Sponsor Licence For Bringing Finance Staff From Overseas

An Overview Of The Sponsor Licence

As a UK employer looking to hire from overseas, you must successfully apply for and maintain a sponsor licence to sponsor a visa application for an international employee. A sponsor licence grants permission to employers to hire from abroad. You also need to meet certain requirements for the Home Office to issue this licence to you. 

The Home Office issues the sponsor licence to businesses or organisations, not individuals. You cannot apply for a sponsor licence if you do not have a registered company in the UK. The Home Office will demand that you present proof that your business has the right to trade in the UK. They will also require proof that you have an adequate system to manage and monitor sponsored workers in your company. Representatives from the Home Office visit companies to verify authenticity and strict compliance with UK employment and immigration laws. 

The Different Sponsor Licence Types

UK companies willing to sponsor employees from overseas must apply for a sponsor licence that suits their hiring purpose. There are two types of sponsor licence you can apply for:

• Worker licence which is used to sponsor finance staff coming to the UK for permanent or long-term employment. 
• Temporary Worker licence which is used to sponsor finance staff coming to the UK for temporary jobs. 

Note that your business can go for one or both. It depends on your business needs. 

Eligibility & Requirements Of The Sponsor Licence To Bring Finance Staff To The UK

Below are the sponsorship licence requirements needed to bring finance staff to the UK:

Your Company Must Be Based in the UK

One of the major requirements you need to meet to obtain a sponsor licence is having a business domiciled in the UK. This requirement means you must prove that you have a space in the UK where the business is physically located. 

Your company must be registered to operate legally in the UK, and you must demonstrate how you intend to comply with your sponsor duties. This includes compliance with UK employment laws.

Genuine Need

You must show the Home Office why you need a sponsor licence and seek to employ overseas finance staff. It is important to note that the Home Office can test the genuineness of your need for a sponsor licence at any time. It could be during the sponsor licence application, compliance visit or when you need to issue a certificate of sponsorship for an employee. The genuine need requirement is to ensure employers are not using the sponsor licence as a way to get people into the UK or are not adequately seeking UK talent. Even though a sponsor licence can be issued to any business regardless of the size and service provided, you still need to prove why a business of your size (if it is a small business) has a need to hire finance staff.

Sponsor Licence Not Downgraded or Revoked Less than 12 Months Ago

If the Home Office penalised your business for misconduct pertaining to sponsorship visa UK, you’ll need to wait at least 12 months to reapply. 

Criminal Offence

The Home Office scrutinises applications from UK employers to ensure they have the ways, means and ability to manage overseas employees, compliant with UK immigration legislation. Any unspent criminal convictions, tax evasion, immigration rules breach, money laundering, or poor treatment of staff will likely see the Home Office refuse your application. 

Monitoring & Managing Sponsored Finance Staff

UK companies must prove that they already have an adequate system to monitor the finance staff from overseas. Your business must have an HR arm to oversee international staff affairs. The HR team should be responsible for confirming the immigration status of the finance staff, as well as monitoring attendance. Your business can lose the sponsor licence if the HR personnel does not report a sponsored finance staff who absconded from duty. 

An arm of your business must be tasked with managing sponsored employees. There are three roles that must be filled. One existing employee or more can perform the roles. Any person(s) you choose for this role must have been working for you before you made your sponsor licence application. 

Here are the roles: 

• Level 1 user who can access the sponsor management system (SMS) daily. 
• Key contact officer who will be the middle person between your business and the Home office. 
• Authorising officer who is responsible for managing everyone using the SMS.

What Are the Documents Required for Application?

Here are the documents you need to apply for a sponsor licence:

• Company bank statement showing your annual turnover.
• Insurance policy certificate to prove you have adequate insurance coverage.
• Documents that prove your business has been tax-compliant.
• Property deed, lease or rental contract of your business premises. 
• Audit of your business for the past financial year.
• HMRC certificate to show your business has the right to operate in the UK.

How To Apply For The Sponsor Licence

UK companies can follow the steps below to obtain a sponsor licence from the Home Office: 

Step 1: Check Eligibility

The first step is to ensure that your business meets the eligibility requirements to apply for a sponsor licence. You should check if your business needs the services of an overseas finance staff. You must ensure your business has been compliant with employment and tax laws. If you are doubtful about your business’s eligibility, contact us by calling +44 (0)333 414 9244 or messaging us online. We can assess the eligibility of your business for the sponsor licence. 

Step 2: Select the Key Personnel for Your Business

If you are eligible to apply for a sponsor licence, the next thing to do is choose the personnel that will handle the SMS platform. 

Step 3: Pay the Sponsor Licence Application Fee

You’ll need proof that you paid the application fee when you apply for the sponsor licence. The amount you are required to pay depends on the size of your company. Below is a breakdown of the fees businesses are required to pay for the sponsor licence application:

Small or Charitable Business

• £574 for Worker and Temporary Worker Licence. 
• If your business already has one type of licence and is looking to add the other type, you do not need to pay any fees for the licence. 

Medium or Big Business

• £574 for a Temporary Worker licence. 
• £1,579 for a Worker licence. 
• £1,579 if your business wants to get the Worker and the Temporary Worker licence.
• £1,005 if your business wants to add a Worker licence to a Temporary Worker licence. 
• You won’t be charged if your business wants to add a Temporary Worker licence to a Worker licence. 

The Home Office classifies your business as small if: 

• It has 50 employees or less. 
• It is worth £5.1 million or less.
• It has a yearly turnover of £10.2 million or less. 

The Home Office classifies your business as charity if:

• It is registered as a charitable business in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
• It was founded by an ecclesiastical organisation. 

If the criteria above do not apply to your business, it is medium or big. 

Step 4: Gather Supporting Documents

You need to ensure you have every document you need for the application. You can use the documents required section of this article as a checklist. 

Step 5: Apply Online

To apply for a sponsor licence, you must have an account with the Sponsorship Management System. After creating an account, go to the application portal and begin by inputting information about your business as required. When you finish that, print out the submission sheet in the portal. Fill out the sheet and sign it. You’ll need to attach your supporting documents and the submission sheet in an email you will send to the Home Office. 

The email address to which you’ll send these documents is written on the submission sheet. Ensure that your receipt of payment is also attached; otherwise, your application will not be processed. Note that all your documents must be in PDF, JPEG or PNG. Any document not in these formats will be rejected. The documents must be appropriately named and the writing on them legible. Ensure that each document’s name does not exceed 25 characters.

Step 6: Get Your Licence

The Home Office will notify you via email if your application is approved. Your licence is valid for 10 years. The Home Office can downgrade or revoke your licence if you are guilty of non-compliance with the sponsor licence rules. Upon approval, you get an “A” licence rating. You can be downgraded to a “B” and lose the permit to sponsor overseas finance employees. 

How Long Does The Application Process Take?

After submitting your application, you’ll need to wait 8 weeks for a decision from the Home Office. You can pay an extra £500 for your application to receive priority attention. You’ll get a response within 10 working days using the expedited service. 

Pre-licence Compliance Visit: Everything You Need To Know

When you apply for a sponsor licence to hire finance staff from abroad, the Home Office may visit your business before deciding on your application. When the officers from the Home Office arrive, they will assess the suitability of your business for a sponsor licence. Note that the officers may not notify you of their coming, so you must ensure everything is in order in case they come. 

They will want to verify the genuineness of the company and the vacant finance role. They can demand access to files and information on how the business is run. The application may be refused if they find anything wrong during the pre-licence compliance visit. 

Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS)

Employers must issue a CoS to overseas finance staff so they can apply for a visa. You must let the employee know that the CoS expires if not used within 3 months. An employer can issue a CoS using the sponsorship management system. You must enter the details of the employee and their role on the short form you’ll be asked to fill out on the portal. 

Businesses must be careful to issue the right CoS. There are 2 kinds of CoS: 

• The defined CoS is for finance staff applying for the Skilled Worker visa.  
• The Undefined CoS for finance staff who will apply for a UK visa via other work visa routes. 

You will apply for one whenever you need to issue a defined CoS. On the other hand, there is an allocation of undefined CoS from the Home Office. You have to apply and get your allocation for the year. You can then issue undefined CoS from your yearly allocation. Employers who give the wrong CoS may have their sponsor licence suspended or revoked. 

Step By Step – How To Bring Overseas Finance & Banking Staff To The UK

To hire overseas finance and banking staff for your UK business, follow the steps below: 

Obtain Sponsor Licence

If you do not have a sponsor licence, follow the steps above to get your licence. 

Confirm Immigration Status

You need to confirm if the finance employee you want to hire from abroad needs to be sponsored in the UK. 

Confirm You Meet the Requirements

The Home Office sets a minimum wage that you must pay the sponsored overseas staff. You must assess your business to know if you can bear the cost. Also, check if you can handle the expense of applying for a sponsor licence and issuance of certificates of sponsorship. 

Determine Employee Eligibility

The next step is to ensure the employee is eligible for the finance role in your company. You also need to make the employee undergo security checks to ensure they pose no threat to the UK’s residents. 

Issue CoS

If you are satisfied the employee satisfies the requirements, you can issue them a work contract and a certificate of sponsorship. They must use the CoS to apply for a work visa within 3 months of receiving it. 

Visa Application

You can support the visa application of overseas finance staff by opting to take care of their maintenance for a month, reducing the financial requirements for their work visa. 

Help Your Finance Employee Settle in the UK

Employers can make relocation easier for employees by offering accommodation or helping find it. You can also help them open a bank account, get an insurance policy, and settle effectively into their role in your company using our concierge services.

Our Specialist Immigration Team Can Help

We have a team of expert lawyers at IAS who are well-versed in UK employment and immigration laws. With our extensive experience, we can help you apply for a sponsor licence. Our services include assessing your eligibility, preparing your supporting documents and making an application on your behalf. We have made the application process hassle-free for many other employers in the UK; we can do the same for you. 

We can also help your overseas finance staff apply for the appropriate visa, thus relieving them of the hassles of the application process. Finally, we can organise compliance training on how to carry out your sponsor duties effectively using the SMS platform. 
If you want to know more about what we can do for you, call us at +44 (0)333 414 9244 or message us online.