Streamline Your Sponsor Licence with Experts

The typical processing time for a sponsor licence application is 8 weeks. For a faster decision within 10 working days, you can opt for priority processing at an additional cost paid to the home office, although this is not guaranteed. If you instruct our team, we typically take one week to submit the application after you provide us with the documents and information we request.

The cost of a sponsor licence depends on the size of your business. For small businesses or charities, the fee is £574. For other organisations, the fee is £1,579. This legal fee for our assistance with the application depends on the size and readiness of the organisation. We will provide a fixed fee quote in the free eligibility check call.

There is no set limit on the number of workers you can sponsor; however, you must request and be allocated Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) based on your hiring needs. This is subject to ensuring that the job vacancies are genuine and that your business demonstrates financial viability.

A Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) is a unique reference number issued by a licensed sponsor to the worker they wish to sponsor. It can be normally downloaded as a digital document that confirms the job details and is required for the worker to apply for a visa.

Yes, you can apply for a sponsor licence even if your business is newly established and not yet profitable. However, you must provide evidence that your business is genuine, legally operating, and has a sustainable financial model. Additionally, you must demonstrate the ability to meet all sponsor duties and compliance requirements.

A Sponsor Licence compliance visit is an inspection by the Home Office to ensure your business is adhering to its sponsorship responsibilities. This can happen either before your licence is granted or at any time after you become a licence holder. The visit is to verify that your business is genuine, capable of managing sponsored workers, and compliant with immigration rules and regulations. The inspection could be a digital one or an on-premises visit.

Under the updated Home Office guidance, sponsors are now required to cover specific fees related to sponsorship and must not recover these costs from the sponsored worker. These fees include the sponsor licence application fee, which is £574 for small companies and £1,579 for medium/large companies. Additionally, any associated administrative costs, such as the £500 priority processing fee, must also be covered by the employer. Sponsors are also responsible for paying the Immigration Skills Charge, which amounts to £364 per year for small businesses and £1,000 per year for medium/large companies. Finally, the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) fee of £525 per worker must be fully covered by the sponsor. These measures ensure that workers are not financially burdened with employer-related immigration costs.

The Immigration Skills Charge is a fee that UK employers must pay when sponsoring a worker on a Skilled Worker or Senior/Specialist Worker visa. It helps fund skills training for the UK workforce. The charge is paid when assigning a Certificate of Sponsorship and applies for each sponsored worker. The amount varies depending on the size of the business and the length of the worker’s employment.

The skilled worker sponsor licence usually stays valid for as long as the sponsor continue to meet the eligibility requirements. Scale-up & Expansion worker sponsor licences are valid for up to 4 years, with no option to renew.

Sponsor duties are the legal responsibilities you must follow as a sponsor licence holder. These include monitoring and reporting on your sponsored workers, keeping up-to-date records, complying with UK immigration laws, and cooperating with the Home Office during audits or inspections. Failing to meet these duties can result in penalties or the loss of your licence.

If your sponsor licence application is refused, you generally cannot reapply until the cooling-off period stated in the decision letter, which is typically 6 months but can be longer in some cases. However, if the refusal is due to a process error, you may be able to address the issue and seek to correct it with the home office.

If we are instructed to assist with your application, we will thoroughly assess and fix any risks of refusal before submission, ensuring the application is as strong as possible. If you’ve applied on your own and received a refusal, our team can review the decision and advise on your next steps, whether that involves reapplying or challenging the decision.

For your sponsor licence application, you'll need to provide documents that prove your business is genuine and operational. Examples include your company’s registration certificate, employer's liability insurance, proof of business premises, and evidence of PAYE registration. The exact documents required will depend on your business type and circumstances.