UK Visas. Employers.

Employers

In brief

Employers wishing to employ skilled migrant workers must:

UK Visas Ltd is authorised by the OISC to assist employers with their Sponsor Licence application and act as their level 1 user. We also carry out the resident labour market test for clients.

Employing migrant workers in the UK

Since November 2008, The UK Border Agency has been operating a Points Based System for evaluating all workers from outside the EEA (European Economic Area) wishing to work in the UK.  The scheme is designed to limit the number of migrant workers coming to work in the UK by utilising a points system which favours those with high qualifications, higher earnings and those working in shortage occupations.

Further, the restrictions on who can now work in the UK are tighter and more complex than previously.  For example skilled workers can no longer change employers as easily as before and rules on English speaking and maintenance funding have been introduced into the skilled worker tiers for the first time.


Tier 1, for Highly Skilled Workers, has been in place since July 2008 and it is the individual who applies for, and may be granted, a visa enabling them to work for any employer or to be self-employed.

Tier 2, for skilled workers with a job offer, and Tier 5, for temporary workers, became operational on 27th November 2008, and it is the employer who must issue a certificate of sponsorship to the job applicant before he or she may apply for entry clearance or leave to remain.

Workers from Bulgaria and Romania may still be employed under the old rules – ie: the employer must apply for a work permit or TWES as previously - and the employee then applies for an Accession Worker Card, if required.

Current Work Permit Holders will only be able to extend their stay or change employment by receiving a certificate of sponsorship from their employer and obtaining further Grant of Leave under Tier 2.

Sponsor Licence

Employers must have applied for, and been granted, a Sponsor Licence before they are able to issue a certificate of sponsorship. They may apply for certificates for Tier 2 (General) for existing or new employees, Tier 2 (intra-company transfer) for employees working for the same employer but at a different division in the UK or overseas branch, and for Tier 5 for temporary workers.

The Sponsor Licence application is carried out on-line and, with our assistance, should take approximately 30 minutes.  Once this is done, all supporting documents and the appropriate fee must be submitted to the Home Office within 10 working days and the Sponsor Licence will normally be granted for four years.

At UK VISAS, we have developed a straight forward ‘five point process’ to assist you through your application for a Sponsor Licence, although we are not permitted to apply on your behalf.

The time taken to be granted a Sponsor Licence can vary greatly – anything from ten days to ten weeks and sometimes even more – so if your company employs migrant workers on Work Permits now that will need extending, or is considering recruiting for a role that may be best filled by a Non-EEA migrant worker, then it makes sense to apply as soon as possible.

All organisations applying for a licence must appoint an authorising officer, who should be a senior and competent officer within that organisation. No outside agencies or contractors are permitted to perform this role.

In addition, the organisation must have a key contact, who is usually the same person as the authorising officer, and a Level 1 User, a role usually performed by UK VISAS.

The Level 1 User

The Level 1 user is required to undertake the sponsor’s day-to-day activities by using the sponsorship management system to issue certificates of sponsorship, request additional certificates if required and also annually, report migrant activity and log any changes of circumstances connected with any employees or the sponsor organisation.

 

 

In parallel to this new sponsorship system, the Home Office has introduced a regime of offences relating to the employment of illegal immigrant workers including:

With this strict new regime in place it makes sense to employ the services of an authorised OISC advisor such as UK Visas to assist you with your sponsor licence application and act as your PBS representative.

 

To assist clients with their sponsor licence application we charge £375 + VAT.

 

Sample Home Office charges are: £300 or £1000 for a four year licence to issue Tier 2 certificates, dependant on the size of the organisation;  £400 or £1000  for both Tier 2 and Tier 5 certificates and £400 for a licence to issue Tier 4 certificates.

For a fuller discussion on how we may be able to assist you going forward, click on the image below.

 

Certificate of Sponsorship

Once a Sponsor Licence has been granted, employers – or UK VISAS on their behalf - may issue Certificates of Sponsorship to non-EEA skilled migrants.
 
A certificate of sponsorship  is a virtual document, issued by the Level 1 User on the UKBA’s Sponsorship Management System (SMS).  All of the relevant information about the sponsored employee and the role he will be carrying out has to be included with the application including, if necessary, details of the resident labour market test carried out prior to the appointment.

The certificate of sponsorship has, in effect, replaced the old Work Permit, and is necessary for the employee to apply for his or her Grant of Leave under Tier 2.

Employers must have applied for, and been granted, a Sponsor Licence before they are able to issue a certificate of sponsorship. They may apply for certificates for Tier 2 (General) for existing or new employees, Tier 2 (intra-company transfer) for employees working for the same employer but at a different division in the UK or overseas branch, and for Tier 5 for temporary workers.

Resident Labour Market Test

If the job for whom the skilled migrant worker is to be employed is not on the Shortage Occupation List, it is the employers’ responsibility to advertise the role within the EEA area for four weeks on the Government’s own Jobcentre Plus website and one other medium as laid down in the relevant Code of Practice for that job.

Records must be kept of the advertising conducted, responses received and clear reasons for not employing any EEA applicants.  A summary of the resident labour market test must then be compiled for inclusion on-line when issuing the certificate of sponsorship.This is a service we at UK VISAS regularly carry out on behalf of clients, as there are several strict conditions and records that must be observed to ensure compliancy.

Our fee for managing a Resident Labour Market Test is £375 + VAT

Shortage Occupation List

The Migration Advisory Committee regularly reviews and updates a list of jobs for which there are not enough resident workers. This is called the shortage occupation list and it can be found on the UK Border Agency website. Typical shortage jobs are:

Those in shortage occupations may be appointed without recourse to advertising and may be paid less than the required amount for the Tier 2 points system (as long as it is the minimum laid down for that job in the relevant Code of Practice).

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