UK Migration Knowledge-Base

Signup our newsletter to get update information, news, insight or promotions.

What is a UK Sponsorship License and why is It Essential for Employers?

Table Of Content

  1. What is a UK Sponsorship License?
  2. Types of Sponsorship License
  3. Types Of Sponsorship License
  4. Why Is A Sponsorship License Essential?
  5. Worker License
  6. Temporary Worker License

Any organization in any part of the world wants the best talent pool working for them. UK-based companies are no different. However, talents are spread across the globe. Thus UK based companies wish to employ the best-skilled workers available internationally including citizens of the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland who arrived in the UK after 31 December 2020. There is a process through which they can do this. This process starts with a UK sponsorship license application. Once the application is successful you get a sponsor license that enables you to issue a certificate of sponsorship which is essential for migrant workers applying to work in a UK-based organization.

What is a UK Sponsorship License?

Hiring talents is a key business decision. If available locally there is no issue for any UK-based organization. But a shortage in the UK talent market hiring international workers often becomes essential for companies. To bring foreign talent to the UK, an organization needs a sponsor license. You need a sponsor license to sponsor migrant workers. For this, you first need to apply for a sponsorship license.

A sponsorship license is a license approved and authorized by the UK’s Home Office that allows a UK-based to invite international workers to work for their company in the UK. However, you need to check if your business is eligible, if your company meets other eligibility conditions, comply with your responsibilities as a sponsor license holder, and comply with UK immigration law when hiring foreign workers. Once you have received a sponsorship license you can issue a certificate of sponsorship to the foreign immigrant applicants. A certificate of sponsorship is a document essential for migrant workers when applying for a UK skilled worker visa.

Types Of Sponsorship License

There are 2 types of sponsorship licenses. Which one you need depends on your recruitment needs. You may need skilled workers, workers for the long term and/or for the short term. Thus 2 types of sponsorship licenses are:

  1. Worker License

A worker license allows you to recruit people in specific positions requiring specific qualifications or experience. You can recruit them for short-term, long-term, or permanent depending on the worker visa.

Visa Routes Under Worker License

The following visa routes are available under the worker license:

  • Skilled worker
  • Senior or specialist worker (Global Business Mobility)
  • Minister of Religion
  • International Sportsperson

2. Temporary Worker License

As the name suggests temporary worker license allows you to hire people for roles temporarily. This includes seasonal work, volunteering, and job shadowing. This means you cannot hire through any visa route under this license for roles on a permanent basis. The visa routes available under temporary workers license are:

  • Scale-up worker
  • Creative worker
  • Charity worker
  • Religious worker
  • Government authorized exchange
  • International Agreement
  • Graduate trainee (Global Business Mobility)
  • Service supplier (Global Business Mobility)
  • UK expansion worker (Global Business Mobility)
  • Secondment worker (Global Business Mobility)
  • Seasonal worker

Why Is A Sponsorship License Essential?

UK sponsorship license application has always been essential since its inception due to the shortage of skilled workers in the UK and it has become even more essential after Brexit. Before Brexit at least EU nationals filled the gap in the talent pool of the UK to some extent because they could freely move in and out of the UK but post-July 1, 2021 even they needed to apply for a UK Worker Visa to work in the UK.

Here are some of the key reasons why a sponsorship license is essential:

Thus, we have brought you the top 8 FAQ about UK student visas and here are they

1. Issue certificate of sponsorshi

Any UK based company looking to hire overseas employee needs to issue certificate of sponsorship to them which is a key document for migrant workers applying for UK worker visa. Thus, it is essential to have a sponsorship license in the first place to be able to issue certificate of sponsorship.

2. Access to the global talent pool

Sponsor license allows companies to hire talents from any part of the world. They get access to the most skilled people such as an IT engineer from India, an innovator from Germany, or a financial analyst from the US. This opens a world of opportunities not just for foreign talents but also for UK companies.

3. Reliable workforce

A sponsor license allows you to onboard a reliable workforce. This is because migrant workers usually come with long-term plans. They are also tied to the UK’s immigration laws specific to their visa category. This provides UK companies to plan for the long term keeping in mind that the workers will stick to their companies for a substantial period.

4. Skilled workforce

After Brexit UK companies are struggling to fill the skilled worker’s gap and facing major recruitment challenges. A successful UK sponsorship license application allows them to cover this gap and ease their hiring challenges. Suppose a company requires several IT people and they know that they can get them from India or any other part of the world, sponsor license allows them to reach and bring these skilled people and build a highly skilled workforce for their company.

5. Competition

Due to the acute shortage of talent within the UK, several companies might be alluring the same skilled people if they are restricted to hiring from within the UK. Competition is also a key thing. To remain competitive in the UK companies need to have a competitive edge over their competitors. One of the ways to achieve this is through skilled people in key positions. A sponsorship license allows you to hire the best creative, innovative, techies, sportspersons, and medical professionals along with skilled professionals from other domains . This helps you remain ahead of the competition in a big way.

6. Diverse workforce

Organizational culture is also one of the key things for a happy atmosphere in a company. When UK-based companies acquire talents from different parts of the world this strengthens their work culture. Diverse minds in a company can expedite innovation and growth. A company can really go global when they have different perspectives on any aspect coming from a diverse workforce.

7. Economic Impact

When international join the UK workforce they are not just receivers of the UK’s money, health system, education system and other benefits, they also become a consumer, tax payer, pay for health surcharge, education and many other aspects of an economy. This way they become a great contributor to the UK’s economy and foster UK’s economic growth.

8. Compliance with UK immigration law

A successful UK sponsorship license application does not happen without the companies complying with UK immigration law. Not just that even hired employees also have to be immigration law and the country’s general law-abiding people.

For companies complying with immigration laws mitigates the risk of legal issues, fines, and other penalties associated with hiring foreign workers. On the other hand, compliance also requires them to maintain records of data of the foreign workers. This activity safeguards the nation from becoming any threat to the country.