Sponsor Licence Application For Nigerians

Would You Like To Get Your UK Sponsor Licence?

Contact us to speak with a member of our knowledgeable staff for expert help. We have successfully helped many Nigerians to obtain a UK sponsor licence. We guarantee a high success rate, provide qualified guidance, and assist you in saving your time and money.

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Overview of the Sponsor Licence UK

Nigerian entrepreneurs who wish to set up their businesses in the UK or expand their current business in the country require a sponsor licence that will allow them to operate their business in the country and hire other skilled individuals from Nigeria and other countries.

An enterprise may sponsor employees for its business with the consent of the sponsorship licence. ‘Sponsors’ with a licence must be organisations; individuals are not permitted.

The Home Office relies on the sponsoring regime to prevent illegal employment and misuse of the immigration system.

What is the Purpose of a Sponsor Licence?

As a holder of a sponsor licence, you can sponsor foreign employees to come to work for your company in the UK.

When you have a sponsor licence, you agree to assume certain compliance responsibilities and to allow the Home Office to inspect your business.

The main goal of the sponsoring regimen is to make sure that the:

• Positions being sponsored satisfy the standards for skill level, pay, and sincerity
• Individuals who are sponsored are qualified, skilled, and have the required English language competency
• Sponsors are fulfilling the criteria set by the UK government related to hiring migrants from other countries.

Types of Sponsor Licences in the UK

Nigerian business owners and entrepreneurs have the option of applying for either:

• A sponsor licence specifically for workers, or
• A sponsor licence for temporary workers

Individuals that get a sponsor licence for workers can live and work for over a year in the UK under the Skilled Worker Visa route or opt for the Self-Sponsorship route as applicants will be able to sponsor themselves to the UK through this route. Alternatively, they may also be eligible to apply for the Senior or Specialist Worker visa (formerly known as the Intra-company Transfer visa), International Sportsperson, and Minister of Religion.

On the other hand, individuals who get a sponsor licence for temporary workers can only live and work in the UK for a specific or pre-determined duration, usually ranging between 6 to 12 months.

How Can Nigerians Get Sponsor Licence in the UK?

Overview

In order to get a sponsor licence in the UK, all applicants must have a business that is registered in the Sponsor Licence Register with the Home Office, which consists of a list of approximately 75,000 organisations, businesses, and companies that have permission from the UK government to hire foreign workers. There are two possible pathways for Nigerians to recruit and bring workforce for their companies in the UK, which include:

• The Skilled Worker Visa route
• The Senior or Specialist Worker visa (this has replaced the Intra-company Transfer visa)

If you want to hire skilled employees from Nigeria or other countries to work in your company, you must:

• Take permission from the Home Office to recruit workers from outside of the UK
• Prove to the Home office that your business is reliable
• Ensure that your business is able to meet responsibilities as a Sponsor Licence Holder
• Prove that your company has adequate systems and processes to be able to provide fare for migrant workers.

What is the Role of an Authorising Officer?

Every Company in the UK has an Authorising Officer whose job is to overlook the following areas related to the recruitment of employees in the business:

• Maintaining documentation
• Ensuring compliance of migrants
• Reporting any problem to the Home office in due time so they can take relevant action if needed

Fulfilling the above-mentioned criteria makes an organisation a Tier 2 Sponsor Licence Holder, enabling it to grant a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) to potential applicants that can help them in coming to the UK from Nigeria.

What Information Must Nigerian Entrepreneurs Provide to the Home Office to Get a Sponsor Licence?

In order to get a Sponsor Licence, Nigerian Entrepreneurs must provide the following information to the Home Office:

• They must provide detailed information about the nature of the business
• The running of the business in the UK, in terms of its accounts, etc
• The directors of the business
• A clean immigration and criminal background.

Where to apply for a UK Sponsor Licence?

The application for the UK Sponsor Licence has been made completely online in an attempt to make the entire process seamless and quick. All registered companies can apply for the Sponsor Licence on their own.

The general time taken by the Home Office to process applications for the UK Sponsor Visa is around 6 to 8 weeks. However, companies may also request priority processing by paying a nominal extra fee for getting a Sponsor Licence in as little as five working days.

Eligibility Criteria for Sponsor Licence UK

If an organisation meets the eligibility and appropriateness requirements set by the Home Office for the particular category or tier that they are asking for, there are no constraints on the size or kind of Company that can obtain a sponsorship licence. An application will be rejected if the eligibility or appropriateness requirements are not met.

1. The Company is legitimate and conducting business or functioning legally in the UK.
2. The organisation’s headquarters must be in the UK.
3. The employer is presenting a legitimate vacancy that can be filled by a qualified foreign worker.
4. The Company’s HR and hiring systems are well-maintained.
5. There is no question about the organisation’s criminal or immigration past.

Minimum Income Requirement for Sponsor Licence UK

In order to become a Sponsor Licence Holder in the UK so that you can sponsor skilled Nigerian workers for your organisation, you must fulfil minimum income criteria.

If you are a small sponsor, then you must fulfil at least two conditions of the following criteria:

• You have £10.2 million or less in yearly revenue
• Your overall assets are worth no more than £5.1 million
• You plan to employ no more than 50 people

Organisations that earn more than £10.2 million, have assets with a total worth that is greater than £5.1 million, or have the potential to employ more than 50 people are considered either medium sponsors or large sponsors.

Genuine Vacancy Test for Sponsor Licence UK

If you plan to hire employees for your business in the UK, then you must apply for a sponsor licence, and in order to get the sponsor licence, you must convince the Home Office that you can offer genuine employment that satisfies the salary and skill-level requirements. This is referred to as the Genuine Vacancy Test.

A genuine vacancy is defined as a job position that:

• requires the employee to carry out the precise tasks and obligations of the position and satisfies all criteria of the pertinent route;
• excludes duties that are different or primarily involve less skilled work;
• is suitable for the firm given its scale, business strategy, and business plan

Cost of Sponsor Licence

For smaller sponsors or charitable organisations, the latest application fee for a sponsored permit is £574, while it costs £1,579 for medium and large sponsors. However, if you select urgent processing of your application, there is an additional charge of £500.

Understanding Certificate of Sponsorship For UK Visas

Overview

A Certificate of Sponsorship (Cos) is an electronic document that is provided to the potential employee by the employer (i.e. the Sponsor Licence Holder). Each CoS comes with a unique reference number, and this e-document is a necessary prerequisite for visa applications under the T5, ICT, and skilled worker categories.

The sponsor certifies to the Home Office that the proposed job circumstances meet the criteria for the applicable visa route by giving a CoS to the individual. Through this method, employers can recruit skilled individuals from across the globe, including Nigeria.

Who Needs a COS When Applying for a UK Visa?

The temporary sponsored work visa categories, comprising the skilled worker, T5, and ICT visas, need applicants to submit a CoS in order to be granted permission to enter or remain in the UK. On the other hand, candidates for Tier 5 Youth Mobility do not require a CoS.

Different Types of Certificates of Sponsorship

There are two main types of CoS offered in the UK, which are described briefly as follows:

1. Defined CoS – These are issued to foreign employees that have applied for the Skilled Worker Visa.
2. Undefined CoS – These are issued to foreign employees that are already residing in the UK.

Document requirements for Nigerian entrepreneurs seeking a UK Self-Sponsorship Visa

• A valid passport
• Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS)
• Letter of Support from a UK-based Company
• Academic credentials
• Recent bank Statements
• Proof of English language proficiency (IELTS /TOEFL)
• TB Test

For more information related to the Self-Sponsorship Visa pathways for Nigerians, please contact our visa experts at IAS. You can contact us by leaving a message on the website or via the online chat. Alternatively, you can also speak with one of our representatives on +2342013306361 or call our UK office on +44 (0) 3316300929.

How Can IAS Help?

Nigerian citizens often have a lot of queries and doubts when they are trying to migrate from Nigeria to other countries in search of a better job and standard of living. Immigration Advice Service is on a mission to make the process of migration to the UK easy and quick for Nigerians by providing them with detailed guidance related to each possible pathway of migration to the UK.

One of the ways for Nigerian businessmen is to register their companies in the UK to expand them globally. This will give them an opportunity to hire more Nigerians through sponsorship. However, they must first apply for a Sponsor Licence, which can be a time-consuming and confusing process.

With the help of experts in the field, getting a Sponsor Licence can become a breeze. Immigration Advice Service (IAS) has a team of qualified and knowledgeable legal advisors that have extensive knowledge related to the Sponsor Licence application and the potential problems Nigerian immigrants, entrepreneurs, and skilled workers experience when relocating from Nigeria to the UK.

If you need our expert advice, please contact us via the online chat option or call us directly +2342013306361. Alternatively, you can also call our UK office on +44 (0) 3316300929.