Sponsor Licence
Applications and
Compliance Review

A sponsor licence enables employers to hire migrant workers – both for permanent and temporary positions. Such a licence is required to employ most workers from outside of the UK including Skilled Workers and Intra-Company Transfer workers as well as temporary workers.

UK Immigration Policy

In order to obtain a sponsor licence, there are strict requirements and the Home Office will carry out significant checks to ensure a potential sponsor is genuinely obtaining a licence in accordance with UK immigration policy.
Sponsors are expected to understand and fully comply with the rules relating to sponsorship, with rules on record keeping and reporting of migrant worker activity.

Business Immigration after Brexit – Hiring EU Workers form outside of the UK

At DV Solicitors we appreciate that Brexit has impacted our clients in many ways. In particular, we understand that sourcing workers has been difficult for those businesses we work with, who have previously employed workers from the EEA.
Prior to Brexit, EEA workers were able to travel and work within the EEA without restrictions. Post-Brexit however, this is no longer possible. As a result, employers and employees from Europe will have to consider other visa routes.
For existing EU employees who are already in the UK and have been resident here by 31 December 2020, they will not be required to apply for a visa as long as they have applied for pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme by 30 June 2021. There are some exceptions to this deadline however based on individual circumstances.

Frontier Workers

To be eligible for the visa, an applicant would need to be from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein, live outside of the UK and have begun working in the UK by 31 December 2020. They would also need to have physically worked in the UK at least once every 12 months since beginning employment in the UK.
There are no fees for the permit and it allows the holder to work, rent and access benefits and services in the UK, including NHS healthcare if relevant requirements are met. Unfortunately family members are not covered by the permit.

The Frontier Worker permit was introduced by the Government for employees who wish to work in the UK but live in another country.

Worker Visa – Skilled Worker Visa

Under the Skilled Worker visa route, new entrants from the EU will be able to enter the UK if they have a genuine offer of work from an employer listed on the UK’s list of sponsors and are eligible for a Certificate of Sponsorship to make a visa application. They will need to meet English language requirements and meet a salary threshold relating to their job role. The general salary threshold for this category is £25,600 per year however a sponsor may need to pay a higher salary than this based on the type of job. Alternatively, reductions in salary may be possible if the role is one in a health or education profession, shortage occupation, or the applicant has a PhD relevant to their job.

Applicable dependant family members may also apply to accompany the sponsored worker and the visa can lead to settlement in the UK.

Worker Visa – Intra-Company Transfer Visa

Where a business has branches or offices abroad and is listed on the register of sponsors in the UK, they may be able to bring over workers under this category. There are two sub-categories for the visa – Intra-Company Graduate Trainee for transfers to the UK as part of a graduate training programme for a managerial or specialist role and the Intra-Company Transfer visa for those who are being transferred by their employer into a role in the UK with employment of three months abroad prior to the application.

Dependant family members may be eligible to join the applicant in the UK but the category does not lead to settlement. The maximum time that can be spent in the UK on the visa is 5 years in any 6-year period if earning less than £73,900 a year or 9 years in any 10-year period if paid £73,900 a year or more.

Should you require assistance with the above visa categories or need to obtain a sponsor licence to employ EU workers, our business immigration team are ready to assist you with your questions.

Call us on 01234 350244 or send us an email at [email protected]