Kay Stewart considers Company Sponsor Licences

A company will need a sponsor licence to employ someone from outside of the U.K. If the company intends on employing skilled workers or have long-term positions to fill, then the appropriate licence is what is referred to as the ‘Worker Licence’. If the company has a Worker Licence, their employees will most likely apply for the Skilled Worker visa or the Intra-Company Transfer visa.

Eligibility

First, the employer must meet the eligibility criteria:

1. The employer cannot have any unspent criminal convictions for immigration offences or certain other crimes, such as fraud or money laundering
2. The employer cannot have a sponsor licence revoked in the last 12 months

Suitability

The job itself must meet the suitability criteria. There is a minimum salary depending on the qualification of the worker and additional requirements for employees under 18. Further suitability criteria includes:

1. The company must have HR systems in place that allow them to:
   1. monitor their employees’ immigration status
   2. keep copies of relevant documents for each employee, including passport and right to work information
   3. track and record employees’ attendance
   4. keep employee contact details up to date
   5. report to UKVI if there is a problem, for example if your employee stops coming to work
2. The Home Office may visit the company’s place of business and conduct checks on an immediate, unannounced basis to ensure the company is complying with their sponsor duties
3. The Company meets the specific requirements of the route, or routes, in which they are applying to be licensed – for example, if applying under Skilled Worker or the Intra-Company routes, the company can offer genuine employment that meets the skill-level and salary requirements for those routes
4. Whether the key personnel have any criminal convictions or civil penalties
5. If the Home Office have any evidence of previous non-compliance by the company
6. The Home Office will also consider any evidence which suggests the company may be a threat to immigration control or have engaged or are engaging in behaviour or actions that are not conducive to the public good.

Supporting Evidence

The application itself is an online application however the company will need to submit four pieces of supporting evidence. Government guidance suggests the following documents as supporting evidence:

1. A detailed hierarchy of the company
2. Full job description
3. Evidence of a corporate bank account in the U.K
4. Certificate of VAT registration
5. A letter from their corporate banking provider, setting out the dealings it has had with them, including the nature and duration of those dealings

If the company wishes to apply under the Intra-Company Transfer route, they will also need to provide one of the following:

1. Head Office’s audited accounts or audited annual report clearly showing the link between the 2 entities
2. An affidavit signed by a senior partner/executive within the UK entity, identifying all of the connected entities both in the UK and overseas
3. Where an organisation is registered on the London Stock Exchange or one of the FCA approved international stock exchanges, a notarised statement by the company secretary of the organisation, setting out the global corporate structure with ownership percentages of each related corporate entity detailed
4. Certified copy of the share register or equivalent of one or other of the entities showing ownership by the entity or a copy of the share registers of both entities showing the common parent company
5. Certified copy of the agreement naming both entities as parties or one entity as a party and the other entity as the subject of the agreement which allows one entity to control the composition of the other entity’s board
6. Certified copy of the agreement naming both entities as parties or one entity as a party and the other entity as the subject of the agreement which allows one entity 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
7. Certified copy of the joint venture agreement naming both entities as parties or one entity as a party and the other entity as the entity formed by that agreement
8. Certified copy of the agreement naming both entities as parties or one entity as a party and the other entity as the entity formed by that agreement that would constitute a joint venture agreement other than for the fact that joint venture agreements are not permitted in the country of operation; or one of the entities is not permitted to enter into joint ventures in the country of operation
9. Articles of Association

Other potential supporting evidence is:

1. Evidence that the company has employer’s liability insurance cover for at least £5m from an authorised insurer.
2. Proof of the company’s listing on the London Stock Exchange AIM market.
3. Proof of the company’s listing on one of the Financial Conduct Authority approved international stock exchanges.
4. Provide each partner’s Unique Tax Reference Number (UTR) and/or the Partnerships/Businesses Unique Tax Reference Number (UTR).
5. Current financial report or audited annual report with the name of the accountant clearly shown. The accountant should be a member of an accredited accounting body such as the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA).
6. Evidence of Registration with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) as an employer to pay PAYE & National Insurance. Provide proof of PAYE Reference Number & Accounts Office Reference Number.
7. Latest acknowledgement of a Company Tax Return CT620, or the completed CT600 tax return and the CT603 notice.
8. Evidence of submitting returns to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)
9. Evidence that the company have the appropriate planning permission to operate their type/class of business at their trading address where this is a Local Authority requirement.
10. Proof of listing as an overseas company on the London Stock Exchange International Companies listing.
11. The company’s latest audited annual accounts with the name of the accountant clearly shown. The accountant should be a member of an accredited accounting body.
12. If the company is legally obliged to submit audited accounts, one of the 4 documents must be the most recent set of audited accounts.
13. Latest annual self-assessment tax return to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) – Statement of Account (SA300 or SA302).
14. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) VAT registration certificate confirming VAT registration number and ‘effective date of registration’ if business’ VAT taxable turnover is more than the ‘threshold’.
15. Latest corporate/business bank statement and/or a letter from the bank setting out the dealings it has had with the company, including the nature and duration of its dealings.
16. Proof of ownership or lease of the company’s business premises.

When considering their application, the Home Office will need to establish the company is:

1. a genuine organisation operating lawfully in the UK
2. honest, dependable, reliable, and are not engaging and have not engaged in behaviour or actions that are not conducive to the public good – to judge this, they look at the history and background of the company including the key personnel named in the application, and any people involved in the day-to-day running of the business
3. capable of carrying out the sponsor duties and evidencing their compliance– to judge this, the Home Office look at the company’s current human resources and recruitment practices to make sure they will be able to fulfil their sponsor duties, and the Home Office may visit the company before granting a licence
4. able to offer genuine employment that meets the skill level and salary requirements, if applying under the Skilled Worker or Intra-Company routes
5. otherwise meet the eligibility and suitability criteria

Timescale

The standard processing time for a sponsor licence is 8 weeks however it is common that the Home Office exceed this timeframe.

Fees

The application fees for a licence depend on whether the company is classified as ‘small’. A company will be deemed ‘small’ if two of the following apply:

1. The company’s annual turnover is £10.2 million or less
2. The total assets of the company are less than £5.1 million
3. The company has no more than 50 employees.

The current application fee for a small company is £536. The application fee for a medium/large company is £1,476.

Post-application

If an application is accepted, the company will get an ‘A-rating’ however this may be downgraded to a B-rating if the sponsor does not conform to all of their duties.

A licence is granted for four years however it can be renewed.

For further information on this topic or on any other legal area, please contact Kay Stewart or John Szepietowski at Audley Chaucer Solicitors on 01372 303444 or email admin@audleychaucer.com or visit our Linkedin page.

Larissa Bourgi

23 February 2022