How to apply for a Sponsor Licence

If you want to hire a skilled worker from overseas, this includes citizens of the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland who arrived in the UK after 31 December 2020, then you must first apply for and be successfully granted a Sponsor Licence.

There are different types of Sponsor Licences available, the right one for you will depend on the type of workers you intend to hire. The Workers Sponsor Licence is for skilled or long term employment, this includes overseas workers with a Skilled Worker, Intra-Company Transfer, Minister of Religion or Sportsperson visa. The Temporary Workers Sponsor Licence is for specific types of temporary employment for overseas workers who hold one of the Temporary Worker Visas. You can apply for a licence that covers either one or both types of workers.

Before you make your Sponsor Licence application you should decide the type of licence that you would like to apply for and should also assign the sponsorship management roles.

You can apply for a Sponsor Licence online by completing the application form available on the gov.uk website. The application form should be completed by the Authorising Officer once they are satisfied that the organisation has the appropriate systems in place to comply with their sponsorship duties.

After completing the application form a submission sheet will be generated, you should keep a copy of this submission sheet for your records and it is not possible to generate another one once the application has been closed.

When completing the application form you will also need to pay the Sponsor Licence application fee, this varies depending on the size of the business.

For small businesses, the application fee is £536 whereas for large businesses the application fee is £1476.

When making your application you are also required to submit a minimum of four supporting documents to prove that your organisation meets the requirements for a Sponsor Licence. The documents you will need to submit will vary depending on the type of organisation but they could include the following:

• Your employer’s liability insurance certificate
• A certificate of VAT registration
• Evidence that you own or have a commercial lease for business premises
• Your latest corporate bank account statement
• Your latest audited annual accounts
• HMRC registration evidence

You should also submit a covering letter that provides information about why you are applying for a Sponsor Licence as well as details about how the organisation operates and your employees.