But I thought it might help to find out how you get a licence to be an approved sponsor. This is just the bit on what documents are required.
Introduction
This document is for organisations that want to apply for a sponsor licence on the Worker (formerly Tier 2), Temporary Worker (formerly Tier 5) and Student (formerly Tier 4) routes. It is an appendix to the full policy guidance on
sponsoring a Worker or Temporary Worker or
sponsoring a Student. It lists the documents you must provide to support your application for a sponsor licence.
In most cases, you must provide at least 4 documents. You may not need to send 4 documents if you are a:
- public body recognised by the UK Government, such as a local authority
- company listed on the London Stock Exchange Main Market
Supporting evidence
The following tables list all of the information we will need to check and tell you whether you need to send any documents. The easiest way to work out which documents you need to send is to read through each of the following tables, starting with Table 1.
Note: you must provide extra information if you are applying for a
Skilled Worker and/or T2 Minister of Religion licence.
Table 1 sets out some limited circumstances when you may not have to send 4 documents. If you are an organisation of the type listed in this table, you need only send the documents described, and, in some cases, you may not need to send any documents at all, unless there are documents listed in Tables 2 to 4 that are specifically required for the route in which you are applying. If you are not listed in Table 1, you should then look at Table 2.
Table 2 sets out all the documents which you must send if you are a start-up (trading for less than 18 months), franchise, charity, or are subject to regulation, inspection or monitoring. We describe these as ‘mandatory’ based on the kind of organisation you are. It also sets out some other documents we will accept from you in addition to those which are mandatory. Once you have identified any documents in Table 2 that you must send us, you should then look at Table 3.
Table 3 sets out all of the documents which are mandatory based on the route in which you are applying. If you have not identified 4 documents to send to us after looking at Tables 1, 2 and 3, you must then look at Table 4.
Table 4 sets out all other documents you can send if you still need to make your total number of documents up to a minimum of 4.
You must make sure you have read the full
Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors and/or
Student sponsor guidance on GOV.UK before you apply for your sponsor licence. The guidance has examples which explain how to put together the right documents to send to us to validate your sponsor licence application.
Once you have applied online for your licence, you must send the following documents:
- the submission sheet, signed and dated by your authorising officer (all pages must be sent)
- all of the mandatory documents listed on the submission sheet
You should scan or take pictures of your supporting documents and send them to the email address given on the submission sheet.
Files can be in PDF (preferred), JPEG or PNG format. File titles should be descriptive and no more than 25 characters long. To minimise file sizes, we recommend scanning in black and white or greyscale, not colour. Pictures taken by phone can be saved as Small or Medium size files. You should carefully check the quality of all scans or pictures before sending.
If you are unable to provide the submission sheet and supporting evidence electronically, you can contact us using the contact details given on the submission sheet.
Any affidavits or statutory declarations you send must have been witnessed by a qualified, independent person – for example, a solicitor, Notary Public, Justice of the Peace, Commissioner for Oaths, or (in Scotland only) a Councillor.
Any documents or other evidence that we ask to see that are not in English or Welsh must be accompanied by a certified translation. The translator or translation company must confirm in writing on the translation:
- that it’s a ‘true and accurate translation of the original document’
- the date of the translation
- the full name and contact details of the translator or a representative of the translation company
In all cases we reserve the right to request original documents or certified copies.
Original documents will be returned by Royal Mail Signed For delivery to the address of the Authorising Officer stated in the online sponsor application. Certified copies sent by post must meet the requirements set out in the sponsor guidance.
For your sponsor licence application to be valid, you must send us all of the documents within 5 working days of the date on which you submitted your online sponsor licence application.
If any of the mandatory items are missing or incorrect, your application will be invalid. Invalid applications are rejected and the application fee is refunded. If any documents specified in this appendix, other than mandatory documents, are missing from your application, or if we require any additional documents, we will contact you by email.
We will give you 5 working days to send those documents to us. If you do not send them to us within 5 working days, we will refuse your application and your fee will not be refunded.
Online checks
As you work though the tables listed on page 4 above, you may find that we could do an online check to obtain the information we need but will need some help from you to locate the relevant web page. If this is the case, you must tell us the in your covering email, or in a covering letter, the address of the website where the information can be found. For example, if you are a care home in England, you must provide evidence of your registration with the
Care Quality Commission (CQC). If that registration is in a different name to the one you have given on your licence application, you will need to tell us what name you are registered under in your covering email or in a covering letter, and provide any relevant supporting evidence to show that you are the same organisation. We will then be able to look you up on the
CQC website.
Security and contact information
Security is important to us. You should give the names of all the people who have access to the email address supplied with your online sponsor licence application. You should also provide a landline telephone number, if you have one. If you do not have a landline, please indicate this in your response.
Skilled Worker and/or T2 Minister of Religion: additional information
If you are applying for a licence to sponsor workers on the
Skilled Worker and/or
T2 Minister of Religion routes, you must provide the information below (as well as the documents from the following tables) or your application will be rejected.
Tell us:
- why are you applying for a sponsor licence
- what sector you operate in
- what are your opening/operating hours
You must provide an up to date hierarchy chart detailing any owner, director and board members. If your business has 50 employees or fewer, you must list all employees and set out the names and titles of all staff.
Tell us about the jobs you wish to fill and for which you intend to assign a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS). Include the following information for each job:
- job title and occupation code
- duties
- where the job sits on the hierarchy chart referred to above
- minimum salary you would guarantee if the job were vacant today
- skill, experience and qualifications required
You must indicate which jobs are currently vacant and for which you intend to assign a CoS. If you have already identified someone that you wish to employ via the sponsorship system, you should provide evidence of how you identified this person. If you identified this person as a result of a recruitment process, you should include copies of advertisements placed to recruit for the job, details of any applicants and why they were not suitable for the job. You should confirm whether the person is already working for you.
If you have not advertised the job and the person you wish to employ is not currently working for you, you should confirm how you identified that this person was the most suitable for the job.
If you have already identified a person, including if they are an overseas national already working for you, and intend to assign a CoS to them, you should provide the following details of the person:
- full name
- date of birth
- nationality
- current immigration status
- current job title and duties
- 3 months’ payslips, if applicable
Table 1: specific bodies and organisations
| Organisation type | Documents you need to send |
|---|
| If you are a public body that appears in the corporate report Public bodies 2013 summary data on GOV.UK | You do not need to send us any documents, unless there are documents listed in Tables 2 to 4 that are specifically required for the route in which you are applying. |
| If you are a public body that does not appear in the corporate report Public bodies 2013 summary data on GOV.UK | You must send us either documentary evidence from your sponsoring government department which clearly says you are a public body or, if your details are published on your sponsoring department’s website, a covering email or letter giving the name of your sponsoring department so that we can do an online check. You should also check Tables 2 to 4 to see if there are any additional documents you need to send based on the route in which you are applying. |
| If you are a Government Department | You do not need to send us any documents, unless there are documents listed in Tables 2 to 4 that are specifically required for the route in which you are applying. |
| If you are a Local Authority and your website can be accessed via the search facility on GOV.UK | You do not need to send us any documents, unless there are documents listed in Tables 2 to 4 that are specifically required for the route in which you are applying. |
If you are applying under International Agreement as:
an overseas Government
a Diplomatic Mission
an International Organisation whose employees enjoy certain privileges and immunities under UK or international law | You only need to send a letter as described in section IAW2 of Sponsor an International Agreement Worker’. |
| If you are listed on the London stock exchange (main market) | We will check your listing online and you do not need to send us any documents, unless there are documents listed in Tables 2 to 4 that are specifically required for the route in which you are applying. |
Table 2: start-ups, franchises, charities and organisations subject to regulation or inspection
| Organisation type | Documents you need to send |
|---|
| Start-ups: if you have been operating or trading in the UK for less than 18 months on the date you make your application, the checks we will make are different to those we carry out on more established businesses. | You must send us evidence that you have a current, corporate bank account with a bank registered by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK.
You must also send any mandatory information set out in Table 3 of this appendix. We must be able to check 4 different pieces of information. First, you should check Tables 1 to 3 of this appendix to put together those 4 documents. We realise that some start-ups may not be able to provide certain documents that more established businesses can provide.
If you are unable to put 4 documents together from Tables 1 to 3, you can also send us any of the following:
a certificate of VAT registration
a letter from your corporate banking provider, setting out the dealings it has had with you, including the nature and duration of those dealings
any document from Table 4 of this appendix |
| If you are a Franchise | You must send us your Franchise Agreement signed by both parties. |
If you are required to be registered with and/or inspected/monitored by a regulatory body to operate lawfully in the UK, we will need to check that you are registered and to see your last inspection report where appropriate, such as:
nursing/care homes and other businesses, which must be inspected by Ofsted or the Care Quality Commission or the equivalent bodies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
financial or insurance businesses carrying out regulated activities which must be registered with the Financial Conduct Authority or the Prudential Regulation Authority
healthcare and medical providers, who must be registered with the General Medical Council or General Dental Council
This is not an exhaustive list. | If you are regulated by any of the bodies listed on the left, we will carry out an online check so you do not need to send us any registration or inspection evidence unless we later ask you to. We will check you and any branches you have asked to be included on your licence.
Note: if you have applied for your licence under a different name to the one you have given to any of these bodies, you can either send your last inspection report or send us a covering email or letter telling us the name you have given to the regulatory body so that we can do an online check.
If you are regulated by a body not listed on the left, you can either send us documentary evidence of your registration and any branches or sites you have asked to be included on your licence where appropriate, or a web link to a page on the regulatory body’s website where we can verify your status online, and the status of any branches you have asked to be included on your licence.
If you are applying as a head office and all branches or a group of branches, we must see evidence of any registration for each individual branch within that group where that registration is a legal requirement.
Note: if membership or registration with a professional body or with Companies House is not relevant to your application, we do not need any evidence of such a registration. This section only applies where you have to be registered with a body which has the authority to take action against you for any failings and where, if it removed your registration or authorisation, you would no longer be able to lawfully operate some or all of your business. |
| If you are a food business and you are required to be registered with or approved by a food authority. | You must send evidence of your registration or approval. This may be a Scores on the Doors rating, or a letter from the relevant authority which has approved/registered you.
For a Scores on the Doors rating, you do not need to send us any evidence if your rating is published on scoresonthedoors.org.uk in the same name that you are applying for your licence under.
Note: if you have applied for your licence under a different name to the one on your Scores on the Doors rating, you can either send us documentary evidence of your rating or send us a covering letter telling us the name you have been rated under so that we can do an online check. |
| If you are a charity | If you are registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, or the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR), you do not need to send us any evidence of the registration if you are applying in the same name as your registered charity. This is because we can do an online check. If you are applying under a different name to the one under which you are registered as a charity, you must tell us the name you are registered under so we can conduct our online check.
If you are based in Northern Ireland, and you are not registered with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, you must send us proof of having obtained charitable status for tax purposes from HMRC.
If you are an ecclesiastical corporation (corporate sole, or body corporate), you must send us proof that you are established for charitable purposes.
If you are not registered according to the relevant charity legislation, you must send us an explanation of why you are not registered.
If you are a school with Academy status, you do not need to send us any evidence of registration.
Remember, if you are registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, or the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR), but you have applied for your licence under a different name to the one you are registered under, you can either send us documentary evidence of your registration or a covering email or letter to tell us what name you are registered under.
If you are applying under the Charity Worker route, you should ensure that you meet the qualifying requirements set out in Sponsor a Charity Worker. |
Table 3: route-specific documents
| Organisation type | Documents you need to send |
|---|
If you are applying under:
T2 Sportsperson
T5 (Temporary Worker) Creative or Sporting Worker
because you want to sponsor sportspeople and/or coaches | You must send us a copy of the endorsement from the governing body for your sport, which has been approved by us. This must include the governing body unique reference number. |
| If you are applying under T5 (Temporary Worker) International Agreement Worker because you want to sponsor contractual service suppliers or independent professionals | You must provide evidence to show that you have awarded a services contract for a period of 12 months or less, through open tendering (or other procedure) which guarantees the bona fide character of the contract under an international trade agreement, as described in Sponsor an International Agreement Worker. |
| If you are applying under T5 (Temporary Worker) Government Authorised Exchange Worker | All applications for T5 (Temporary Worker) Government Authorised Exchange Worker (GAE) must be supported by an endorsing government department (or one of its executive agencies) and be approved by us before you send your application. By the time you apply for a GAE licence, we will have already made sure that your scheme has been endorsed and approved. This means you only need to send us a total of 3 documents which should be made up of any mandatory documents from Table 2 of this appendix and any other documents from Tables 3 and 4 of this appendix to make your total number of documents up to 3. |
If you are applying under:
T2 (Minister of Religion)
T5 (Temporary Worker) Religious Worker | You should first read the Sponsor a Minister of Religion or Religious Worker to ensure that you qualify as a religious organisation. You must send us information about you which must include:
which faith/religion you belong to
details of your parent organisation and how you are connected to them, where applicable
a hierarchy chart, where applicable, that shows where you are in the hierarchy
the size of your adult congregation
the number of clergy you currently employ, where applicable
addresses of your regular meeting places
your scheduled days and hours of worship
Where there is a set hierarchy within your faith, you must send us a letter of support from the head of your faith body organisation (or their nominated legal representative) which confirms that you are part of that organisation.
Where applicable, you must send a copy of your ‘Form 76’ from the General Register Office giving authorisation for the use of a building as a place of worship.
Where applicable, you must send a copy of ‘Form 78’ from the General Register Office giving authorisation for marriages to be performed at a place of worship. |
| If you are applying under the Intra-Company routes | You must send us one of the following:
Head Office’s audited accounts or audited annual report clearly showing the link between the 2 entities - if either document is available to view online, you can simply send us a covering letter telling us which website it is available on and we will download it instead of you having to send it to us
an affidavit signed by a senior partner/executive within the UK entity, identifying all of the connected entities both in the UK and overseas
where an organisation is registered on the London Stock Exchange or one of the FCA approved international stock exchanges, a notarised statement by the company secretary of the organisation, setting out the global corporate structure with ownership percentages of each related corporate entity detailed
certified copy of the share register or equivalent of one or other of the entities showing ownership by the entity or a copy of theshare registers of both entities showing the common parent company
certified copy of the agreement naming both entities as parties or one entity as a party and the other entity as the subject of the agreement which allows one entity to control the composition of the other entity’s board
certified copy of the agreement naming both entities as parties or one entity as a party and the other entity as the subject of the agreement which allows one entity to cast or control the casting of more than half the maximum number of votes that might be cast at a general meeting of the other entity
certified copy of the joint venture agreement naming both entities as parties or one entity as a party and the other entity as the entity formed by that agreement
certified copy of the agreement naming both entities as parties or one entity as a party and the other entity as the entity formed by that agreement that would constitute a joint venture agreement other than for the fact that joint venture agreements are not permitted in the country of operation; or one of the entities is not permitted to enter into joint ventures in the country of operation
certified copy of the agreement which allows both entities to use a trademark which is registered or established under the laws of the UK and the jurisdiction of the other entity’s country of operation - this is only applicable to accountancy or law firms
certified copy of the agreement which allows both entities to operate under the same name in the UK and in the jurisdiction of the other entity’s country of operation - this is only applicable to accountancy or law firms
Articles of Association |
If you are applying under:
Student
Child student | You must demonstrate that you meet the requirements of the Student sponsor guidance.
You must provide all the following documentation:
proof that you are based in the UK
proof that you are operating and trading lawfully in the UK
proof that you have registered for VAT with HM Revenue and Customs where required to do so
a written record of a fire risk assessment conducted by a competent person
evidence to show that you have appropriate planning permission or local planning authority consent to operate the relevant type or class of organisation at your trading address
any documentation which is required to demonstrate that your sites, exceptional arrangements and/or partnerships, where applicable, meet all of the relevant requirements of the ‘Sites and teaching partnerships’ section of Document 1 of the Student sponsor guidance.
Note: that we may ask for other documents at any time.
If you are a new independent school, you must send evidence that you have been formally registered by the relevant Government Department in your country as follows:
England: your School Number, issued by the Department for Education
Scotland: your Scottish Executive Education Department code
Northern Ireland: your confirmation of registration letter from the Department of Education Northern Ireland, School Governance Team
Wales: your confirmation of registration letter from the Welsh Assembly Government, School Governance Team, which will include your unique school reference number
If you are an overseas HEI offering short-term ‘study abroad’ programmes in your own premises in the UK to students who are enrolled in their home country, you must provide the following:
overseas accreditation, which can be confirmed by NARIC, that your programmes are UK Higher Education equivalents; this overseas accreditation must be from a nationally recognised accrediting body clearly stating their name and be accompanied by a certified copy of the appropriate web page for the institution showing that accreditation
proof that you only teach part of your programmes in the UK - the information you provide should verify that students are studying in the UK for no more than 50% of the total length of the course and must include either of the following:
original letter from the home campus confirming the above
original brochure/leaflet/catalogue confirming the above
certified copy of appropriate information from the institutional web site confirming the above
and
proof that you have full legal control of the premises you use – such as original or certified copy of licence, lease, or proof of ownership
Note: if you offer study abroad programmes on a franchise basis via a third party in the UK, you will need to ensure that the private provider you are linked with meets our educational oversight requirements and send evidence of the contractual agreement. |
Table 4: other documents
