Sponsor Licence and Compliance
The UK Border Agency (UKBA) are responsible for the issuing of sponsorship licences, rating sponsors as A or B and conducting site visits and audits to monitor and enforce immigration regulations. It is the responsibility of the sponsor to ensure that the conditions of the UK immigration sponsorship licence are continously met.
In the first instance, a prospective sponsor will apply to the UK Border Agency in order to be granted a licence. When successfully registered, a sponsor can apply for a number of Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS), which they can then use for the applicants whom they intend to sponsor. By submitting an application to become a licensed sponsor, an employer agrees to fulfil a number of contractual obligations and duties.
A Certificate of Sponsorship is only an assurance that a potential employee will be able to come to the UK to take up employment with your organisation. As a sponsor it is essential, therefore, that you establish whether a potential sponsored migrant meets the minimum threshold, as well as the general requirements for Entry Clearance/Leave to Remain set out in the Immigration Rules.
In addition, all employers should retain, and make available to the UKBA officials, all documents relating to sponsored migrants, which could be deemed relevant. This should include all documentation used in assessing a potential employee’s qualification for a Certificate of Sponsorship, such as evidence of the salary being offered, evidence of the employee’s qualifications, evidence of the employee’s previous employment at an overseas branch of your company and if applicable evidence that the Resident Labour Market Test has been conducted.
UKBA may carry out checks before or after the licence is issued to ensure that the information provided on the sponsor licence application is an accurate description of the organisation.
Penalties for non-compliance will be issued where appropriate and cases will be treated as civil or criminal depending on the circumstances. Civil penalties will be imposed in situations where the law is broken through negligence or inferior employment practices.
Our team is experienced and highly versatile in dealing with Tier 2 applications and assisting with complex applications to register as a sponsor. Contact us today to discuss your ability to recruit foreign workers whilst avoiding penalties by remaining fully compliant with the current legislation.
