UK visa sponsorship for employers

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Your responsibilities

You must:

  • check that your foreign workers have the necessary skills, qualifications or professional accreditations to do their jobs, and keep copies of documents showing this
  • only assign certificates of sponsorship to workers when the job is suitable for sponsorship
  • tell UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) if your sponsored workers are not complying with the conditions of their visa
  • comply with UK employment law for jobs you’re offering
  • meet any specific requirements for workers under 18, scale-up workers or offshore workers

Your licence may be downgraded, suspended or withdrawn if you do not fulfil these responsibilities.

Read the full guidance on sponsor requirements and duties and check workers have the right to work in the UK.

Monitoring workers

You must have HR systems in place that let you:

  • monitor your workers’ immigration status
  • keep copies of relevant documents for each sponsored worker, including evidence you’ve carried out the relevant right to work checks
  • track and record workers’ attendance
  • keep worker contact details up to date
  • report to UKVI if there is a problem, for example if your worker stops coming to work

Changes to your business

You must report any significant changes in your own circumstances within 20 working days, for example if you:

  • stop trading or become insolvent
  • substantially change the nature of your business
  • are involved in a merger or take-over
  • make changes that affect your relationship with any overseas businesses that have sent workers to you
  • make any changes to a contract covering secondment workers or service suppliers

You must also tell UKVI if you’re changing your details, like your address or allocated roles.

If you’re sponsoring a UK Expansion Worker and have a ‘provisional’ rating

You must tell UKVI when your authorising officer’s visa is granted. You’ll need to update their immigration status and address in the UK.

How to report changes

To register a change of circumstances use the sponsorship management system (SMS).

Requests can take up to 18 weeks. You can register a change within 5 working days instead if you use the priority service. It costs £200.

Sponsoring workers aged under 18

You must make sure that foreign workers under 18 have suitable care arrangements for their:

  • travel to the UK
  • arrival in the UK
  • living arrangements in the UK

You must also get a letter from their parents giving consent to the care arrangements.

You must get a Disclosure and Barring Service check on any of your workers who need it.

You’ll lose your licence if you do not do this.

Children under 16

You can only sponsor foreign workers under 16 if they’re on either:

  • a Creative Worker visa - they may also need a performance licence
  • a Government Authorised Exchange visa

You also need to check:

Sponsoring a scale-up worker

Your responsibilities as a sponsor for a scale-up worker start on the date you assign them a certificate of sponsorship. Your responsibilities end 6 calendar months after either:

  • the ‘valid from’ date on your worker’s visa - if they were outside the UK when they applied

  • the date they are told they have permission to stay - if they were inside the UK when they applied

Example

A scale-up worker gets their permission to come to or stay in the UK on 1 October 2022. Your sponsorship responsibilities for that worker will end at 11:59pm on 1 April 2023.

You must tell UKVI your worker’s start date using the sponsorship management system (SMS).

Sponsoring an offshore worker

You must tell UKVI when the worker you’re sponsoring:

  • first arrives in UK waters at the beginning of the job
  • leaves UK waters at the end of the job

Tell UKVI using the sponsorship management system (SMS).

You must not tell UKVI before they arrive or leave. You must do it up to 10 working days after the dates they arrive and leave.

View a printable version of the whole guide

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