Certificate of Sponsorship

There are two types of sponsorship licence, and you as an employer must check if your company has either one. They are either:

• Temporary workers such as Graduate Trainees, service suppliers, secondment workers or UK expansion workers
• Or long-term workers such as skilled workers, senior or specialist workers, international sportspersons or ministers of religion.

If you do not have these sponsor licences yet, then you may apply. Requirements for Obtaining Sponsorship Licence:

• Demonstrate genuine and lawful operation within the UK.
• Showcase ability to fulfill visa sponsorship responsibilities.
• Establish suitable HR and recruitment practices.

Steps After Obtaining Sponsorship Licence:

• Gain authorisation to hire overseas skilled workers.
• Use the Sponsor Management System (SMS) account.
• Obtain a certificate number for the prospective employee’s visa application.

UK employers will need to apply for a sponsorship licence in order to apply for certificates of sponsorship to assign to their foreign workers. If the employer is granted with a licence, they will be given access to a Sponsor Management System (SMS) account and will be able to submit applications for certificates of sponsorship.

There are two types of certificates of sponsorship: Unrestricted Certificates and restricted certificates.

Unrestricted certificates are for when an employer is hiring foreign workers who are already in the UK. When the employer applies for their licence, they will be asked to estimate how many Tier 2 and Tier 5 certificates they will need.

Restricted certificates are for:

• Family members (dependants) of Tier 4 migrants who are switching to a Tier 2 visa
• Tier 2 (General) workers who are currently abroad who’ll be paid less than £159,600 a year and are not in an inward investment post

Employers will need to apply for restricted certificates through the SMS. There is a limited number of restricted certificates available each month. Annually, there is a limit of 20,700 restricted certificates.

As mentioned, any UK employer who wishes to hire a foreign national must hold a sponsorship licence. There are two types of licences, one for Tier 2 workers and one for Tier 5 workers. Tier 2 workers are skilled workers with long-term job offers, whereas Tier 5 workers are classed as skilled temporary workers.

One of the main requirements of a sponsorship licence is that the job has already been advertised to the UK job market, and the employer was unable to fill the position. This is known as the Resident Labour Market Test.

The employer will need to appoint people to manage the sponsorship process when they apply for a sponsor licence. The main tool these people will use is the sponsorship management system (SMS), which is the system which is used to assign certificates of sponsorship.

The roles which need to be filled are:

• Authorising officer. This position must be filled by a senior and competent person
• Key contact. This is the main point of contact with UK Visas and Immigration
• Level 1 user. Responsible for day-to-day management of the licence

An A-rated licence will be given if the employer’s application for a sponsor licence is approved. The business will be listed in the register of sponsors and the employer will be able to start assigning certificates of sponsorship.

Employers will be asked to estimate how many Tier 2 and Tier 5 certificates they require when they submit a sponsor licence application. If the employer’s application for a sponsorship licence is approved, they will be able to start applying for certificates of sponsorship.

Applications are considered on the ‘allocation date’, which is the first working day after the 10^th day of each month. Applications which are made after the 5^th day of the month are held until the next month’s allocation date.

Restricted certificates will appear in the employer’s SMS account on the allocation date if the application is approved. The employer will then be free to assign certificates of sponsorship to their foreign workers.

In exceptional circumstances, restricted certificates can be issued before the next allocation date.

The employer will need to email the Home Office on Tier2Limits@homeoffice.gov.uk to explain why it is urgent.

The cost for a certificate of sponsorship is as follows:

The employer will not need to pay for a certificate of sponsorship if the foreign worker is a citizen of Croatia, Macedonia or Turkey.

If the worker is applying for a visa to work in the UK for six months or more as a Tier 2 (General) worker or Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) visa, the employer will need to pay an additional immigration skills charge.

Also, if the worker applied for a work visa from within the UK, the employer must pay the immigration skills charge, even if the visa is for less than six months.

The employer does not need to pay if the worker they are sponsoring is:

• Switching from a Student Visa to a Tier 2 (General) visa
• Is going to be working as a Tier 2 (Intra-company Transfer) Graduate Trainee
• Will be doing a job with a PhD-level standard occupational classification (SOC) code

Also, the employer will not need to pay any fees for the worker’s dependents.

The SMS system will calculate exactly how much the employer needs to pay, which is based on the size of the organisation and how long the foreign national will be working for the company.

The usual costs are:

After the employer has been given notification of their certificate of sponsorship, the certificate must be used within three months of the date it was assigned.

When the foreign worker is completing their visa application, they will need to include the unique certificate number in their application.

The specific requirements which the applicant needs to fulfil will differ depending on which visa they are applying for.

UK visa applications are notoriously complex, requiring substantial documentary evidence as well as strict adherence to administrative standards.

Our Birmingham immigration lawyers can help you through every step of a visa application with our specialist application package. One of our expert immigration lawyers in Birmingham can assist you with formulating an application to the highest standards, ensuring it meets all Home Office requirements.

Call us now on 0121 667 6530 to find out how we can help you secure your work visa.

Certificates of sponsorship must be used within three months of the date they are issued. During this three-month period, a foreign worker cannot be assigned any additional certificates of sponsorship.

After this period, you can request for your current sponsor to withdraw your live certificate of sponsorship, in writing or in email. You cannot receive another certificate of sponsorship until this one is officially removed.

The current sponsor must then cancel the live certificate within five working days of your request. If the certificate is not cancelled, you will need to send a reminder to your sponsor. The sponsor will have an additional five working days to cancel the certificate of sponsorship.

If the sponsor still doesn’t remove the certificate of sponsorship, you can request the Sponsor Licencing Unit of the UK Visas and Immigration to remove the certificate.

Once the current certificate is officially removed, you will be able to have another certificate of sponsorship assigned to you by a different employer.