Sponsors can apply for the renewal of their skilled worker sponsorship licence by using their SMS account 3 months before the expiry date of the current licence.
Please contact our business immigration lawyer on 0161 989 9370 or fill in the enquiry form to take the first step towards your successful UK sponsor licence application.
Related Topics
- Renewal of skilled worker sponsorship licence
- When and how to renew a sponsor licence
- Failure to renew a licence
- Sponsorship licence processing time
- Sponsor licence application priority service
- Sponsor licence fees
- Sponsor licence lawyers
- Lawyer fees for sponsor licence application
- Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
- Need legal advice or help from an immigration lawyer?
When and how to renew a sponsor licence
There are specific rules a sponsor must follow when renewing their licence:
- sponsor licences need to be renewed every 4 years
- sponsors can ordinarily apply to renew their licences from 3 months before their expiry date
- the sponsor can view their licence expiry and earliest renewal dates in their sponsorship management system (SMS) account
- sponsors must apply to renew their licence by submitting an application using their SMS account and paying the appropriate fee online
Failure to renew a licence
A sponsor may decline to renew their application or fail to respond to their invitation to renew.
If a sponsor:
- does not wish to renew their licence, they can use their SMS account to decline to renew; the sponsor’s licence will expire automatically on the scheduled expiry date and they will no longer be able to act as a licensed sponsor from that date
- does not respond to the invitation to renew their licence before the scheduled expiry date, their existing licence will expire on the scheduled expiry date and they will no longer be able to act as a licensed sponsor from that date
- declines to renew or fails to renew their licence and they are recorded as still sponsoring workers after the expiry date of their licence, a management information (MI) report will be produced by the MI team to notify the casework teams to curtail their permission
Sponsorship licence processing time
Currently, Home Office is taking 8 weeks or less to process a sponsorship licence application. However, it may take longer depending on the complexity of the matter. UKVI may need to visit your business.
You may be able to use priority service to get a faster decision from Home Office on your sponsor licence application.
Sponsor licence application priority service
You may be able to use the 'priority service' when you apply for a sponsor licence to get a faster decision within 10 working days. You'll need to pay £500 in addition to the sponsorship licence application fee.
This service is limited to a small number of applications every working day. Faster decisions are allocated in the order that requests arrive (first come, first served)
You'll be told how to ask for a faster decision after you apply.
Sponsor licence fees
UKVI sponsor licence application fee is between £536 - £1,476 depending on the type of licence you are applying for and the size of your organisation/company.
You need to pay a fee when you apply for a sponsor licence.
| 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 |
Sponsor licence lawyers
If you need legal advice or help with your sponsorship licence application, Get in touch with our sponsor licence lawyer and get the legal assistance you need.
Start your sponsorship licence application with Rex Law Chambers today by calling us on 0161 989 9370 or filling out our online enquiry form for legal advice.
Sponsor licence lawyer at Rex Law Chambers will:
- advise you about eligibility criteria and the requirement
- help you with the selection of the correct type of sponsor licence
- advise you about who the key personnel should be
- advise you about how to remain compliant and the employer's duties
- advise you whether the position you wish to hire for is suitable for sponsorship and if so, under which category
- check your HR system in place to ensure that you meet the Home Office requirements and expectations
- provide you with a comprehensive checklist of supporting documents
- check all the supporting documents
- fill in and submit your sponsor licence application online
- prepare a letter of representation to support your application
- upload all the supporting documents online in their correct format and order
- deal and respond to any enquiries or correspondence from the Home Office
- do all the follow-up work on your sponsor licence application until a decision is received from the UKVI
- provide legal assistance with the Home Office visit in relation to your sponsor licence application
Lawyer fees for sponsor licence application
Our expert UK immigration lawyer will guide you through every step of the sponsor licence application process including advice about legal requirements and eligibility criteria.
Sponsor licence lawyer at Rex Law Chambers charge a fixed fee between £1200-£1500 for the complete legal services in relation to your sponsor licence application. The agreed fixed fee will depend on the complexity of the matter and the casework involved in the matter.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
You must apply online to get a sponsor licence for your company if you meet the eligibility requirements and you need to submit all the supporting documents online along with your sponsor licence application as mentioned in Appendix A.
The "Worker" and "Temporary Worker" are two types of sponsorship licences. It depends on whether an employer is going to hire a worker for long-term employment or temporary employment to fill their jobs.
You should get a decision on the employer sponsor licence application within 8 weeks. However, you may be able to use the pre-licence priority service to fast-track your UK sponsorship licence application.
This pre-licence priority service application does not guarantee your request will be approved.
UKVI sponsor licence application fee is £536 and you need to pay the licence fee when you apply online. The sponsor licence fees depend on the type of licence and size of the organisation.
The sponsor licence fee for medium or large sponsors is £1,476 if they want to hire a worker for long-term employment.
Contact our experienced and friendly immigration lawyer on 0161 989 9370 or fill in our enquiry form to get reliable & confidential immigration advice and legal assistance with a UK visa application or any other immigration matter.
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