Apply for a Sponsor Licence to Sponsor Migrant Skilled Workers - Get a Decision Within 10 Working Days

As a UK business, you can apply to the Home Office, UKVI, for a sponsor licence to sponsor and employ skilled migrant workers in your UK business.  The sponsor licence is issued by UKVI to a UK employer/business and grants the UK employer permission to sponsor workers in its business. Only organisations, not individuals, can be Home Office-approved licensed 'sponsors'. The Home Office UKVI maintains an online register of licensed sponsors, and all UK businesses holding a sponsor licence appear on it. Our immigration solicitors can provide a Fast Track Service for your sponsor licence application to obtain a decision within 10 working days.

Free Immigration Advice For Sponsor Licence Application

Our specialist team of immigration solicitors can provide one-off free immigration advice online in relation to your application for a sponsor licence. Ask a question online to our specialist team of immigration solicitors for free immigration advice online, or book an appointment online for detailed immigration advice and consultation with one of our immigration solicitors concerning your application for a sponsor licence.

Priority Service for Sponsor Licence Application - Decision Within 10 Working Days

Under the Priority Service for Sponsor Licence applications, the Home Office UKVI will decide on your sponsor licence application within 10 working days instead of 8 weeks under the normal service. A sponsor licence priority service is also known as a pre-licence priority service. The Home Office UKVI would charge an additional £ 750 fee for processing the sponsor licence application under the Priority Service. By getting a faster decision on your sponsor licence application, you will be able to sponsor the potential migrant worker sooner by assigning a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) to the migrant worker.

It is possible to request Priority Service for a sponsor licence either when submitting your Sponsorship Licence application online or after you have already submitted the application online through standard service. If you request Priority Service after submitting the sponsor licence application online, you can submit your request while your application is waiting to be allocated to the UKVI caseworker for consideration. Once the application has been allocated to the UKVI caseworker for consideration, submitting a request for Priority Service is no longer possible.

Specialist Immigration Solicitors for Sponsor Licence Applications

Our immigration solicitors are specialists in sponsor licence applications. As one of the best immigration solicitors, we have an excellent track record of helping clients successfully obtain a sponsor licence. Our highly experienced and fully qualified immigration solicitors can provide fast, friendly, reliable, and fixed-fee immigration advice and representation for your sponsor licence application. 

The high quality of UK visa and immigration legal services provided by our best team of immigration lawyers is self-evident from the 5-star Google Reviews rating by 99% of our clients. Our London-based immigration solicitors are available 7 days a week, 365 days a year, offering unwavering dedication and exceptional legal support for a wide range of UK visa and immigration cases. Our team of highly regarded immigration solicitors brings together more than 6 decades of collective, specialised expertise in successfully handling sponsor licence applications.

Meet Our Team of immigration solicitors in London

At Premium Solicitors, our strength lies in the expertise, dedication, and unwavering commitment of our immigration solicitors in London. We understand that immigration matters are life-changing events, and our team is here to guide you through every step of the sponsor licence application process with professionalism and care. 

Our team comprises a diverse group of immigration solicitors, each bringing a wealth of experience and knowledge to the table. We are united by a shared goal: to deliver the highest level of legal support and advocacy tailored to your needs.

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Schedule Your Consultation With Our immigration solicitors

Are you seeking expert sponsor licence advice and consultation from our highly experienced and qualified team of immigration solicitors and lawyers in London? It's easy to secure an appointment with our dedicated specialists for sponsor licence applications. Our expert team of immigration solicitors and advisors can provide detailed immigration advice and consultation, face-to-face in our offices in London and Birmingham or virtually via Zoom, Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp, or Phone. Book your appointment today using the appointment booking link provided below:

• Book An Appointment Online With Our Immigration Solicitors in London

Our immigration experts are ready to assist you with your sponsor licence application. Book your appointment today for personalised guidance and support.

Skilled Worker Sponsor Licence Application

The skilled worker sponsor licence allows a UK employer/business to sponsor migrant skilled workers to work in the UK for the sponsor in an eligible skilled job. As a UK-based business, you can apply for a Skilled Worker sponsor licence to employ Skilled Worker migrants in your business from inside or outside the UK.

Skilled Worker” means a person who has, or had, permission under Appendix Skilled Worker, or as a Tier 2 (General) migrant under the rules in force before 1 December 2020. The UK immigration rules no longer require an employer to meet the Resident Labour Market Test (RLMT) requirements as of 1 December 2021 for an employer to sponsor a migrant worker for a Skilled Worker visa.

If you wish to employ a skilled migrant worker and the job role meets the job suitability requirements, you can apply for a skilled worker sponsor licence.

Health and Care Worker Sponsor Licence

The Health and Care worker sponsor licence allows a UK employer/business to sponsor Health and Care workers to work in the UK for the sponsor's UK business in an eligible job in the health and care sector. As a UK-based business, you can apply for a Health and Care Worker sponsor licence to employ Health and Care Workers in your UK business from inside or outside the UK.

A Health and Care Worker visa allows medical professionals to come to or remain in the UK to undertake an eligible job with the NHS, an NHS supplier, or in adult social care. An application for a Health and Care Worker visa is made under Appendix Skilled Workers. To qualify for a Health and Care Worker visa, you must:

• be a qualified doctor, nurse, health professional or adult social care professional
• work in an eligible health or social care job
• work for a UK employer that’s been approved by the Home Office
• have a ‘certificate of sponsorship’ from your employer with information about the role you’ve been offered in the UK
• be paid a minimum salary - how much depends on the type of work you do

Care homes in the UK can apply for a sponsor licence to employ foreign care workers to provide adult care services. The care homes must be regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates all health and social care services in England. 

The care workers and home carers are included on the Shortage Occupation List (SOL) to help fill staff shortages in the UK’s social care sector. Care workers can be sponsored by care homes under SOC code 6145 for possible job positions as care workers, carers, and care assistants. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) provides the following job description for this occupation code:

‘Care workers and home carers attend to the personal needs and comforts of the elderly and the infirm with care and support needs within residential care establishments, day care establishments or in their own homes’.

T2 Minister Of Religion Sponsor Licence Application

You can apply for a T2 Minister of Religion sponsor licence if you are a faith-based organisation or religious order in the UK and you want to employ a foreign Minister of Religion. T2 Minister of Religion route is for the recruitment of a person who has a key leading role within their religious establishment or organisation in the UK, such as a minister of religion, missionary, member of a religious order, or other religious workers in mainly pastoral roles. A minister of religion is a religious functionary whose main regular duties include leading a congregation in performing the rites and rituals of the faith and in preaching the essentials of the creed. As of 1 December 2020, there is no longer a resident labour consideration (or equivalent) for the T2 Minister of Religion visa route.

For T2 Minister of Religion sponsor licence purposes, a religious order is defined as a lineage of communities or of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, and which must be part of a bona fide religious organisation. This includes, for example, a monastic community of monks or nuns, or a similar religious community involving a permanent commitment.

To be eligible for a Minister of Religion sponsor licence, you must be a bona fide religious organisation which:

• has a charitable status
• is the structure for a faith-based community with a common system of belief and spiritual goals, codes of behaviour and religious practice, which exists to support and/or propagate common beliefs and practices and where beliefs:
  • include any religious belief or similar philosophical belief in something transcendental, metaphysical or ultimate
  • exclude any philosophical or political belief concerned with man, unless that belief is similar to a religious belief
• does not exclude anyone from your community on the basis of gender,
  nationality or ethnicity
• receives financial and material support for your core religious ministry from your congregation or community on a voluntary basis, without promise or coercion
• does not breach, or encourage others to breach, any UK legislation
• does not work against the public interest, or has a detrimental effect on personal or family life as commonly understood in the UK

Scale-up Worker Sponsor Licence Application

The Scale-up route allows employers who are in a sustained period of high growth to recruit people to work in the UK in highly skilled roles. As a UK-based business, you can apply for a Scale-up sponsor licence to employ Scale-up Workers in your business from inside or outside the UK. The scale-up route is for talented individuals recruited by a UK business who meet the definition of a qualifying scale-up sponsor. The scale-up worker must have a high-skilled job offer from a qualifying Scale-up sponsor at the required salary level for a minimum period of 6 months.

If you wish to sponsor a Scale-up Worker, you must hold a valid sponsor licence for the Scale-up route. If you do not already hold such a licence, you must apply for one by completing the online application form, paying the relevant application fee, and submitting any required supporting evidence or information.

To fall under the definition of a qualifying Scale-up sponsor, you must meet both of the following criteria:

• you must have an annualised growth of at least 20% for the previous 3-year period based on either employment (your staff count) or your turnover
• you must have had a minimum of 10 employees at the start of the relevant 3-year period

The Home Office UKVI will securely access Pay As You Earn (PAYE) information and/or VAT return information you have submitted to HMRC and apply rules to this data to automatically assess whether you meet the definition of a Scale-up sponsor.

International Sportsperson Sponsor Licence Application

You must hold an international sportsperson sponsor licence if you wish to sponsor & employ elite sportspersons or qualified sports coaches who are internationally established and can make a significant contribution to the development of their sport at its highest level in the UK. If you do not already hold an international Sportsperson sponsor licence, you must apply for one by completing the online application form, paying the relevant application fee, and submitting the supporting evidence specified in Appendix A to the sponsor guidance.

In addition to the general requirements for a sponsor licence, your organisation must be a UK-based sporting body, sports club, events organiser, or other organiser operating, or intending to operate, in the sporting sector. You must also be endorsed by the relevant Home Office-approved sports governing body.

Senior or Specialist Worker Sponsor Licence Application

As a UK-based business, you can apply for a Senior or Specialist Worker sponsor licence to sponsor and employ overseas workers to undertake temporary work assignments for you in the UK, where the worker is a senior manager or specialist employee and is being assigned to you by a linked overseas business. To qualify for a Senior or Specialist sponsor licence, you must be linked by common ownership or control or by a joint venture agreement to an overseas business.

You can show you are linked by common ownership or control to the overseas business by one of the following:

• one entity controls the composition of the other entity’s board
• one entity holds enough shares in the other entity to have more than half of the voting rights in that other entity
• both entities have a common parent entity, and that parent entity (either by itself or through other entities) meets one of the two bullet points above
• one entity is related to the other entity as both are party to a joint venture agreement
• one entity is related to the other entity in that one is a party to a joint venture agreement and the other entity is formed by that joint venture agreement
• one entity is related to the other by an agreement that would constitute a joint venture agreement other than for the fact that joint venture agreements are not permitted in the country of operation or one of the
  entities is not permitted to enter into joint ventures in the country of operation
• one entity is related to the other in that one entity is a party to an agreement that would constitute a joint venture agreement other than for the fact that joint venture agreements are not allowed in the country of operation or that entity is not allowed to enter into joint ventures in the country of operation, and the other entity is the entity formed by that agreement
• where both entities are either accountancy or law firms, one entity is related to the other by an agreement which allows both to use a trademark registered or established under UK law and the jurisdiction
  of the other entity’s country of operation
• where both entities are either accountancy or law firms, one entity is related to the other by agreement which allows both to run under the same name in the UK and in the jurisdiction of the other entity’s country of operation
• in the case of unincorporated associations, the Home Office UKVI may accept that the UK entity is linked to the overseas entity if there is evidence (such as a written constitution or Articles of Association) to show that one entity controls the other – for example, a member of one entity has the power to appoint the other entity’s trustees

Where the link between the two entities between which the transfer will take place is that an individual owns shares in each entity, that individual must have a majority shareholding in each entity. You must provide
documentary evidence of your shareholding in terms of percentages held.

Where the link between you and the overseas business is through a joint venture, the Home Office UKVI must be satisfied that the worker will be working as part of the joint venture agreement before the UKVI accepts that you can sponsor someone as a Senior or Specialist Worker.

There are many forms of joint venture, and Home Office UKVI will ask you to provide evidence that the venture is operational. To apply for the sponsor licence, you should supply as many of the following as are applicable to your circumstances:

• if a new company has been formed, you should provide the relevant Companies House reference number or numbers and confirm which entities are involved in the joint venture and who are the owners of the new company
• public announcements of the joint venture
• a copy of an official letter from the overseas company (or foreign investor) to Ministers confirming their intention to invest in the UK, naming the entities involved in the joint venture
• a copy of the binding contract or partnership agreement, signed appropriately, between the entities in the joint venture agreement – this must include the names and positions of the signatories, the
  investment or ownership agreement of the enterprise, and timescales and phases of the project
• if the joint venture has a previous history of working with the Department for International Trade (DIT) or economic devolved government departments in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, UKVI
  may accept evidence via the DIT listing online of the joint venture

The above is not a complete list, and we may ask you for further evidence to assess your circumstances.

The Home Office UKVI will not accept informal agreements of co-operation as sufficient evidence that a worker is required to be in the UK. The joint venture must already be operating, and UKVI must be satisfied that there is a requirement for the worker to be in the UK as part of the agreement before you can sponsor them as a Senior or Specialist Worker route.

Temporary Worker Sponsor Licence Application

You can apply for a Temporary Worker sponsor licence if you are a UK business or organisation and wish to sponsor a Temporary Worker to work in the UK under one of the Temporary Work visa categories. Our specialist team of immigration solicitors can provide a priority service for your sponsor licence application and secure a decision within 10 working days.

A ‘Temporary Worker’ licence lets you sponsor people temporarily, including for volunteering and job shadowing. However, you can only get a Temporary Worker licence for specific types of employment and visas.

The Temporary Worker sponsor licence is split into:

• Scale-up Worker - for people coming to work for a fast-growing UK business
• Creative Worker - to work in the creative industry, for example, as an entertainer or artist (up to 2 years)
• Charity Worker - for unpaid workers at a charity (up to 1 year)
• Religious Worker - for those working in a religious order or organisation (2 years)
• Government Authorised Exchange - work experience (1 year), research projects or training, for example, practical medical or scientific training (2 years) to enable a short-term exchange of knowledge
• International Agreement - where the worker is coming to do a job which is covered by international law, for example, employees of overseas governments
• Graduate Trainee (Global Business Mobility) - for workers transferring to their employer’s UK branch as part of a graduate training programme
• Service Supplier (Global Business Mobility) - for workers with a contract to provide services for a UK company (6 or 12 months)
• UK Expansion Worker (Global Business Mobility) - for workers sent to the UK to set up a new branch or subsidiary of an overseas business
• Secondment Worker (Global Business Mobility) - for workers transferring from overseas to work for a different UK business as part of a high-value contract
• Seasonal Worker – allows people to come to the UK and work in horticulture (for example, picking fruit and vegetables) for up to 6 months, or poultry from 18 October to 31 December each year

UK Expansion Worker Sponsor Licence Application

The UK Expansion Worker sponsor licence is for sponsoring overseas workers who establish a branch or subsidiary of their overseas employer in the UK. The UK Expansion Worker visa has replaced the (unsponsored) sole representative provisions of the Representative of an Overseas Business visa route.

Our Services Related To Sponsor Licence

As specialist immigration solicitors for sponsor licence applications, we provide a wide range of legal services in relation to a sponsor licence application, which includes the following:

Initial Application For Sponsor Licence

You can apply for the sponsor licence online on the Home Office, UKVI website. Once you have submitted your online application, you must send the following to the Home Office, UKVI, to validate your application. A valid application must:

1. contain the submission sheet, which has been signed and dated by the Authorising Officer (all pages must be sent); and
2. contain all of the documents listed on the submission sheet as mandatory documents; and
3. all be sent in together within 5 working days of completion of the electronic application.

To get a sponsor licence, you must apply to the Home Office (UKVI) and supply specified documents to prove that you are suitable and eligible. The Home Office, UKVI, will carry out appropriate checks before deciding whether to grant the sponsor licence. The Home Office, UKVI, considers an application to join the sponsor register by assessing whether you meet the relevant requirements. If your application for a sponsor licence is accepted by the Home Office, UKVI, you will be issued an SMS login ID and password to manage your sponsor licence online. 

Renewal Of Sponsor Licence

As of April 6, 2024, UK sponsor licences are generally valid for 10 years and will automatically renew, eliminating the previous four-year renewal cycle. The new expiry date will be updated on the Sponsorship Management System (SMS). However, licences to sponsor Scale-up or UK Expansion Workers remain valid for only 4 years. 

Requesting Allocation Of Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS)

To sponsor a migrant worker, you must have a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) issued to you by UKVI, Home Office. If you do not have a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) allocated to you by the Home Office, UKVI, you can submit a request for allocation of a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS). Depending on the circumstances, you have to either request an undefined Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) or a defined Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS). An application for a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) can be made using Priority Service, and a decision on your allocation request will be made by the Home Office UKVI within 5 working days.

Our specialist team of sponsor licence solicitors can help you with your application for the allocation of an additional Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) through the Priority Service, so you get a decision on your allocation request within 5 working days. We can help you with your application for an additional Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) at a reasonable, affordable fixed fee.

Assigning a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) To The Migrant Worker

Once you have been granted a Skilled Worker sponsor licence, you will be able to assign certificates of sponsorship (CoS) to migrants who wish to come to or stay in the UK to work as Skilled Worker Migrants. For Skilled Worker workers, being assigned a certificate of sponsorship (CoS) is an essential part of qualifying for entry clearance (if they are outside the UK) or leave to remain (permission to extend their stay while in the UK).

As specialist sponsor licence solicitors, we can provide the required support to correct and assign a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) for a fixed fee.

Priority Service For Allocation Of Undefined Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS)

Our specialist team of sponsor licence solicitors can provide fast-track services for your application to allocate an undefined Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS). A request for allocation of an additional undefined Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) is decided within 5 working days of making the payment of £350 to the Home Office UKVI for priority consideration of your request for allocation of an additional Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS).

Challenging The Refusal / Revocation of a Sponsor Licence

Our specialist immigration solicitors for sponsor licence can provide expert immigration advice and legal representations for challenging the refusal or revocation of your sponsor licence by the Home Office UKVI if the Home Office UKVI decision to refuse your application for a sponsor licence or revoke your sponsor licence is unlawful. Our immigration solicitors for a sponsor licence will fully assess the reasons for refusal or revocation as given by the Home Office UKVI and advise you whether or not there are good grounds for challenging the refusal or revocation of the UKVI sponsor licence.

You can challenge the refusal/revocation of the sponsor licence by way of Judicial Review (JR) in the court. You must file a Pre-Action Protocol (PAP) before you issue the Judicial Review (JR) proceedings to challenge the refusal/revocation of your sponsor licence.

Challenging The Refusal of a Sponsor Licence Application

You can apply to request a review of your application if you think it was refused because:

• the caseworker processing your application made a mistake
• your supporting documents were not considered

If the decision to refuse is maintained by the Home Office, UKVI, as a result of the review, and you believe that the decision to refuse the application is unlawful, you can challenge the refusal decision by way of Pre-Action Protocol (PAP) and Immigration Judicial Review (JR) against the Home Office, UKVI. Our expert team of sponsor licence solicitors can provide the legal support you need to challenge the refusal of your sponsor licence application.

Challenging The Revocation Of The Sponsor Licence

The Home Office UKVI would normally suspend the sponsor licence and require representations and evidence from the sponsor before making a decision to revoke the licence. We can make representations to the Home Office UKVI, setting out why your sponsor licence should not be revoked following its suspension. If the Home Office, UKVI, is satisfied with the representations made to the Home Office following the suspension of the licence, the sponsor licence will be reinstated. Otherwise, the Home Office will revoke the sponsor licence.

The sponsor's licence is normally refused due to the licensed sponsor's non-compliance with the sponsor's duties. If the sponsor licence is revoked and we find that the decision to revoke it is unlawful, we can help you challenge it under the Pre-Action Protocol (PAP) and Judicial Review (JR). If the legal challenge succeeds, the sponsor licence will be reinstated, and your business details will once again appear in the register of sponsors.

Our Fixed Fees For Services Relating To Sponsor Licence

Our fixed fees for various services relating to the sponsor licence are as given in the fee table below:

Our Service	Our Fixed Fees Range
Our services cover the initial application for a sponsor licence and all work until you get a decision on your sponsor licence.	£1,500 + VAT to £2,500 + VAT
Our services for requesting an allocation of a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) from the Home Office UKVI, and assisting with assigning the CoS to the migrant worker	£600 + VAT to £800 + VAT
Our services for assisting the sponsor with correctly assigning a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) to the migrant worker	£500 + VAT
Our services for providing help and support with the Sponsor Licence Compliance Visit of the Home Office, UKVI	From £1,000 + VAT To £2,000 + VAT
Representations to the Home Office UKVI Following Suspension of the Sponsorship Licence	From £1,200 + VAT To £2,000 + VAT
Request for Review of the Refusal of the Sponsor Licence Application	From £1,200 + VAT To £1,800 + VAT
Pre-Action Protocol (PAP) Against Refusal/Revocation Of Sponsor Licence	From £1,000 + VAT To £2,000 + VAT
Judicial Review (JR) Against Refusal/Revocation of the Sponsor Licence	From £2,000 + VAT To £4,000 + VAT

The agreed fixed fee will depend on the complexity and volume of casework involved. In addition to our fixed fee, the applicant may also have to pay the Home Office UKVI fees for the application, if applicable.

Get a Fixed Fee Quote for Your Immigration Matter

FAQs - Sponsor Licence

The following are various frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the sponsor licence: