned.

Only roles that appear on the approved occupation list with SOC codes at RQF Level 3 or above can be sponsored under the Skilled Worker route. The role must also meet the salary threshold. Most professional, technical, managerial and specialist roles qualify. Some lower-skilled roles do not. We check SOC code eligibility and salary compliance for every role before any work begins.

Yes. Skilled Workers can bring their spouse or partner and children under 18 to the UK as dependants. Dependants apply separately for their own visas. The worker must show they can financially support their dependants, and the dependants must meet their own eligibility requirements. We advise on dependant applications as part of our Skilled Worker visa service.

A sponsored worker whose visa is expiring must apply for an extension (if they wish to continue working for you) or apply for settlement (Indefinite Leave to Remain) if they have completed the required 5 years. You must not allow a sponsored worker to continue working after their visa expires. Visa expiry tracking is part of our Management Retainer service, we alert you well in advance of expiry dates across your entire sponsored workforce.