How to Apply for a Sponsor Licence

What Is a Sponsor Licence?

A sponsor licence is an authorisation from the Home Office that allows a UK employer to sponsor workers from overseas on certain visa routes, primarily the Skilled Worker visa. Without a sponsor licence, you cannot hire workers who need visa sponsorship.

The licence is issued to your organisation, not to individual workers. Once you have a licence, you can sponsor multiple workers (subject to your Certificate of Sponsorship allocation). Since 6 April 2024 a licence does not expire: once granted it stays valid for an indefinite period, unless the organisation surrenders it or the Home Office revokes it.

The sponsor licence system is managed through the GOV.UK employer sponsorship pages. All licensed sponsors are listed on the public Register of Licensed Sponsors.

Who Can Apply?

To be eligible for a sponsor licence, your organisation must:

• Be a genuine organisation operating lawfully in the UK
• Not have had a sponsor licence revoked in the previous 12 months (with some exceptions)
• Have appropriate HR and recruitment systems in place
• Be able to fulfil the ongoing duties of a sponsor (reporting, record-keeping, compliance)
• Not have any individuals in key roles who are considered unsuitable (e.g., those with unspent criminal convictions for relevant offences). Contact the Home Office if you are unsure about suitability

Any type of organisation can apply: limited companies, sole traders, partnerships, charities, public sector bodies, and educational institutions. The key requirement is that you are genuine, operating, and capable of meeting your sponsorship responsibilities.

Costs

The sponsor licence fee depends on the size of your organisation:

• Small or charitable sponsors: £611. An organisation is usually a small sponsor if at least 2 of these apply: annual turnover of £15 million or less, total assets of £7.5 million or less, or 50 employees or fewer. Charities pay this rate whatever their size.
• Medium and large sponsors: £1,682. This applies to organisations that go beyond the small sponsor thresholds.

A Temporary Worker licence costs £611 whatever the size of the organisation.

Additional costs include:

• Priority processing: £750 for a decision within 10 working days
• Immigration Skills Charge: per sponsored worker, £480 for the first 12 months then £240 for each further 6 months (small or charitable sponsors), or £1,320 then £660 (medium and large)
• Certificate of Sponsorship fee: £525 per certificate on a Worker licence, £55 on a Temporary Worker licence

These are employer costs. Since 31 December 2024 the licence fee, the administrative costs of the application and the Certificate of Sponsorship fee cannot be passed to a Skilled Worker, and GOV.UK says a licence may be revoked if a sponsor asks a worker to pay them. The Immigration Skills Charge has never been passable to the worker. Workers pay their own visa fees and Immigration Health Surcharge.

Documents You Need

The Home Office requires evidence that your organisation is genuine and capable of meeting sponsor duties. The specific documents depend on your organisation type, but typically include:

All Organisations

• Employer's liability insurance certificate (or confirmation of Crown body status if applicable)
• Evidence of HMRC registration (PAYE reference)
• Bank statements showing business transactions

Limited Companies

• Company registration documents from Companies House
• Latest audited or unaudited annual accounts
• VAT registration certificate (if applicable)

Sole Traders and Partnerships

• Self-assessment tax return
• Business bank statements
• Evidence of trading (contracts, invoices, business premises lease)

Additional Evidence

• Evidence of a genuine vacancy (job advert, recruitment records). Sponsored workers must meet the English language requirement
• Details of your HR and recruitment processes
• Organisational structure chart
• Evidence of business premises (lease or ownership documents)

The Application Process

1. Prepare your documents. Gather all required evidence before starting the application. Missing documents are a common cause of refusal.
2. Apply online. Submit your application through the GOV.UK sponsor licence application page. You will need to create an account on the Sponsorship Management System.
3. Nominate key personnel. You must nominate an Authorising Officer (a senior person responsible for the licence), a Key Contact (day-to-day management), and a Level 1 User (who operates the SMS).
4. Pay the fee. The fee is paid online during the application.
5. Upload supporting documents. Submit all required evidence through the online system within 5 working days of submitting the application.
6. Wait for processing. Standard: most applications are decided in less than 8 weeks. Priority: within 10 working days for £750.
7. Possible compliance visit. The Home Office may visit your premises before or after granting the licence to verify your operations and systems.
8. Decision. You will be notified by email. If approved, you can start assigning CoS to workers.

Compliance Visits

The Home Office may visit your premises at any time, either as part of the initial application assessment or after the licence is granted. During a visit, they will check:

• That your organisation is genuine and operating as described
• That you have appropriate HR and record-keeping systems
• That you are monitoring your sponsored workers (attendance, contact details, immigration status)
• That you have reported any changes as required (e.g., workers leaving, salary changes)
• That sponsored workers are doing the job described on their CoS. Workers will need biometrics for their visa application

Failing a compliance visit can result in your licence being downgraded, suspended, or revoked. Take compliance seriously from day one.

Ongoing Sponsor Duties

Holding a sponsor licence comes with ongoing obligations:

Reporting Duties

• Report if a sponsored worker does not start their job
• Report if a sponsored worker is absent without permission for 10 or more consecutive working days
• Report if a sponsored worker's employment ends (for any reason)
• Report any significant changes to your organisation (address, ownership, key personnel)

Record-Keeping Duties

• Keep copies of sponsored workers' passports and right to work documents
• Maintain up-to-date contact details for all sponsored workers
• Keep records of sponsored workers' attendance and work patterns

Compliance Duties

• Cooperate with Home Office compliance visits
• Ensure sponsored workers are doing the job described on their CoS
• Not allow sponsored workers to work for a third party without approval
• Conduct right to work checks on all employees, not just sponsored workers

Common Reasons for Refusal

• Insufficient evidence of genuine operations: If the Home Office is not satisfied that your organisation is genuinely trading and operating.
• Inadequate HR systems: You must demonstrate that you have systems in place to monitor workers and meet your reporting duties.
• Key personnel concerns: If your Authorising Officer or other key personnel have unspent criminal convictions or previous immigration breaches.
• Previous licence revocation: If your organisation had a licence revoked within the past 12 months.
• Missing documents: Failing to submit all required evidence within the deadline.

Keeping Your Licence

There is nothing to renew. The requirement to renew a sponsor licence every 4 years was removed on 6 April 2024, and a licence now stays valid for an indefinite period. The exception is a licence to sponsor Scale-up Workers or UK Expansion Workers, which lasts a maximum of 4 years and cannot be renewed.

What replaced renewal is continuous compliance: reporting changes through the Sponsor Management System, keeping the required records, and cooperating with Home Office checks, which can happen at any time and can be unannounced. If a licence is revoked, the sponsored workers' permission to stay can be cut short, and they may need to find another sponsor or consider switching visa categories. See the sponsor licence renewal guide for what changed, and compliance duties for the deadlines.

Getting Help

The sponsor licence application is straightforward for well-organised businesses, but it can be complex for smaller organisations or those unfamiliar with immigration compliance. Consider:

• Using an immigration solicitor to guide you through the application and ensure your documents are in order.
• Reviewing the Home Office's sponsor guidance on GOV.UK before applying.
• Preparing your HR systems and record-keeping processes before submitting the application, not after.

Questions and answers