You will need a sponsor licence if you wish to employ a non-settled worker.

Employers seeking to hire migrant workers must have a Sponsor Licence. This allows a company to apply for a Certificate of Sponsorship which confirms that the migrant worker meets the relevant criteria.

There are two different sponsor licences:

• • • Worker (formerly Tier 2) – for skilled workers and long-term workers
    • Temporary Workers (formerly Tier 5) – for temporary workers

For your application for a sponsor licence to succeed, you need to show the following:
You are a genuine organisation operating lawfully in the UK

• • • You are a genuine organisation operating lawfully in the UK
    • You are honest, dependable, reliable, and are not engaging and have not engaged in behaviour or actions that are not conducive to the public good
    • You are capable of carrying out your sponsor duties and evidencing your compliance in a timeframe and manner
    • You can offer genuine employment that meets the skill level and salary requirements, if applying under Skilled Worker or the Intra-Company routes
    • You meet the eligibility criteria

If your application is successful, you will be placed on the UK Sponsorship Licence register and will be able to issue Certificates of Sponsorship.

You will also be given a licence rating. A sponsor is rated either ‘A’ or ‘B’ with ‘A’ being the highest.

While you have a licence, you must ensure that you adhere to your duties as a sponsor.

Your licence will be valid for 4 years. After this you will need to renew your licence if you wish to continue hiring migrant workers.

The application process can be complex and there is scope for error. We are able to assist you throughout the process and manage your application on your behalf.