Sponsorship Licence

 

If you are a business and you want to bring employees to the UK, you will need to get a Sponsorship Licence. You’ll usually need a sponsor licence to employ someone to work for you from outside the UK, including the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. This includes unpaid work, like running a charity.

This application needs to be applied online, providing some business information and once you’ve finished the latter application, you need to send in:

  • The submission sheet at the end of the application
  • Your supporting documents within 5 days after you submit the application

How long does it take?

The application is usually dealt with in less than 8 weeks. UKVI may need to visit your business. You may be able to pay £500 to get a decision within 10 working days. 

Type of licence
Fee for small or charitable sponsors
Fee for medium or large sponsors
Worker
£536
£1,476
Temporary Worker
£536
£536
Worker and Temporary Worker
£536
£1,476
Add a Worker licence to an existing Temporary Worker licence
No Fee
£940
Add a Temporary Worker licence to an existing Worker licence
No Fee
No Fee

What is a Certificate of Sponsor?

The Certificate of Sponsor is an electronic document assigned by a sponsor license older (the employer) which issues the latter document to a worker and enables them to apply for a visa and to be onboarded into the organization. Once the organization gets the sponsorship license, they need to assign the Certificate of Sponsor (CoS) to every foreign national they employ through the online Sponsor Management System (SMS).  Approval for a defined CoS generally takes around one working day but it could take longer if the Home Office requests any addition of documents or information. 

For each certificate assigned a unique number is allocated to it valid for 3 months. The worker needs this number to apply for the visa.  

The categories who need the Certificate of Sponsor are: 

  • A skilled worker
  • A health or care worker
  • An intra-company worker
  • A worker on a government-authorized exchange
  • A seasonal worker
  • A sportsperson or sporting worker
  • A worker on an international agreement
  • A creative worker
  • A charity worker
  • A minister of religion or religious worker

How much the Certificate of Sponsor (CoS) costs? 

  • £199 for Skilled Worker,  ICT route and some T2;
  • £21 for T5 temporary workers;

Free of charge if the applicant is a national from: 

Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey.