The primary immigration routes are those of Skilled Worker, Intra-Company Transfer and Temporary Worker and any organisation looking to bring migrant workers to the UK under one of these routes must hold a sponsor licence from UK Visas and Immigration to sponsor workers in its business.
Without this sponsor license, workers cannot work in the UK under one of these routes and so would need to fall back on other immigration routes available to them – which are often absent in many cases. The license, if granted, enables organisations to assign certificates of sponsorship to workers who can then use these in support of their subsequent visa applications to come to the UK to work.
Whilst the overarching intention is to ensure that work is offered to resident, settled workers first, there are often genuine vacancies that require specific skills or expertise that are not able to be filled within the UK or Ireland and so we have set out below some useful tips for employers who are considering recruiting migrant workers:
- As mentioned, you will need to apply for a sponsor licence – this is a permission given by UKVI to sponsor workers in your business and is granted only after a robust and carefully managed application process - we recommend you take advice on this process as getting it wrong, even only minorly, may result in rejected or refused applications and moratoriums on re-applying.
- To succeed in being granted sponsor licence status, your organisation will need to satisfy strict eligibility and suitability criteria which include providing evidence of trading or operating status and proof of robust internal systems to ensure compliance with your ongoing sponsor duties and responsibilities – we advise a full internal “health check” prior to applying to ensure everything is in place, both in terms of systems and documentation, and thus reduce the risk of your application being rejected or ongoing penalties for non-compliance once the migrant worker is in post which can be significant.
- This health check will also ensure readiness for a pre-sponsor licence compliance visit too, which may take place in any organisation – with some more at risk than others – we can assist with this.
- We also advise you identify at the outset how quickly you envisage needing the migrant worker(s) you are hoping to employ as the process of getting the licence can take up to eight weeks plus additional time after that in waiting for the worker to apply for their visa. NB this process can be expedited at a cost but things like pre-compliance visits or rejected applications can still cause delays and so always factor in your recruitment timeline needs in deciding if, and when, to go forward with a sponsor licence application as it is often a time-consuming process so do bear this in mind in your planning and get ahead.
- Before making a decision to apply to be a sponsored licensee, factor in the costs of applying. These vary depending on the size of your organisation and other factors too – we can advise and recommend that the financial considerations are factored in from the start of the process too as well as decisions made on the extent to which your organisation will offer to contribute towards the costs liability of the individual worker as well.
- Also, take advice from the outset to ensure that, before submitting your application, the vacancy that you are applying for a license for is a role that meets the criteria for sponsorship. This will vary depending on the type of route you are wanting to be a sponsor for but usually includes a review of the role to ensure it is a genuine vacancy that meets set salary thresholds and skill levels and, if for a skilled worker visa, that it falls genuinely within one of a list of eligible jobs for that visa with a relevant code identified as evidence of that or that, if for a Temporary Worker, it fits within a fairly narrow eligibility definition. If the role is unlikely to meet these criteria, then there is little point applying for a license to sponsor it which highlights the importance of this robust due diligence early on in the process so that your eventual application has the best chance of succeeding.
The above are just a few useful pointers to consider. Employing migrant workers can be hugely beneficial to your organisation but now that the process applies to all non-British and Irish nationals who do not have other immigration routes available to them, it is a process to be carefully managed to maximise the chances of success.
If you want any further advice on this or any other aspect of employment or business immigration law, please contact the team on 01904 360295 or email your team contact or enquiries@bridgeehr.co.uk.