Applying for a licence

Under the Workers and Temporary Workers sponsorship system, UK-based employers are required to apply for a licence from the Home Office if they wish to sponsor workers from overseas.

If granted a sponsor licence and one or more (‘undefined’) Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS), the sponsor must issue the CoS itself, once it is happy that the relevant criteria are met. For Skilled Worker sponsors, where an individual will be applying from overseas, the sponsor must first request and obtain a ‘defined’ CoS from the Home Office. Issuing a CoS will not guarantee that the applicant will be able to work for an employer, as they have to then submit an entry clearance or permission to stay application which have their own separate, although in most cases linked, points-based and additional criteria (as set out in the Immigration Rules).

Sponsors are subject to significant responsibilities. The relevant Sponsor Guidance gives a long list of sponsor duties and responsibilities which sponsors must meet on an ongoing basis. A prospective sponsor must be confident that it has sufficiently efficient and robust HR systems to be able to comply with these.