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Employing someone from abroad was always a process that required certain documentation in the United Kingdom. Therefore, nobody should be surprised that sponsor license has become quite a hot topic in the last couple of years, especially since the United Kingdom has left the European Union after Brexit. That changed the situation for European workers completely.
While it was a part of the Union, citizens of the countries who are a part of it didn’t require sponsor licenses to be employed within the country. When that was the case, some countries, that weren’t a part of the EU had a special status when it comes to this sort of activity, like Norway or Iceland.
There’s only one exception to this rule. We are talking about the citizens of Ireland. Now that’s all gone. Everyone who wants to get a job in the United Kingdom needs to obtain this document. If you want to understand the concept of a sponsor license, you should visit https://imperiallegal.com/media/articles/sponsorship-licence-in-the-uk-how-to-obtain-and-what-is-it-for.
Now, we want to discuss the requirements an applicant needs to fulfill before obtaining one of these.
Business’ Eligibility
Before anything else, an employer needs to make sure that his business is eligible to get this license. There are two main requirements. If the business has a license that has been revoked in the last year, then it is not possible to get another one until this time limit has been crossed. Since revoking means that some standards have been breached, nobody should be surprised by this.
Another situation is when a business has committed certain illegal activities like money laundering or immigration offenses. Depending on the severity of the case, this ban can last for quite a long time. In the most severe situations, the company can be banned from applying for a license ever again
To prevent any potential problems in this process, the company needs to have experts who will monitor this procedure and who will eliminate all the problems the firm might come across. Also, some members of the staff should be committed to managing the ones that have been issued already.
Another important requirement is that the company is based in the country, or has a legal presence in it. In some situations, the home office will pay close attention to the salaries of foreign employees. All these standards can be found on the Home Office’s website for all interested parties to have an insight into them.
Worker’s Suitability
Obtaining this sort of permit is a nightmarish process for those who don’t follow the standards carefully. For instance, foreign workers are judged by a wide array of different criteria. It means that the company needs to specify their job position and the worker needs better qualifications than local workers.
Of course, this can happen when a certain profession lacks a workforce in the country. If there are a lot of individuals to choose from, and they are British citizens, then bringing someone from abroad can get practically impossible. So, the skills a certain individual has can make all the difference in this situation.
Naturally, a sponsor license is easily issued to certain categories of professions. For example, if someone is a minister of religion or some sort of religious worker, then that person shouldn’t expect any sort of hardships on the road to get this document. At the same time, some common professions can’t expect to get it.
License Fees
Naturally, an employer needs to be aware of the fact that certain fees need to be paid in order to get this license. Of course, the amount depends on the type, and what sort of organization we are talking about. Three main conditions determine a small sponsor. The first one is having less than fifty employees.
The second one is the total assets are worth less than 5-million-pound sterling, and the last one is annual turnover being less than a 10-million-pound sterling. Another situation is when we are talking about charity. Of course, the charity needs to be exempt, excepted, or registered to comply with regulations.
At the same time, charities themselves will be put through numerous inspections to make sure that there are no fraud or scams involved in their work. As we’ve stated, all these elements are taken into consideration before the decision on how high these fees will be.
Different Categories
It needs to be said that three main licenses fall under this category, skilled worker visa, temporary worker visa, and global business mobility visa. For a business to get them, it needs to be licensed. When the application is refused by the home office, the application fee cannot be refunded.
Therefore, it is important to consult with experts in this field to prevent any of these problems from occurring during the process. It is not always easy to comply with all the regulations regarding this documentation. So, employers should arm themselves with patience and try to fulfill all of them as efficiently as possible.
How to Submit the Application?
Since we are living in a digital age, it makes sense that the easiest way to apply is through an online form. Thankfully, you will see that the form itself is pretty direct and it doesn’t leave you with too many uncertainties. Sure, the applicants will be required to provide some documentation to complete the process.
It is possible to seek legal help with filling out the form. However, the home office has set clear rules regarding these. Every applicant needs to do it on their own. There’s some way around it. A legal advisor can be right aside from you when you are about to do it.
The Bottom Line
Since this is a complex process, you would need to pay close attention to a high number of elements before it can end successfully. Here, you can take a look at numerous aspects of this process. However, we’ve focused mainly on the eligibility, of both workers and employees. We are certain you will find this insight of ours helpful when you become an applicant