There are two types of Sponsorship Licence for small and medium-sized businesses:
UK Immigration Policy for Students
- A Tier 2 Visa is for long-term skilled positions.
- Tier 5 route is for temporary workers (employed for up to 12 months).
A Sponsor Licence allows you to grant a Certificate of Sponsorship to either or both of the tiers.
Eligibility
So long as you and your company have no unspent criminal convictions, you are likely to be allowed to apply for a Sponsor Licence. Relevant convictions include immigration offences, fraud and money laundering or a history of failing to carry out sponsorship duties.
Sponsorship Management
You will need appropriate monitoring systems for all your overseas workers. Three job titles are required by the Home Office as part of a Sponsorship Management System (SMS):
- Authorising officer: a senior role responsible for the staff who operate the SMS.
- Key contact: a person to liaise with UK Visas and Immigration.
- Level 1 user: a role responsible for the day-to-day management of the SMS.
These roles can be filled by the same individual in small businesses, but the post-holder also needs no criminal convictions and must prove that they live in the UK most of the time. The Home Office does expect you to have an HR team to coordinate these positions, but this can be subcontracted.
Scarsdale Solicitors Rochdale & Oldham
For more information contact an expert immigration solicitor: Scarsdale Solicitors Rochdale and Scarsdale Solicitors Oldham take pride in serving our clients, combining our legal expertise and knowledge with impeccable customer service. If you need immigration solicitors Rochdale or immigration solicitors Oldham, call us today on 0161 660 6050.
