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18 Sep Compliance with duties and obligations as a sponsor

Posted on September 18, 2015 in Other Visas by
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It is a known fact that UK companies, wishing to recruit migrant workers from inside or outside the UK, are required to apply for a Sponsorship License with the UK Visas and Immigration. The application for the Sponsorship License has to be approved before the company can sponsor a migrant worker. In the past the procedure for obtaining a license was fairly straightforward. However, in the wake of recent changes, which were introduced to the Tier 2 Policy Guidance on 6 November 2014, it has become more challenging to obtain a license, since the Home Office has to apply greater scrutiny to weed out fraudulent applications. In particular, the Home Office started conducting unexpected visits to verify the information provided in the Sponsorship License application and to check whether a company meets its obligations as a sponsor. If the Compliance Officer is not satisfied with the information and documents provided during the visit, the company’s license can be revoked, suspended or downgraded from A-level to B-level.

Please note that according to recent statistics, in the second quarter of year 2015, 40% of visits resulted in actions by the Home Office. Therefore we highly recommend all sponsors to read the Policy Guidance published by the Home Office (version 04/2015) more carefully in order to ensure that they comply with their duties.

If you seek legal advice on compliance with the UKVI requirements as a UK sponsor, or wish us to audit your company to ensure that you have all documents and the information in place before the Home Office visits your company, please do not hesitate to contact one of our Immigration Consultants.

The content of this article is for general use and information only. Since each case should be prepared on its own merit and in light of the constant amendments to the Immigration Rules, it is important to note that the information provided must not be relied upon unless Migra & Co has either given written consent or has been officially engaged in relation to a specific immigration matter. As a result, Migra & Co will take no responsibility for any damage, cost or loss resulting from relying on the information contained in this article, blog and website.