#Tier 2 Sponsor Licence Suspension

[uk-visa-updates]

Sponsor Licence Suspended! Visit Here for Next Options

What is a Sponsor Licence and who is it for?

A Sponsor Licence for UK employers is necessary for businesses looking to bring-in or hire foreign employees in a UK-based company

As a sponsor licence holder, you are obligated to meet all the duties and responsibilities associated with sponsoring a migrant worker – compliance of duties, immigration rules and prevention of abuse of the system, to be precise

A sponsor loses their licence in case of breach of the rules associated with a Sponsor Licence holder

When a sponsor loses their licence, it can be problematic, not only for the sponsor but also for the migrant employees working in the organisation.

What are some common reasons for a Sponsor Licence Suspension?

A sponsor loses their licence for reasons like breach of rules and/or responsibilities like:

Submitting false information on the sponsor licence application

Breaching sponsor duties

Posing threat to immigration control

Non-compliance with the UK immigration rules

Poor record keeping (of migrant employee’s contact details)

Insufficient recruitment practices, poor HR policies

A Certificate of Sponsorship being used incorrectly or completed incorrectly

What happens after Sponsor Licence Suspension?

The Home Office issues a suspension notice, it comes with the reason/s for suspension. The content of the notice will help you with the steps further.

During the suspension period, the organisation will not be allowed to assign any certificates of sponsorship and will be prohibited from sponsoring new migraine employees.

Any CoS issued before the suspension, still under processing – will be put on hold until the investigation is over and a decision is made by the Home Office.

However, you must continue to comply with the sponsor duties, throughout your suspension as well.

The next few steps are critical. As a Sponsor Licence holder, a Sponsorship Licence revocation might raise questions in your mind like – how does this impact sponsored worker’s visas, how do you respond to this hurdle, or how long would it take to resolve this issue?! It is an understandable cause of concern. But definitely not the end of the road.

What to do when a sponsor loses their licence?

After you’ve received a notice of suspension, you have 2 choices:

Respond to the allegations by challenging the evidence and seeking to reinstate the licence

Respond by accepting the allegations and acknowledging how you will address these breaches.

Important facts to know about Sponsor Licence Suspension

In case of a Sponsorship Licence Revocation or suspension, you are to respond to the Home Office in the required timeframe – which is typically 20 days. If you fail to do so, your licence may be revoked.

Based on the status of your response the Home Office will carry-on further investigations before making a decision.

If the Home Office accepts your argument, then your licence is likely to be reinstated, either as an A-rating or B-rating.

If reinstated with B-rating, the organization will have a lot of work to do – they will be given the action plan that must be followed to re-attain the A-rated sponsor status.

The detail of the action plan will depend on the breaches

You will have to prove sufficient progress within a specific timeframe – 20 days.

Sponsors will also have to pay a fee for the action plan.

The Sponsorship Licence suspension notice will advise the deadline for your response. However, you have 20 days to send a written response to the Home Office. These 20 days are your chance to seek a review of the decision and set out any mitigating arguments you believe exist. The response must be in writing and attached with relevant supporting documents, which serve as grounds to help your case.

If you have any other Sponsor Licence queries or want to overturn Tier 2 Sponsor Licence Suspension, our lawyers will guide you comprehensively for the same

[smartmovetouk]

UK Sponsor Licence Suspension – NEXT Options

Sponsors may lose their UK visa sponsorship license due to non-compliance. Common reasons include failing to meet sponsor duties, not keeping proper records, or employing unauthorised migrants. If a sponsor's license is revoked, they should assess the reasons, rectify issues, and reapply when ready. If you have any Sponsor Licence queries or want to overturn Tier 2 Sponsor Licence Suspension, contact our experts at The SmartMove2UK on +91 9819127002 or email at info@smartmove2uk.com

[ayjsolicitor-blog]

Is your Tier 2 sponsor licence revoked? A Y & J Solicitors have a team of immigration lawyers who will examine the reason for your refusal and launch a judicial review on your behalf. To know more about the procedure, visit our site.

[ayjsolicitorsuk-blog]

Big Entertainment Company’s Tier 5 Sponsor Licence Reinstated After Suspension, Call us today and speak to our expert on 020 7404 7933! Read our full success story on our website and Visit now!

[lexlawuk]

Tier 2 Sponsor Duties for Tier 2 Sponsor Licence holders

#Tier2 #SponsorDuties #Tier2SponsorLicence

Employers in the United Kingdom who wish to employ overseas workers from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland must apply for a Tier 2 Sponsor Licence. Once an employer has secured a Tier 2 Sponsor Licence there are a number of Tier 2 Sponsor Duties that must be complied with to ensure that the licence continues to receive positive ratings. A failure to take the appropriate…

[ayjsolicitors2]

Central London based, multi-award-winner immigration law firm - A Y & J Solicitors offers professional help and successful resolution related to UK immigration, Tier 2 Sponsor License challenges. In our 10+ years of experience, we have helped 2000+ clients, 650+ positive reviews online, and 1000+ positive feedback of clients in the form of gratitude emails and phone calls. Contact A Y & J Solicitors: +44 20 7404 7933 You can drop an email at contact@ayjsolicitors.com for any questions or guidance.

[ayjsolicitors-blog]

Fortunately, Company Y used the Sponsor Licence expert team at A Y & J Solicitors to advise and assist with their case to fight to have their suspension revoked.  As a result, Company Y and its workforce can now continue to grow and are secure in the knowledge that following A Y & J’s intervention, they can continue to operate a,successful and fully compliant business.

[smartmovetouk]

Sponsor Licence Suspended! Visit here for next options

Sponsors may lose their UK visa sponsorship license due to non-compliance. Common reasons include failing to meet sponsor duties, not keeping proper records, or employing unauthorised migrants. If a sponsor's license is revoked, they should assess the reasons, rectify issues, and reapply when ready. If you have any Sponsor Licence queries or want to overturn Tier 2 Sponsor Licence Suspension, contact our experts at The SmartMove2UK on +91 9819127002 or email at info@smartmove2uk.com

[ayjsolicitor-blog]

Is your company’s sponsor licence gets revoked? Want to apply for a judicial review for revocation? The leading immigration firm, AY & J Solicitors, have a team of professionals who will find out the reason for your Tier 2 sponsor licence suspension and try to settle it with the Home Office. For more details, visit our site.

[ayjsolicitor-blog]

Sponsor Licence is always mandatory for the companies who want to hire from outside the country. A Y & J Solicitors team of immigration lawyers will help you in case of Tier 2 sponsor licence suspension, find out the reason for your licence revocation and offers the best legal advice for it. Visit our site for more information.

[ayjsolicitor-blog]

With Tier 2 sponsor licence revocation, you will be unable to recruit skilled labor from outside the single market. With A Y & J Solicitors highly experienced lawyers, you will get guidance and legal advice for Tier 2 sponsor licence revocation and its requirements. We will help you to place an application for judicial review for its suspension. For more details, visit our site.

[lexlawuk]

Tier 2 Sponsorship Licence Revocation Case Study: R (Sri Lalithambika Foods Limited) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2019] EWHC 761 (Admin)

Tier 2 Sponsorship Licence Revocation Case Study: R (Sri Lalithambika Foods Limited) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2019] EWHC 761 (Admin) #Tier2SponsorLicence #SponsorLicenceRevocation #HomeOffice #HighCourt #CaseStudy #Compliance

The recent High Court case of R (Sri Lalithambika Foods Limited) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2019] EWHC 761 (Admin) is anotherimportant lesson for Tier 2 Sponsorship Licence holders on how to remain compliant to the responsibilities of a Tier 2 Sponsor. It is important that Sponsors are aware of their on-going duties to avoid Tier 2 Sponsorship Licence Revocation. Our business…

[ayjsolicitors2]

Is the Tier 2 Sponsor Licence suspension letter an end of the world? Yash and Diana share a few common points for which a business may receive a suspension, how to challenge the suspension and get the license reinstated. Get insights on how a business could avoid the Tier 2 Sponsor License Suspension in the first place.

[nathanielburgos]

Sponsor Licence Change of Circumstances

Given the business-critical nature of hiring workers under the Tier 2 visa route, careful and effective management of your sponsor licence is essential to avoid Home Office enforcement action that could impact your ability to employ skilled visa workers.

As a UK sponsor licence holder, you must ensure you have the necessary HR processes in place to maintain an up-to-date sponsor licence at all times and that you comply with your duties and obligations, including your duty to inform the Home Office of any change in circumstances relating to a migrant worker, as well as changes to your business.

The following guide examines the nature of this duty to report any sponsor licence change of circumstances, from the rules relating to reporting certain migrant activities and/or business changes, to the implications on your business of failing to meet this duty to report.

  Sponsor licence duties

The grant of a sponsor licence will allow your business to employ non-EEA migrants to work for you under Tier 2 of the points based system. Tier 2 is the primary immigration route for employing skilled workers in the UK on a long-term basis, including the recruitment of non-EEA migrants to fill jobs that cannot be filled by suitably qualified settled workers.

Having been granted a sponsor licence, significant trust is placed in you as a licence holder. With this trust comes a responsibility to act in accordance with the UK Immigration Rules, and to meet all of the duties and obligations associated with sponsoring a migrant worker.

In particular, you will be responsible for assigning Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) to each prospective worker that you are looking to employ. You will also be given access to the Sponsor Management System (SMS).

The SMS is an online portal that allows you to carry out day-to-day sponsor activities, including reporting any changes to the Home Office. When you apply for a licence you will be required to nominate various key personnel within your business to manage the sponsorship process and to use the SMS.

  Duty to report changes in circumstances

As a licence holder you are under a duty not only to report certain migrant activities, but also any significant changes to your business. We look at each of these sponsor licence change of circumstances in turn:

Migrant activities

Any significant changes to a migrant worker’s employment or circumstances must be reported to the Home Office, including non-attendance, non-compliance or disappearance. In particular, you are under a duty to report the following:

Where a migrant worker does not turn up for their first day of work, including any reason given for their non-attendance

Where a migrant worker leaves their employment earlier than the date shown on their CoS, for example, through resignation, dismissal or where any registration required for working in the UK, through a governing body or otherwise, comes to an end

Where you stop sponsoring a migrant worker for any other reason, for example, you become aware that they have moved into an immigration route that does not need a sponsor

Where a migrant worker receives a promotion, a change in pay or a change in their core duties, or the location at which they work changes

Where a migrant worker is absent from work without permission for more than 10 consecutive days

Where a migrant worker is absent from work without pay for 4 weeks or more where this is not covered by the exceptions permitted in the sponsor guidance

Where you have information that suggests that a migrant worker is breaching the conditions of their leave.

Changes to your business

In addition to reporting certain migrant activities, or any change in their circumstances, you must also report to the Home Office any significant changes in the circumstances of your business. This can include any of the following:

If you sell all or part of your business

If you stop trading or become insolvent

If you substantially change the nature of your business

If you are involved in a merger or take-over

Additionally, you must notify the Home Office of any organisational changes, for example, if you are changing the name and/or address of your business, if there are any changes in the size or structure of the business, or if you are making changes to the key personnel responsible for managing your sponsor licence.

You will also need to tell the Home Office if you have been convicted of a relevant criminal offence, such as fraud or money laundering, even though this could have an adverse effect on your sponsor licence, including its potential revocation. In other cases, certain changes such as a complete takeover may result in the need for a new sponsor licence to be applied for.

Nonetheless, as a sponsor licence holder, you are still legally obliged to report any sponsor licence change of circumstances, or risk action being taken against you by the Home Office in any event for your failure to do so.

  Procedure to report changes

In the majority of cases, to register any sponsor licence change of circumstances, a report will need to be submitted within the SMS by a Level 1 user. This is the person responsible for the day-to-day management of the sponsor licence using the online portal.

Certain changes will be automatically updated within the SMS, whereas others can take up to 16-18 weeks to be processed.

In specific instances, however, you may not be permitted to use the SMS to report or request a change, for example, to appoint a new Level 1 user or to surrender your licence. Instead, you will need to complete a “change of circumstances” form.

If you are looking to register a change with a faster response, you can use the priority service at a cost of £200. From 6 April 2020, the priority change of circumstances service for Tier 2 and 5 sponsors has been updated and changed from a telephone service to an email service. The telephone line is no longer in use. The email must include a completed priority service request form.  

A maximum of 60 priority service requests will be accepted each day. If the service is fully subscribed, the user will receive an email response notifying to apply on the following working day.  If the request is eligible, the user will receive an email containing a link to make payment. Payment must be made within 72 hours.

  Timeframes to report changes

There are varying different timescales involved when reporting any changes, depending on the nature of the sponsor licence change of circumstances that you are seeking to report.

By way of example, if a migrant worker is absent from work for more than 10 consecutive working days without permission, you must report this within 10 working days of the 10th day of absence. Many other changes to a sponsored worker’s circumstances must also be reported to the Home Office within 10 working days.

If, on the other hand, you are reporting a change in circumstances to your business, such as selling all or part of your business, or being involved in a merger or take-over, you must generally report this within 20 working days.

  Failure to report

As a licensed sponsor, you are expected to play your part in ensuring that the immigration system is not abused, not least in identifying at an early stage any patterns of migrant behaviour that may give cause for concern.

As such, in the event that you fail to notify the Home Office of any sponsor licence change of circumstances, both in relation to a migrant worker or your business, or you otherwise fail to comply with any of your sponsor duties, the Home Office has a number of measures that it can implement to penalise incompetent and/or dishonest licence holders.

These measures can include a limit placed on the number of CoS you can assign, or unused CoS being withdrawn. It can also lead to your sponsor licence being downgraded, suspended or revoked.

In circumstances where the Home Office have reason to believe that you have breached your sponsorship duties, it will first consider the nature and extent of the suspected breach.

Where relatively minor, and you are willing and able to correct the breach, typically your licence will be downgraded from an A to a B-rating and an action plan will be issued setting out the steps you must take to retain your licence.

However, where there is a serious breach indicating a significant or systematic failing such that you pose a serious threat to immigration control and/or you no longer meet the eligibility or suitability requirements for holding a licence, the Home Office is more likely to suspend your licence and investigate the matter further. It may even revoke your licence altogether without prior suspension.

Your licence will also be revoked if you fail to comply with any action plan designed to reinstate your licence rating.

Needless to say, if your sponsor licence is revoked, this can have a hugely detrimental impact on your business, not least if you are heavily reliant upon employing skilled migrant workers, either due to shortages of skilled workers in the domestic labour market or otherwise.

Having revoked your sponsor licence, the Home Office will also curtail the leave of any migrant workers who are currently employed by you.

  Appealing enforcement action

In the event that your sponsor licence is revoked in consequence of you failing to report any sponsor licence change of circumstances, you will have no right of appeal. That said, you may be able to argue that any decision reached by the Home Office was either unlawful, unreasonable and/or procedurally improper. This is known as seeking a judicial review.

That said, judicial review is a process by which a court reviews the lawfulness of a public body’s decision, examining the way in which the conclusion was reached, rather than evaluating the merits of the decision itself. As such, this can be difficult to prove, not least because you would have to demonstrate to the court that the decision is one that no reasonable body could have come to.

Having had your sponsor licence revoked, although there is no right of appeal, you will be allowed to re-apply. That said, this does not necessarily mean that your application will be successful, and you will not be allowed to submit you fresh application until the end of the appropriate cooling-off period.

The cooling-off period is usually 12 months from the date you were notified by the Home Office of the revocation. If you do make an application before this period has passed, the Home Office will refuse this.

If you submit an application after the cooling-off period, it will be treated in the same way as any other application, requiring you to pay the relevant fee and submit the necessary documentation in support. You should, however, address any reasons why your previous licence was revoked before you re-apply.

  Need assistance?

One of your main responsibilities as a sponsor licence holder is to monitor the immigration status of any migrant workers. As such, you must have in place sufficient HR systems that enable you to do this, from tracking and recording employees’ attendance to reporting to the Home Office if there is a problem, for example, where a migrant employee stops coming to work.

As part of this process you should keep copies of relevant documents for each employee, including passport and information relating to right-to-work checks, ie; to ensure that a worker is entitled to be in the UK and to undertake the work in question. You must also keep all employee contact details up-to-date.

In the event that you don’t have adequate HR systems in place and the Home Office decide to carry out a compliance review, unannounced or otherwise, you run the risk of action being taken against you on the basis that you are not deemed capable of carrying out your sponsorship duties.

It is therefore imperative that you ensure that your HR systems will enable you to comply with all of your duties and obligations as a sponsor licence holder, not least in monitoring and reporting migrant activities.

You must also ensure that your key personnel, ie; those responsible for using the SMS on a day-to-day basis, are not only trustworthy and capable, but kept up-to-date with any relevant organisational changes that may need to be reported at relatively short notice.

DavidsonMorris’s specialist business immigration lawyers work with UK employers on all aspects of the UK sponsor licence, from the initial application, dealing with refusals, ongoing management of the licence once issued and with the renewal application after four years. We can also support with Home Office compliance penalties such as suspensions and revocations. With our compliance audit service you can help ensure your organisation stays ‘match ready’ in the event of a Home Office compliance visit.

If you have a question or need help with a sponsor licence application, contact us.

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[nathanielburgos]

Tier 2 Licence Suspended? (Act Now!)

19 minute read

Last updated: 8th January 2020

  Receiving notification from the Home Office that your organisation’s Tier 2 licence has been suspended will be justifiable cause for panic and concern. How do you respond to the allegations? Does the suspension affect your migrant workers? How long will it take to resolve?  

This article covers:

What a Tier 2 licence suspension means

Why have I received a Tier 2 licence suspension?

What do to if you are facing a Tier 2 licence suspension

What happens after the investigation?

Can any other sanctions be imposed?

FAQs

  Sponsor licence holders are subject to continued Home Office scrutiny. From the initial demands of the sponsor licence application process, to the ongoing duties as a sponsor licence holder and the renewal process after 4 years.

Licence holders can expect to be subject to a Home Office inspection at any time during the four-year lifespan of their licence. In most cases, a ‘visit’ is triggered when the employer is applying to renew their Tier 2 licence, but unannounced visits are also becoming more common.

Inspections are designed to identify any failings or shortcomings of a sponsor licence holder in meeting their compliance duties in respect of Tier 2 employees.

Organisations must be sufficiently prepared for an inspection to evidence their track record in consistently meeting the required compliance standards and obligations, in order to safeguard the status of sponsor licence holder.

Where employers are falling short in meeting their duties, the Home Office has recourse to exercise its enforcement powers by suspending the employer’s sponsorship licence.

Increasing numbers of Tier 2 sponsor licence holders are now being hit with licence suspensions.

While in large part due to the Home Office’s wider stance and clamp down on illegal working, growing instances of compliance breaches do highlight the onerous nature of sponsor licence duties, and the challenging reality for employers and HR teams of staying compliant.

  What a Tier 2 licence suspension means

The Home Office has the power, among other punitive measures, to suspend your sponsor licence and your permission to employ migrant workers where it is alleging your organisation is in breach of the immigration rules by failing to comply with its duties as a licensed sponsor.

During the period of suspension, the organisation will not be able to assign any certificates of sponsorship and it will be prohibited from sponsoring new migrant workers. Your business will be removed from the public register of sponsors for the duration of the suspension period.

The impact of the suspension on existing Tier 2 visa employees’ status will be determined by the outcome of the Home Office’s investigations.

You must continue to comply with all sponsor duties throughout the period of suspension. If your licence is due to expire during this period, you must still apply for renewal if you wish to extend your licence validity.

  Why have I received a Tier 2 licence suspension?

As a licensed sponsor you are agreeing to meet all of the duties associated with sponsoring a migrant worker. In particular, you are under a duty to ensure compliance with the immigration rules and prevent abuse of the system. If the Home Office alleges you have breached any of these duties, you can be subject to a licence suspension.

Allegations can typically relate to:

Record keeping duties – you must maintain accurate and up-to-date contact details for any migrant worker that you sponsor, including their contact details, UK residential address and any telephone number. You must also retain copies of any documents to prove their entitlement to work in the UK and undertake the work in question.

Monitoring duties – you must track and record employee attendance to ensure that any migrant worker is in fact complying with the terms of their visa. You must also conduct regular right to work checks so as to monitor the immigration status of those that you sponsor, thereby helping to prevent illegal working.

Reporting duties – as a licensed sponsor you are under a strict duty to report certain matters about the migrant workers that you sponsor, such as regular non-attendance, non-compliance or disappearance.

Cooperating with the Home Office –you must comply with any request for information or access to documents during a Home Office site visit, or otherwise. You must also act honestly and openly in any dealings with the Home Office.

The genuineness test – continues to prove problematic for employers given the subjective nature of the test.

The resident labour market test – another strict and complex requirement, with strict timescales and for which sufficient records must be retained.

  Licensed sponsors are required to allocate certain responsibilities to key personnel within the organisation, some or all of whom will have access to the sponsor management system (SMS) to administer day-to-day sponsor activities including, for example, reporting any changes in the circumstances of an individual worker.

The authorising officer is the person responsible for the activities of all SMS users and ensuring that your sponsorship duties are met.

If either the authorising officer, or any system user, fails in their duties, the organisation remains strictly accountable to the Home Office.

You should always exercise a degree of caution and carry out any necessary background checks to ensure that the individuals who you chose to appoint as your key personnel are honest, dependable and reliable, and therefore are unlikely to represent a threat to immigration control.

Taking a proactive approach to immigration compliance and licence management – making licence compliance a part of your everyday operations and ensuring all key personnel are trained – is the most effective way to manage the risk of Home Office scrutiny and punitive action.

  What do to if you are facing a Tier 2 licence suspension

Having received the notification, you will need to act quickly. You will be given a deadline of 20 working days by which date you must have responded to the Home Office.

You must not ignore the letter. Failure to respond will almost certainly result in further action being taken against your organisation, which could include revocation of the licence.

The notification letter will detail the grounds for suspension, which you must address carefully and in detail in your response to the Home Office.

Taking professional advice can help to identify your options and ensure you respond in way that addresses the Home Office’s immediate concerns and identifies necessary remedial steps. For example, is there a factual error in the stated grounds that can be challenged with supporting evidence? Are there measures you need to take or have already taken to rectify the breach?

Engaging with the Home Office throughout the process will be critical in demonstrating your commitment to meeting the duties placed on your organisation.

Your response will need to be thorough and robust on all points. Extensive and compelling documentary evidence should be collected to support your position.

You should also prepare for a site inspection from immigration enforcement officials if you haven’t already been visited.

  What happens after the investigation?

Following receipt of your response the Home Office will carry out further investigations into your organisation and its compliance. As a result, your licence could be reinstated if the Home Office is satisfied the issues have been addressed, or your licence could be downgraded or revoked altogether if officials are not satisfied with your response to the allegations or if you have failed to respond.

If your licence rating is downgraded, ie; reinstated but with a “B” rather than an “A” rating, you will be required to pay for an action plan for a feee to help reinstate your “A” licence rating.

If your licence is revoked, there is no right of appeal and you won’t be allowed to apply for a sponsor licence again until the end of the appropriate cooling-off period, to run from the date your licence is revoked.

This will also mean that any leave granted to migrant workers currently in the UK will be curtailed, and if they fail to find sponsored employment promptly with another sponsor licence holder they will be asked to leave the UK.

  Can any other sanctions be imposed?

By law you are required to carry out right to work checks on the migrant workers that you sponsor to ensure that they are legally entitled to work in the UK and undertake the work in question.

If migrants are found to be working illegally in circumstances where you have failed to carry out the prescribed document checks, you are at risk of a civil penalty of up to £20,000 per illegal worker, or even criminal prosecution potentially resulting in imprisonment or an unlimited fine.

  Need assistance with a Tier 2 sponsor licence suspension?

If your licence has been suspended, you will need to act quickly to resolve the issues and reinstate your status as a licensed sponsor of migrant workers.

Failure to address the Home Office’s allegations can result in revocation of your licence, meaning you can no longer lawfully employ Tier 2 workers and any existing Tier 2 employees will have to find alternative sponsored employment or leave the UK. The operational, financial and reputational implications can be devastating.

DavidsonMorris are specialists in all aspects of sponsor licences and managing immigration compliance risks. We have a specialist team of sponsor licence lawyers who work with sponsors to resolve licence suspensions, dealing with the Home Office and advising on how to prevent future compliance issues from arising.

If you are facing a sponsor licence suspension, contact us to minimise the impact and disruption to your organisation of Home Office scrutiny.

  Tier 2 licence suspended: FAQs

Why are sponsor licences suspended?

If the Home Office is not satisfied that your organisation meets the required standards, and that corrective action is required for you to maintain your ability to hire skilled non-EEA workers under the Tier 2 route, you may be subject to a licence suspension.

Can you appeal a licence suspension?

Once notified of the licence suspension, the organisation must respond to UKVI within 20 days, providing any requested information and other supporting evidence as to why the suspension should be overturned.

Will a licence suspension affect visa workers?

The impact of a sponsor licence suspension on Tier 2 employees will depend on the specific circumstances of the migrant worker. If they are already in the UK working for the sponsor licence holder, they are permitted to remain until a decision is made by the Home Office, which will determine their next step. If they have travelled to the UK but not yet started work, they are permitted to start. If they are already in the UK and have applied to extend their Tier 2 visa, their extension application will be placed on hold until a decision is made on the suspension. In most cases, if the suspension is withdrawn, the employee's status remains unchanged. However, if a licence is at the next stage revoked, the Tier 2 employees no longer hold valid entry clearance. They must leave their job in the UK, unless they can secure permission under a different visa category.

How can DavidsonMorris help?

We are highly experienced in supporting sponsor licence holders facing suspension. At this initial stage, we would review the facts of your case, including the alleged breaches as notified by the Home Office and your current general position to ascertain areas for challenge, such as weaknesses in the investigation process. We would then provide a recommended course of action, involving steps to address the cause of breaches and bring your systems and policies to requisite compliance standards. This could take one of many approaches, determined by the strength of your position and the case against you.

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[nathanielburgos]

Sponsor Licence (How to Apply!)

13 minute read

Last updated: 7th January 2020

  With domestic skills shortages across the UK economy, employers in Britain are looking to the global talent market to meet their recruitment needs. But to employ skilled non-EEA workers, UK employers first have to apply for sponsor licence. A refusal rate of 15%, however, suggests employers are struggling to get the application process right.

  This article covers:

What is a sponsor licence?

Before applying for a sponsor licence

Appointing key personnel 

Compile your application & supporting documentation 

Prepare for a UKVI inspection

Sponsor licence management

Resident labour market test

FAQs

  What is a sponsor licence?

A sponsor licence is the permission granted by the Home Office to an employer to hire skilled nationals from non-EEA countries under the Tier 2 visa route. Employers must make an application to UKVI to evidence their eligibility and that they meet the strict requirements on sponsors.

The application process requires applicants to demonstrate that:

You are a genuine organisation operating lawfully in the UK.

You have effective HR and recruitment systems and practices in place.

You are offering genuine employment that meets the Tier 2 skill level and appropriate rates of pay.

Your appointed key personnel, as identified in your application, are honest, dependable and reliable.

  There are also rising costs associated with this visa which employers need to have a full grasp of.

If you are considering applying for a sponsor licence, you want to improve the prospects of the Home Office approving your application. Answering the following questions will help you to build a compelling submission that is compliant with the requirements on sponsor licence holders.

  Before applying for a sponsor licence

When you apply for a sponsor licence you will need to specify the types of workers you are looking to recruit:

Tier 2 workers: Skilled workers with long-term job offers.

Tier 5 workers: Skilled temporary workers.

  Since sponsor licences are granted for four years, it will require you to consider your current and longer-term recruitment needs when making your application what to ensure the licence provides sufficient cover for the duration of its validity.

You then need to consider how you will use the sponsor licence.

There are two options available – the unrestricted Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) and the restricted CoS.

Unrestricted CoS are used for new employees with a salary of more than £159,600 or more switching within the UK to the Tier 2 (General) visa and extensions.

When you apply for your licence you will be asked to estimate how many Tier 2 certificates you will require. You will then be granted fixed allocations of unrestricted CoS on a yearly basis as part of your sponsor licence.

You must issue the unrestricted CoS to the overseas worker within three months of allocation and within six months of first advertising the vacancy.

Individuals must then apply to UKVI for Tier 2 clearance within three months of receiving the CoS.

Restricted CoS are intended for new employees applying from outside the UK to enter under a Tier 2 (General) visa and who will be earning under £159,600 per annum, and individual dependants of Tier 4 students applying from the UK wishing to switch to a Tier 2 (General) visa.

There is an annual restriction in place on the number of migrant workers admitted to the UK from outside the EU under a Tier 2 (General) visa on restricted CoS.

UKVI review all applications for restricted CoS on a monthly basis. Those requests which meet the points criteria (minimum 32 points) are approved. If the restrictive allocation limit is oversubscribed, applications are prioritised according to a points table.

The available restricted CoS are allocated based on the highest points scored. Points are awarded based on whether the job is in a shortage occupation, a PhD-level occupation, and the salary on offer.

There are no guarantees if and when restricted CoS applications will be approved.

If a CoS is granted, the employer assigns the CoS to the individual, who can then use the reference number to apply to the Home Office for entry permission.

Any restricted CoS unallocated after three months will be automatically returned to UKVI for reallocation.

  Appointing key personnel

As a sponsor licence holder, you are required to nominate individuals within your organisation to carry out particular administrative functions – so-called ‘key personnel’:

Authorising Officer

Key Contact

Level 1 user

  Once you have been granted a licence you can also choose to nominate individuals as Level 2 users.

When applying for a sponsor licence, it is important to understand the purpose of each of these roles and who you can – and critically cannot – appoint. Those nominated and identified within the application will be subject to a background check by UKVI.

You must also ensure there is an appointed Authorising Officer and at least one Level 1 user in place at all times. If the appointed personnel leave the organisation and there is a failure to appoint someone else to the role, UKVI has powers to downgrade your licence and charge for the opportunity to upgrade it again, or even revoke your licence altogether.

  Compile your application & supporting documentation 

To apply for a sponsor licence you must write and submit an online application. Preparation is essential.

In support of your online application, you must collate and submit supporting documentation to meet the necessary evidentiary requirements. The documents you will need to provide, as a minimum, to prove your eligibility are detailed in the Home Office’s Appendix A. While some documents will be mandatory, in most cases we recommend providing further documents to evidence comprehensively that the organisation meets all of the requirements under the sponsor licence.

The relevant supporting documents must be supplied within five days of the initial application. Failure to submit all required documents will result in your application being delayed or rejected, and further costs being incurred. As such, it will be important to have prepared all of the necessary evidence and documentation by the time you make your application online.

  Prepare for a UKVI inspection

Following receipt of your application, you may be subject to a compliance visit from UK Visas and Immigration. The purpose of a Home Office inspection is to ascertain whether you have adequate HR systems in place to meet the sponsor licence requirements and to assess whether or not to grant the licence.

An audit of your HR operations will be key in preparing for a site visit, to identify process weakness or omissions that could impact your licence application.

  Sponsor licence management

Applying for a sponsor licence is only the first hurdle for employers in accessing the global talent market. If you are successful in your application, there is no room for complacency as your HR processes must kick-in and support ongoing compliance with your duties as sponsor licence holder.

UK immigration rules are also subject to constant change and revision, making it critical that sponsor licence holders stay up-to-date and compliant with their duties.

Sponsor licence holders are required to meet a number of compliance duties for the duration of their licence. These duties require internal HR processes, policies and procedures to meet the required standards in the following areas:

Keeping up-to-date records of all foreign workers

Tracking and recording employee attendance

Reporting certain employee activities, such as non-attendance or non-compliance

Cooperating with the Home Office, such as during site visits

Complying with the law, such as carrying out right to work checks on employees to ensure that they are entitled to be in the UK and undertake the work in question.

  Some duties appear more widely understood than others. The duty to notify a change in circumstances is, for example, often overlooked in practice, particularly where wider organisational concerns demand attention and focus, such as a merger or acquisition or other organisational change.

Another common area of compliance risk is lack knowledge of personnel involved in the sponsor licence, across the recruitment, onboarding and staff management stages. Training is likely to be required to ensure relevant knowledge and internal capability internally across HR, line managers and site managers.

Penalties for failing to comply with sponsor licence duties are designed to impact operations to deter employers from falling short in their obligations. Failure to comply with your licence compliance duties can result in a downgrade in user rating, a licence suspension or revocation – putting the jobs of existing migrants at risk and impacting your organisation’s operations.

Ongoing compliance management will also pay dividends when it comes to renewing the licence – which is typically more of a complex process than the initial application. All too often we see at the sponsor licence renewal stage after four years that processes have slackened, creating business-critical risk of licence refusal where UKVI see serious errors or breaches in compliance.

In addition to the new administrative burdens of the sponsor licence, you will also continue to be required to meet your illegal working duties under the Right to Work regime. The requirements state that all employees are required to provide documentation that proves their right to work before being employed by a UK company and copies of this information must also be retained by the employer.

  Resident labour market test

Once you are granted a sponsor licence, you must evidence that the domestic labour market has not been able to fulfil the position before you recruit from overseas, by using the Resident Labour Market Test (RLMT).

Understanding your duties under the RLMT is important, and specifically what this means for how you advertise for jobs and how you keep records to evidence compliance with the RLMT.

There are exceptions. In recognition of shortages in a number of areas, roles which feature on the Shortage Occupation List (SOL) are exempt from the RLMT. In cases of SOL positions, employers may issue a Tier 2 CoS to a non-European worker without the need to demonstrate that a resident labour market test (RLMT) has been carried out.

  Need help applying for a sponsor licence?

UK immigration rules are demanding on employers who want to bring talent to the UK, and through increasingly protectionist immigration policies, designed to favour UK-resident labour, the rules have become more onerous (and costly) for employers.

DavidsonMorris can provide clients with a complete employer sponsorship licence application service, with our team of UK immigration specialists highly experienced in all the documentary and evidentiary requirements vital to a prompt and stress-free process when applying for a sponsor licence.

It may also be that a sponsor licence is not the best option for your business and its needs. We can advise on the most suitable entry routes for your specific requirements.

For guidance on applying for a sponsor licence, contact us.

  Sponsor licence FAQs

How do I become a sponsor for immigration?

To sponsor a non-EEA national with qualifying skills in a qualifying role, an organisation must first apply to the Home Office for a sponsor licence. Sponsor licence holders must evidence in their application that the role being recruited for meets the requirements and that the organisation understands and has the capability to meet specific ongoing compliance duties.

How long is the sponsor licence processing time?

Sponsor licence application processing can take between 2-3 months, provided there are no issues or delays with your application. Time should also be factored in to build the application, compile the supporting documents and ensure the organisation is geared to meet the compliance duties.

What are the sponsor licence application fees?

To apply for a sponsor licence, the organisation will have to pay the relevant fee. For small companies and charitable organisations, the fee is £536. The fee is £1476 for medium and large employers.

What is a certificate of sponsorship?

The CoS is a self-certifying document that a sponsor licence holder issues to a Tier 2 visa applicant to onboard them into the organisation. It is used to confirm to the Home Office that the role you are recruiting for meets all of the relevant requirements under the visa classification.

How can DavidsonMorris help?

DavidsonMorris are specialists in UK immigration, working with UK employers to support with their immigration needs in areas such as sponsor licence applications and ongoing licence compliance. We can guide you through the Home Office application process, advising on the application itself as well as auditing your internal HR systems and policies against the required standards and helping with preparation for a site visit. Once issued, we can also support with operating and managing the licence from assigning certificates of sponsorship to advising on ongoing compliance.

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