Sponsoring a migrant

How do I sponsor a migrant and Categories of migrant are explained in this section.
You must have a licence to sponsor skilled workers, temporary workers or students under the new points-based system.
To get a licence, you must apply online and send your payment and documents to support your application.
Before you apply, you should check whether you are eligible to apply for a licence, and make sure that you have the right human resource (HR) systems in place to comply with your sponsorship duties.

what kind of licence?
If you have a number of different offices, locations or campuses you can register in a number of ways. You need to decide whether:

• you are applying for a single licence that includes the head office and all branches in the United Kingdom;
• each branch is applying for a separate licence; or
• you are grouping a number of branches in a single licence.

If you are registering as 'group of branches', you must list all the branches that you wish to include in this registration and give their addresses. Where necessary, use a separate sheet and send this in with your submission sheet.

how many people will you need?
You will need to provide an estimate of the number of certificates of sponsorship you expect to issue each year. You can use your past work permit take up, your turnover of staff and any expansion plans as guides. Do not forget to check whether any of your existing work permit holders will require an extension over the coming 12 months.

The role of the sponsor:
Migrants applying under any tier except tier 1 will need to be sponsored in order for their application to be successful.

If a United Kingdom organisation wishes to recruit a migrant under tiers 2, 4 or tier 5:

• Temporary Workers they will have to apply to us for a sponsor licence.
• Under tiers 2 and 5: Temporary Workers, the sponsor will need to be a United Kingdom based employer.
• Under tier 4, the sponsor will need to be a United Kingdom based educational institution.
  Migrants wishing to come to the United Kingdom
• Under Tier 5: Youth Mobility do not require a United Kingdom based employer.

Ratings:
As a licensed sponsor, you will be given an A rating or a B rating and you will be added to our published register of sponsors. Sponsors that they think could be a risk to immigration control or those who do not have the correct systems in place will be given a B rating. B-rated sponsors must follow a sponsorship action plan designed to help them become A-rated or they risk losing their licence.

Certificates of sponsorship:
Sponsors are responsible for assigning certificates of sponsorship to migrants. As well as having a certificate of sponsorship, migrants must also pass a points-based assessment to come to or stay in the United Kingdom.

This section explains migrants coming to the United Kingdom must have sponsorship under tiers 2, 4 and 5 of the points-based system to study or work.

Categories of migrant:
Categories of skilled worker
Categories of temporary worker
Categories of student
General visitor - Other than PBS

If you are sponsoring a general visitor to come to the United Kingdom you should read the General Visitor Sponsor section for details of the eligibility requirements you and your general visitor will need to meet.

This section tells you how to apply for a licence to sponsor migrant workers or students under the points-based system.

Categories of student:
Tier 4 (Child ) student category.
Tier 4 (General) student category.

For more information on sponsoring a student checkout Sponsoring a Student

Categories of temporary worker:
Tier 5 - creative and sporting category
Tier 5 - charity worker category
Tier 5 - religious worker category
Tier 5 - government authorised exchange category
Tier 5 - international agreement category
Tier 5 - youth mobility scheme category

Sponsoring Tier 5 creative and sporting category:

To get a licence for creative workers and their entourage, you must be operating, or intend to operate, in the creative industries. For example, as a national body, event organiser, producer, venue, agent or other similar organisation. Where applicable, you must follow the codes of practice when taking into account the needs of the resident labour market in that field.

If the migrants sponsor is an agent and there is no more than a maximum of 14 calendar days between each engagement, the sponsor can issue a single certificate of sponsorship to cover the whole period. However, if the migrant is sponsored by the individual venues, producers or promoters, then each sponsor should issue a certificate of sponsorship to cover its own show. These certificates of sponsorship must not overlap.

If there is no more than a maximum of 14 calendar days between each engagement, then permission to enter will be given to cover the whole period. However, if there is a gap of more than 14 calendar days between engagements, then this will not be possible. The migrant will have to leave the United Kingdom and apply for permission to enter again.

Sponsoring Tier 5 charity worker category:
To get a licence under this category, you must be a genuine (bona fide) religious institution, which:

• Is a registered, excepted or exempt United Kingdom charity according to the relevant charity legislation in force in its part of the United Kingdom, or is an ecclesiastical corporation (either corporation sole or body corporate) established for charitable purposes. In Northern Ireland the organisation must have obtained charitable status for tax purposes from HM Revenue and Customs. Charities who are not registered according to the relevant charity legislation must explain the reason for non-registration when they apply; and
• Include any religious belief or similar philosophical belief in something transcendental, metaphysical or ultimate;
• Exclude any philosophical or political belief concerned with man, unless that belief is similar to religious belief; and
• does not exclude from its community on the basis of gender, nationality or ethnicity; and
• receives financial and material support for its core religious ministry from its congregation or community on a voluntary basis only, without promise or coercion; and
• does not breach, or encourage others to breach, any United Kingdom legislation; and
• does not operate against the public interest, or in a way that has a detrimental effect on personal or family life as these are commonly understood in the United Kingdom.

Sponsoring Tier 5 - international agreement category:

You must be a diplomatic mission or an international organisation recognised by the United Kingdom to get a licence to sponsor of private servants in diplomatic households or households of officials working for international organisations.
Diplomatic missions and international organisations must send a signed letter from the head of the mission or organisation, or his or her delegated person, confirming that they want a sponsor licence. You must show that the job or employment involved is covered by the terms of the agreement concerned.

Categories of skilled worker:
Tier 2 - skilled worker category
Tier 2 - intra-company transfer category
Tier 2 - sports people category
Tier 2 - ministers of religion category

Sponsoring Tier 2 - skilled worker category:

• Employment agencies can only join the register of sponsors as a sponsor to employ migrants who are not settled workers within their own organisation. you will not get a licence if you are only supplying personnel to another employer.
• You must show that the vacancy is associated with a particular job, project or piece of work that it is responsible for delivering.
• If the application involves providing a service to a client under a contract, you must keep a copy of the contract between everyone involved and we may check this as part of a visit by a visiting officer.
• We will only allow you to issue a certificate of sponsorship if it is clear that you have full responsibility for determining the duties, functions and outcomes or outputs of the post.
• You may apply for a licence to issue certificates of sponsorship to migrants who are not settled in the United Kingdom and who will be employed to provide services to a client under a contract. This may mean that the person will need to work at the client's premises.

Sponsoring Tier 2 - intra-company transfer category:

To get a licence, your entity must show that it has a direct link by common ownership or control with the overseas entities that you want to bring migrants to the United Kingdom from.
Common ownership or control can be:

• one entity controls the composition of the other entity's board; or
• one entity is in a position to cast, or control the casting of, more than half the maximum number of votes that might be cast at a general meeting of the other entity; or
• one entity holds more than half the issued share capital of the other entity (excluding any part of that issued share capital that carries no right to participate beyond a specified amount in a distribution of either profits or capital); or
• both entities have a common parent entity that itself or through other entities meets one of the requirements of the first three bullet points above in relation to both entities that are the subject of the intra company transfer; or
• one entity is related to the other entity as both entities are party to a joint venture agreement.

This section explains requirements that all sponsors must meet:

• you must be a genuine organisation or sole trader operating legally in the United Kingdom;
• there must be no evidence that you are a threat to immigration control - they look at the history and background of your organisation and key personnel;
• you must nominate a level 1 user, a key contact and an authorising officer for the sponsorship management system;
• you must be able to comply with your sponsor duties - we look at your processes such as your human resource (HR) systems to make sure you can carry out your duties;
• you must send all your supporting documents when applying; and
• you must meet the additional requirements for the tier and category you are applying under.

This section explains the documentaion to folllow:

Make sure you send the correct documents in support of your application. You must send original documents or certified copies (including a signed statement, either by the issuing authority or by a solicitor or notary, confirming that it is an accurate copy of the original). Any documents that we request to see that are not in English must be accompanied by a certified translation. The translator's credentials should be provided, along with their official confirmation that the translation is accurate.

Mandatory documents:
Certain documents are always required. These are shown in list A of Appendix A of the full policy guidance. We will refuse your application if you do not provide the appropriate mandatory documents.

Primary documents with exceptions:
The documents in list B of Appendix A of the full policy guidance are required (mandatory) for certain types of organisation in certain sectors. We will refuse your application if you do not provide the appropriate mandatory documents

Secondary documents:
The documents in list C of Appendix A of the full policy guidance can be provided in addition to the mandatory documents but cannot replace the mandatory documents.

Sending original documents:
You must send the original documents or certified copies. A certified copy is one that includes a signed statement, either by the issuing authority or by a solicitor or notary, confirming that it is an accurate copy of the original document. Any documents that are request to see are not in English or Welsh must be accompanied by a certified translation. The translator's credentials should be provided, along with their official confirmation that the translation is accurate

List of supporting documents:
You should read the list of supporting documents in Appendix A of the full policy guidance in the Guidance for sponsor applications. It tells you what supporting documents you should send.
To use the list, you should:

• choose your type of organisation;
• read the guidance, which gives you further instructions on the types of documents your organisation needs to send; and
• find out what mandatory documents (list A), primary documents (list B) with exceptions, and secondary documents (list C), you must send.

You can also download a copy of the sponsor application form (PDF 459k - opens in a new window) in order to help prepare your application

This section explains how migrants must apply for permission to enter or stay:

All migrants who want to come under sponsorship must get permission to enter before they come to the United Kingdom, except non-visa nationals in the tier 5 - creative and sporting categories wanting to come for less than three months.

Migrants will need permission to come to the United Kingdom (known as 'entry clearance') and a biometric identity card before entering the United Kingdom.

Migrants cannot apply for permission to enter or stay without a certificate of sponsorship. But a certificate of sponsorship does not guarantee that they will be given permission to enter or stay.