To employ talented skilled workers from overseas, the company must hold a permission given by the Home Office – Tier 2 Sponsor Licence. To obtain the licence, the company should checked by UKVI (UK Visas and Immigration) and assessed by the Home Office, that checks the company background to identify that:
There are two main types of tier 2 sponsor licences (excluding sportsperson and religious ministry licences), these are:
An employer can make an application for either sponsor licence or both simultaneously and they can also apply at different times.
Applying for a Sponsor licence
To apply for Tier 2 Sponsor Licence, you will need to complete an online application form and submit it to the Home Office along with supporting documentation. It is extremely likely that immigration officials from the Home Office will visit and examine your HR systems to check for compliance and your eligibility for Tier 2 Sponsor Licence.
Documents required but not limited to are:
There is a fee for a tier 2 sponsor licence application which depends upon the size of the business:
It generally takes approximately 8-10 weeks for the sponsor licence application to be processed, during which time you will probably be visited by the Home Office Compliance Officer who will undertake a pre-licence audit. Once you have obtained a tier 2 sponsor licence it is valid for four years.
Business requirements for a Sponsor Licence
There is no requirement that the business needs to be of a particular size before applying for a tier 2 sponsor licence, or that it must have been trading for a certain amount of time. This means that start-up businesses are also eligible to apply. The business should already be legally operational, and there should be someone available and resident in the UK to deal with any queries from the Home Office UKVI. In practice, there will typically be one or two key personnel (e.g. an authorising officer, a key contact and a level 1 user) who have been appointed and working in the business. A level 1 user, oversees the day-to-day management of the Tier 2 sponsorship licence using the Sponsorship Management System (SMS).
Other requirements:
Contact our Immigration Lawyers – Tier 2 Sponsor Licence
Mann’s Solutions is an international immigration law firm with offices in London, Hong Kong, and Moscow. We are specialised in offering UK Visas and Immigration by Investment services to high net worth individuals. Our immigration lawyers are regulated by OISC (Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner) and IMC (Investment Migration Council).
For further information or to discuss your circumstances in a private consultation with our immigration lawyers in London Office, please contact us at enquiries@manns-solutions.com or call +44 207 993 63 46.
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