In order to be able to sponsor a non-British or non-Irish national to work for them in the UK, employers must first register as a ‘sponsor’ with the Home Office and the prospective employee must meet certain requirements in order to qualify for permission to enter or stay to work in the UK.
Sponsors must comply with various onerous obligations, including record keeping and reporting duties imposed by the Home Office. Sponsors are also responsible for ensuring that sponsored workers are eligible to qualify under the Skilled Worker/Specialist Worker route (previously called the Intra Company Transfer route). The individual must be coming to the UK to fill a genuine vacancy which meets the skills threshold and the individual must be paid the appropriate salary for the role, as determined by the Home Office.
We have extensive experience of advising and supporting employers through all stages of the sponsorship process, including:
- Preparing and submitting sponsor licence registration applications, including reviewing supporting documentation and existing HR procedures and systems to check whether they are likely to meet the Home Office requirements
- Evaluating information regarding prospective new hires and intra-company transferees to check whether they are likely to meet the relevant criteria
- Advising on selecting the most appropriate SOC Code
- Requesting and issuing Certificates of Sponsorship
- Supporting migrants and their families during the entry clearance or visa application process
- Supporting migrants and their families during the extension application process
- Preparing requests for an annual (or additional) allocation of Certificates Of Sponsorship
- Preparing notifications for submission to the Home Office in order to comply with sponsorship duties
- Advising clients on their compliance obligations and preparing for Home Office visits, including carrying out audits and conducting mock Home Office audits
It can often take some time to collate all of the supporting documents required for immigration applications and for the Home Office to process applications. Therefore, we encourage clients to take immigration advice at an early a stage as possible to try to ensure that they will meet the latest Home Office requirements and minimise the risk of delays in hiring non-British and non-Irish nationals.
