We are renowned for our swift turnaround on sponsor licence applications and have a great track record with urgent applications. The Home Office aims to process most applications within eight weeks from the date you submit documents. Paid priority services are available to reduce this to 10 working days.  Decisions may be delayed if the Home Office wants a pre-licence audit, though this is unlikely in most sectors. Allow time to prepare supporting documents and information.

You can request an allocation of ‘undefined’ CoS when applying for a sponsor licence based on how many you anticipate needing so that the certificates are ready when your licence is approved. These may be used to sponsor migrant workers already in the UK. For new hires from overseas, you must apply to the Home Office for ‘defined’ CoS – specific to the role you want to fill. These ‘DCoS’ applications are decided on a case-by-case basis. Decisions are usually within two days unless the Home Office has further questions about the role. 

For workers applying from overseas, standard processing is three weeks from submission. (For applicants required to enrol biometrics at a visa application centre this starts from the date of their appointment.) For workers applying to extend visas or switch employers, standard processing is eight weeks. Paid priority services are available which can expedite the process down to one to five working days. 

In most cases, to employ non-settled workers, employers would require a sponsor licence. We advise on the requirements, suitability and procedure for a licence to sponsor the following categories of sponsored workers:

• Skilled Worker (including Health and care visas)
• Scale-up worker
• International Sportsperson
• Temporary Shortage List roles
• T2 Minister of Religion
• Creative Worker
• Global Business Mobility – Graduate Trainee (this replaced the Intra-Company Graduate Trainee route)
• Global Business Mobility – UK Expansion Worker (replaced the unsponsored Sole Representative provisions of the Representative of an Overseas Business route)
• Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker (replaced the Intra-Company Transfer route)
• Global Business Mobility – Service Supplier (replaced the provisions for contractual service suppliers and independent professionals on the International Agreement route)
• Global Business Mobility – Secondment Worker
• Government Authorised Exchange
• International Agreement
• Religious Worker
• Charity Worker
• Seasonal Worker

These sponsored routes we advise on count towards eventual settlement and we assist employers, workers and their families throughout the journey:

• Skilled Worker (including Health and care visas)
• Scale-up worker
• International Sportsperson
• T2 Minister of Religion

The government is currently holding a consultation on a new Temporary Shortage List and it awaits to be seen if these visas for shortage vocations will allow settlement.

Some migrant workers may not require sponsorship. We establish if they can use other routes, such as:

• UK Ancestry
• Global Talent
• Innovator Founder
• High Potential Individual
• Graduate visas
• Youth Mobility Scheme
• Frontier Worker Permits
• Service Providers from Switzerland
• Family visas
• Settled and Pre-settled Status under the EU Settlement Scheme
• certain Student visa holders 
• Refugees. 

NB: if you are not sure whether a worker can use their current visa to work for you, we recommend taking professional advice before employment commences, as the consequences of illegal working are severe. 

Until recently, most sponsors had to renew every four years. Now most licences no longer have expiry dates. In general, a sponsor licence will remain valid if you meet requirements. Scale-up and UK Expansion Worker licences are only valid for four years because these are time-limited and cannot be renewed. The UK Expansion Worker licence can only be used for two years. We advise on when it is prudent to apply for more than one sponsor licence and when to add other licences to your existing one. 

The Home Office may revoke, suspend or downgrade your licence if you fail to comply with sponsor duties. Broadly, these involve reporting, record keeping, compliance with the law, behaviour conducive to the public good. The Home Office is becoming increasingly stringent with fresh applications and enforcement. Sanctions may result due to a failed inspection or if your application did not meet requirements. We pride ourselves on providing clear training and materials so clients find it easy to follow the rules

If you are facing refusal, revocation or downgrading of your sponsor licence, we would encourage you to instruct us as soon as possible so we can assist with critical next steps. 

We will review the grounds of the decision and advise on your response. This may mean contacting the Home Office to raise any factual errors, advice on whether to apply afresh, required supporting evidence, addressing breaches, remedial steps to address them as well as legal challenges where appropriate. We will also support you for any follow-up Home Office scrutiny, such as a site visit. We have a lot of experience in helping employers who come to us in such trying situations. 

We pride ourselves on our impeccable client care, swift results and a tailored, boutique immigration advice where our lawyers get to know your business needs.  With a partner-led service you will be in the safe hands of senior immigration practitioners with decades of successful advice and a wealth of established contacts within the Home Office. Led by founder Vanessa Ganguin, our team of specialists are highly responsive and take a focussed approach to each case, prioritising clear communication and practical guidance for you and your teams.