A Step-by-Step Guide to UK Sponsor Licence Applications for SMEs

Looking at the major role UK SMEs play in growing the UK economy and driving innovation, it is a wonder that only 3.2% out of 45,234 organizations that have a sponsor licence are SMEs. This shows that despite benefitting from employing foreign talent, there’s a very low rate of sponsor licence applications by UK SMEs.

What then could be preventing the rest from owning a sponsor licence and having access to the privilege of hiring talents from around the world? Most UK SMEs that have failed to obtain the sponsor licence have attributed it to the following reasons:-

Failing the genuineness test, not complying with immigration rules, having inadequate HR systems, and submitting incomplete or incorrect documentation. Could it be that they were not properly informed about the requirements, process, and things that could cause one’s application to be thrown out?

This article has been written to educate UK SMEs on the purpose of the sponsor licence to their business, how they can apply, and the responsibilities required from them after they are granted the licence.

Understanding the Basics of a UK Sponsor Licence

For UK SMEs, a sponsor licence allows you to sponsor foreign workers to come work for you through the skilled worker and/or temporary worker routes, but most especially the skilled worker route.

Just because SMEs are smaller than most large organizations does not mean they cannot benefit from having a sponsor licence. With a sponsor licence, they can have more options on talents to employ, fill up skill gaps that cannot be filled by the local workforce, have diverse expert and innovative workers in their workforce, and be able to grow and expand their business.

What are the Eligibility Criteria for UK SMEs to Get a Sponsor Licence?

Despite being a small business, a UK SME needs to have a physical presence here in the UK. Also, they need to have been operating in compliance with UK employment laws – this attests to their genuineness.

After a visit from a Home Officer, they must not be found to be lacking in honesty and reliability. They also have to convince the Home Office that after getting the licence, they will still effectively carry out their sponsorship duties.

The UK SME should be able to appoint qualified personnel who will make up the HR system that will handle the sponsorship process.

Unlike what most people believe, getting a sponsorship licence is not out of the reach of a UK SME. As long as they are eligible and they comply with the immigration laws guiding the sponsorship process, they are good to go.

Step-by-Step Guide to Applying for a UK Sponsor Licence

The steps to getting your sponsor licence have been simplified in this section. Following these steps will ensure maximum success:

1st Step

The first major step is to identify what your business needs to be eligible. Do you have vacant roles that are proving difficult to fill? Have you published information about the availability of the role in the newspaper or a job board? Have you interviewed enough local candidates and certified that they are not worthy to occupy that role?

If your response to the above question is Yes, then you have to confirm if the vacant roles are on par with the skill level and salary requirements as listed in the Immigration list. Double check whether you meet the criteria mentioned above and if you do, then it’s time to go over to the next step.

2nd Step

Amongst your staff, you need to appoint three individuals to occupy certain vital roles – authorising officer, key contact, and level 1 user.

• The Authorizing Officer makes the decisions regarding the sponsorship licence and ensures that the SME complies with sponsorship rules.
• The Key Contact corresponds with the UKVI daily and ensures that the SME is carrying out its sponsorship obligations.
• The Level 1 User plays an assistant role to the Key Contact and helps to assign and monitor certificates of sponsorship (CoS).

It is important that the people you appoint for the above roles are trustworthy and competent individuals. Failure to do their jobs or represent the company properly can lead to the rejection of sponsor licence applications and a bad reputation.

If you are a really small business and you don’t have much the qualified workers you need to fill those roles, then you can appoint one person who can simultaneously play the other roles. However, such a person should be a high-ranking employee such as a senior manager or a director.

3rd Step

To stay organized during the application process, you need to gather all up-to-date documents needed for the application before you begin your online application. Here are the documents you will need.

• Company registration documents
• Organizational charts
• Recent bank statements
• Business premises details
• PAYE reference number (if needed)
• Evidence of trading (i.e., website, invoices or contracts)
• VAT registration certificate (if applicable)
• Employer’s Liability Insurance certificate.

4th Step

Visit the UK government’s website and create an account on the online portal.

Fill up the online form.

Ensure that all information you are providing is accurate and complete.

Pay the application fee.

5th Step

Prepare for the visit by the Home Office. Usually, the UKVI will not let you know when the Home Officer is coming. This is because they expect you to be in compliance at all times.

The Home Officer will review your applications and supporting documents to ensure that it is reliable and genuine. Aside from the site visit, you may be asked to provide extra information regarding your application. It is advisable to be prompt with whatever you are asked to provide.

Step 6

At this point, all you have to do is wait and constantly check your company email to know when the Home Office has sent in their decision concerning your application.

Post Licence Responsibilities and Compliance for SMEs

If your sponsor licence application was rejected, correct your mistakes and try again. On the other hand, if it was approved, then you need to take your post-licence responsibilities seriously.

Keep proper records and track of your sponsored workers to ensure that they are doing the job they were sponsored for. You can put a Sponsorship Management System in place to help manage sponsored workers and assign Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS).