Documents Needed to Apply for Sponsor Licence

Sponsor Licence Documents

You will be required to send a variety of documentary proof to the Home Office when applying for a sponsor licence.

These will vary in nature, but most will be in service of proving that your organisation is eligible for a sponsor licence and that your aims and organisation are legitimate.

There are four ‘tables’ for organisations to check for required documents. Note that you may have to send documents from multiple tables in order to complete your application. In particular, Table 4 pertains to miscellaneous documents that may or may not apply to your organisation, so must be checked carefully. The full list of documents in this table can be found on the gov.uk website.

Sponsor Licence Document Requirements – What Is Appendix A?

Appendix A by the Home Office is the sponsor guidance on the mandatory documents for all sponsor licence application process including UK expansion worker route. In most instances, you are required to provide a minimum of 4 documents or a combination of 4 documents where stated.

The specific document you will submit depends on the entity you are representing which may be a start-up, SME, franchise or a public body. Exceptions to these requirements exist for companies that are listed on the London Stock Exchange major market and any public body already recognised by the UK government in the corporate report.

Documents for Specific Bodies and Organisations (Table 1)

Government Departments, Government Agencies, Local Authorities or Councils, or Other Listed Public Bodies or Councils

If your organisation comes under this category, you will not normally need to send any documents unless there are specific ones required for the route on which you’re applying.

Public Bodies Not Listed on Gov.uk

If you’re a public body not listed on the ‘Departments, agencies and public bodies’ page on gov.uk, you must send a covering letter or email from your sponsoring government department that confirms you are a public body.

You should also send any specific documents required for the route on which you’re applying.

Certain International Agreement Organisations

If you’re applying under International Agreement as a diplomatic mission or a consular post, or a recognised international organisation included in the Exempt organisations list, you will need to send a letter as described in section IAW2 of Sponsor an International Agreement Worker.

You should also send any specific documents required for the route on which you’re applying.

Organisations Listed on the London Stock Exchange (Main Market)

You will not need to send any documents as the Home Office will check your listing online. You should, however, send any specific documents required for the route on which you’re applying.

Scale-Up Organisations

You do not need to send any documents, unless are required to be registered with, or inspected or monitored by, a regulatory body to operate lawfully in the UK. If this applies, you must send any evidence or information specified for such organisations in Table 2.

You should also send any specific documents required for the route on which you’re applying.

Start-Ups, Franchises, Charities and Organisations Subject to Regulation or Inspection (Table 2)

Start-up (Operating or Trading in the UK for Fewer than 18 Months)

You must send evidence that you have a current corporate bank account registered by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority in the UK, unless you’re applying under the Expansion Worker route.

Franchises

You must send your franchise agreement signed by both parties.

Organisations Subject to Mandatory Registration or Inspection

If you need to be registered with, or inspected or monitored by, a regulatory body to operate in the UK, the Home Office will check this and will request to see your last inspection report if necessary. These can include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Nursing or care homes (registration with Ofsted, Care Quality Commission, etc)
• Financial or insurance businesses carrying our regulated activities (registration with Financial Conduct Authority or the Prudential Regulation Authority, etc)
• Healthcare and medical providers (registration with General Medical Council or General Dental Council, etc)
• Food businesses (registration with local authority or rating on Scores on the Doors website, etc)

Charities

You will not need to send any documents if you are listed on one of the following:

• Charity Commission for England and Wales
• Charity Commission for Northern Ireland
• Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR)

If you’re applying under a different name to the one you’re registered with, you must tell the Home Office your registered name so they can check your status.

If you’re in Northern Ireland and you’re not registered with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, you must send proof that you have obtained charitable status for tax purposes from HMRC.

If you’re an ecclesiastical corporation, you send proof that you’re established for charitable purposes.

If you’re a school with academy status, you do not need to send any proof of registration.

If you’re not registered according to the relevant charity registration, you should provide an explanation of why you’re not registered and any supporting evidence relevant to your case.

Route-Specific Documents (Table 3)

International Sportsperson

You must send a copy of the endorsement from the approved governing body for your sport, including the governing body unique reference number.

Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier

You should provide evidence that you have an eligible contract with an overseas service provider for the supply of a service which is covered by a relevant UK trade commitment that is currently in force or being provisionally applied. It should also meet the requirements set out in section GBM2 of the relevant visa guidance.

Government Authorised Exchange

The Home Office should have already checked your endorsement by the time you apply for your licence. For this reason, you should only have to send whatever mandatory documents from Table 2 or Table 4 required.

If you’re applying as a diplomatic mission or consular post under the Diplomatic Missions Interns Scheme, you must also send a copy of the signed Memorandum of Understanding between you and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) with your application.

Seasonal Worker

You must send your endorsement from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

T2 Minister of Religion or Religious Worker

You must send information about your organisation, which should include the following:

• Which faith or religion you belong to
• Details of your parent organisation and your connection to them
• A hierarchy chart, if applicable
• The size of your adult congregation
• The number of clergy you currently employ
• Your addresses
• Your scheduled days and hours of worship

If there is a hierarchy in your faith, you must send a letter of support from the head of your organisation confirming that you are a part of the organisation.

If relevant, you should also send a copy of your Form 76 from the General Register Office giving authorisation for the use of a building as a place of worship, and/or a copy of your ‘Form 78’ from the General Register Office giving authorisation for marriages to be performed at a place of worship.

Global Business Mobility Senior or Specialist Worker or Graduate Trainee

You must send at least one of the following documents, clearly showing you are linked by common ownership or control, or through a joint venture agreement, to a qualifying overseas business:

• An affidavit or a statutory declaration signed by a senior partner or senior executive within the UK entity, identifying all of the connected entities both in the UK and overseas
• Most recent audited accounts or an audited annual report of the head office or parent company, if this clearly shows the link between the 2 entities
• If you are a UK establishment of an overseas company, you only need to send the Companies House reference number for the UK establishment
• If either entity is registered on the London Stock Exchange or one of the FCA-approved international stock exchanges, a notarised statement by the company secretary of the organisation, clearly setting out the global corporate structure with ownership percentages of each related corporate entity detailed
• Certified copy of the share register or equivalent of one or other of the entities showing ownership by the entity, or a copy of the share registers of both entities clearly showing the common parent company
• Certified copy of the agreement clearly naming both entities as parties to, or one entity as a party to and the other entity as the subject of, the agreement which allows one entity to control the composition of the other entity’s board
• Certified copy of the agreement clearly naming both entities as parties to, or one entity as a party to and the other entity as the subject of, the agreement which allows one entity to cast or control the casting of more than half the maximum number of votes that might be cast at a general meeting of the other entity
• Certified copy of the joint venture agreement clearly naming both entities as parties to the agreement, or one entity as a party to, and the other entity as the entity formed by, that agreement
• Certified copy of the agreement clearly naming both entities as parties to, or one entity as a party to and the other entity as the entity formed by, that agreement (where the agreement 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)
• Certified copy of the agreement which clearly shows that both entities can use a trademark which is registered or established under the laws of the UK and the jurisdiction of the other entity’s country of operation (only applicable to accountancy or law firms only)
• Certified copy of the agreement which clearly shows that both entities can operate under the same name in the UK and in the jurisdiction of the other entity’s country of operation (only applicable to accountancy or law firms only)
• Articles of Association of either entity, or both entities, if these clearly show the link between the two companies

Global Business Mobility Graduate Trainee

In addition to the evidence in the above section, you must also show details of your graduate training programme, such as evidence of recruitment, a brochure, or a company website showing details of the programme.

Global Business Mobility Expansion Worker

You must send the following unless you qualify as an exempt Japanese or Australian business:

• Proof of your UK ‘footprint’: e.g. proof of registration with Companies House, etc
• Evidence of your overseas trading presence: e.g. proof that you have been trading overseas for at least 12 months before your application, etc
• Evidence of your planned expansion into the UK
• Other documents, e.g.:
  • Annual reports and investor info
  • Details of recruitment campaigns in the UK
  • Articles of Association
  • Relevant documents from Table 4
  • Etc.

Global Business Mobility Secondment Worker

Evidence you have a contract with an overseas business for goods or investment worth at least £10 million per year, and no less than £50 million in total.

Student or Child Student

You must provide all of the following:

• Proof that you are based in the UK
• Proof that you are operating and trading lawfully in the UK
• Proof that you have registered for VAT with HM Revenue and Customs where required to do so
• A written record of a fire risk assessment conducted by a competent person
• Evidence to show that you have appropriate planning permission or local planning authority consent to operate the relevant type or class of organisation at your trading address
• Any documentation which is required to demonstrate that your sites, exceptional arrangements and/or partnerships, where applicable, meet all of the relevant requirements of the ‘Sites and teaching partnerships’ section of Document 1 of the Student sponsor guidance

You may also have to send proof of your registration with a relevant government department if you are a new independent school.

Other Documents (Table 4)

You may also have to send the following, depending on your circumstances. These may include (but not be limited to):

• Proof of employer’s liability cover for at least £5 million
• Proof of your listing on the London Stock Exchange AIM market
• Proof of your listing as an overseas company on the London Stock Exchange International Companies listing
• Proof of your listing on one of the Financial Conduct Authority approved international stock exchanges
• Proof of registration with HMRC as self-employed
• Your latest annual self-assessment tax return to HMRC (SA300 or SA302)
• Etc.

Are Original Copies of Documentation Required for the Sponsor Licence Application?

Proof of registration and evidence of registration documentations issued by HMRC must be original or certified copies. However documents can now be emailed to the Home Office and the sponsor licence application process can be initiated online. This has created a long-term change to the procedures for licence applications.

Routes to Sponsor Workers

Once a foreigner meets the required skill level, experience and qualification, they can become sponsored workers. There are two main routes to employ skilled workers that are foreign nationals; the worker routes and the temporary worker routes.

The Worker Routes

Skilled worker visa route: The minimum requirement for skilled worker sponsor licence is level 3 on the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) for the UK and Northern Ireland. Its equivalence is the A-Levels for other countries according to the new Skilled Worker route which replaced the previous Tier 2 (General) route.

Global Business Mobility: Formerly known as the Intra-Company Transfer route, it involves senior managers or specialist foreign workers in multinational companies who are available for job openings that cannot be filled by the settled or EEA workers.

Minister of Religion (Tier 2): It refers to foreigners who have a job offer for an opening in a faith-based community as a minister to engage in pastoral activities, preach, function as missionary or belong as a member of a religious order.

International Sportsperson: They are reputable foreigners who have received job offers as elite sportspersons or coaches in the country. Their contribution would further benefit UK sports at the highest level.

The Temporary Worker Routes

Charity worker: Sponsor licence holders can sponsor a foreigner for voluntary work with a non-profit organisation. The validity period for this immigration route is one year maximum.

Creative worker: This is the route for creatives who want to work in the UK as an artist, musician, dancer, entertainer, or a fashion model. Its validity period is at most, 12 months, but there can be an extension by 12 months for the same sponsor.

Global Business Mobility (GBM) routes: Some updates were made on the UK immigration rules for sponsors of temporary workers following this route as follows:

• Graduate Trainee – formerly Intra-Company Graduate Trainee route
• UK Expansion Worker – replacement for the unsponsored Sole Representative provisions of the Representative of an Overseas Business
• Service Supplier – replacement for the provisions for contractual service suppliers and independent professionals on the International Agreement route
• Secondment Worker – A new immigration route for sponsored workers working in the UK temporarily as part of a high-value contract or investment by their overseas employer

Other temporary routes include government authorised exchange, international agreement, religious worker, scale-up (also a new route) and seasonal worker.

Key Personnel for the Licence Application

Appointing key personnel within your organisation to liaise with the Home Office is among the sponsor licence requirements. The appointees should be resident in the UK and pass Home Office’s character and background checks. The main roles include:

• Authorising officer – The most important role that should be overseen by a senior employee within the HR department
• Key contact –  This person becomes the first point of contact with the Home Office and is best suited for a legal representative.
• Level 1 user –  Manages the licence through the sponsorship management system (SMS) online portal.
• Level 2 user – Has access to the sponsor management system but fewer permissions than level 1 users

How to Submit an Online Sponsor Licence Application

While the application form must be submitted by the authorising officer using the submission sheet, your legal representative should supervise the entire process to ensure compliance. The submission sheet and other supporting documents must be sent to the Home Office by email within five working days.

Sponsor Licence Application Fee

The sponsor licence fee depends on the type and size of your organisation and is as follows:

How can IAS Help

The introduction of the new points-based system has enlarged the scope of migrant workers that can be sponsored to work in the UK. With this possibility, you need to secure your access to the best talent in your field.

Whether you need a skilled worker or a temporary worker, you want to be sure you meet the eligibility requirement, suitability criteria and submit the right documentation to clear your path to become a sponsor.

Our team of professional immigration attorneys are here to provide any assistance you need with UK sponsorship requirements. Call us on +44 (0)333 414 9244 or contact us online.