GBM Sponsor Licence for Expansion Worker

What is a Sponsor Licence for Expansion Worker

UK employers have to be granted a Sponsor Licence by the Home Office before they can employ workers from outside the UK under the points-based visa system. If you are a branch or wholly-owned subsidiary of an overseas organisation who need to send senior or specialist employees to establish their business presence in the UK, you will need to be granted a Sponsor Licence under the Global Business Mobility - Expansion Worker category.

Once the licence is granted, your organisation will become a registered sponsor. You can sponsor up to 5 workers under your Sponsor Licence for Expansion Worker, by issuing the individual a specific Certificate of Sponsorship.

From day one and throughout the duration of the Sponsor Licence, all sponsors must be fully aware of their immigration duties and have processes and systems in place to both meet these requirements and to maintain records as evidence of their compliance.

Sponsors can be subject to Home Office investigation at any time. Where there are allegations of compliance breaches, the Home Office has powers to downgrade, suspend or revoke Sponsor Licences, impacting your ability to hire skilled migrant workers and impacting your sponsored workers’ permission to stay and work in the UK.

The remainder of the page will provide an overview of the Expansion Worker Sponsor Licence. If you have already established the business in the UK, please read our general sections for Sponsor Licence and Skilled Worker.

General requirements

In order to obtain a Sponsor Licence for Expansion Worker, you will need to satisfy UK Visas and Immigration that you meet the following requirements:

• Your company is a genuine organisation operating lawfully in the UK;
• You are honest, dependable and reliable;
• You are capable of carrying out your sponsor duties and evidencing your compliance in an appropriate timeframe and manner;
• You can offer genuine employment that meets the appropriate skill level and appropriate rates of pay.
• You are not looking to sponsor a role which will involve working for a third party;
• There is a qualifying link between you (the UK sponsor) and the overseas business that will send workers to you;
• You are not already actively trading in the UK, but you have a UK ‘footprint’;
• The overseas business that is expanding to the UK is active and trading overseas and, unless an exception applies, has been active and trading for at least 3 years;
• You genuinely intend to expand and establish a UK trading presence within two years with credible expansion plans;
• The planned expansion is in the same type of business that you conduct overseas;
• The business you are establishing in the UK is either wholly owned by the overseas business or is part of the same legal entity (such as a branch);
• You have appointed an Authorising Officer, Key Contact and at least one Level 1 User.
  

In order to establish the above, you will need to submit a number of company-related documents. UKVI will look at your history and background, as well as that of the key personnel named on your application and any people involved in the day to day running of your business.

You may also want to check out our section for a Expansion Worker for the general requirements of the visa.

Application process and fees 

A Sponsor Licence application is submitted online, followed by the submission of all your supporting documents to UKVI within 5 working days. If you send supporting documents later, your application will be rejected.

As part of the Sponsor Licence application process, UKVI may visit your business premises in order to check if you satisfy the sponsorship criteria.

If UKVI has concerns about your ability to comply, your application could be refused and you may lose your application fee. You may also be subject to a cooling off period before you can apply again.

The current application fee for a GBM Sponsor Licence is £536.

Certificate of Sponsorship (COS)

If your application is successful and you become registered as a licenced sponsor, in order for you to support your prospective employee's visa application, you must issue the individual a Certificate of Sponsorship.

A Certificate of Sponsorship is a virtual document which confirms the details of the employee as well as of the specific skilled job on offer (job title, job description, work address, salary etc).

An issued Certificate of Sponsorship has a unique reference number, which the individual will need when making his/her visa application.

Sponsorship Management System (SMS) and compliance

As a licenced sponsor, you are responsible to ensure all of the compliance duties are met and you are not at risk of breaching any UK immigration rules and policies.

Key duties will include record keeping. in relation to both the organisation and all sponsored workers. In addition, you are also under a positive duty to act and notify UKVI of certain change of circumstances, both for the organisation and all sponsored workers.

Failing your sponsor's duties may result in your Sponsor Licence being downgraded, suspended, or revoked by UKVI, which will affect all the employees sponsored by you.

The Sponsorship Management System (SMS) is an online system for you to access and manage your Sponsor Licence account, including issuing a Certificate of Sponsorship, and reporting a change of circumstances. You must maintain access to the SMS, but can use an UK-based immigration advisor to help you manage the daily tasks of the licence.

Sponsor Licence upgrading

Once granted, your Sponsor Licence will be given either an 'A' or 'Provisional' rating.

You will receive a 'Provisional' rating and only 1 CoS allocation if your Authorising Officer is an employee of the overseas business and outside the UK at the time of application. Your Authorising Officer must then assign the CoS to themselves and apply for an Expansion Worker visa to the UK. Once they are legally resident in the UK, they can request the rating to be changed to 'A' and increase the CoS allocation to the maximum.

Your Sponsor Licence will be valid for 4 years and it cannot be renewed under the Expansion Worker category. If you fail to establish a trading presence within the relevant timeframe, you would not be able to issue any more CoS and your licence may be revoked. If you did establish a trading presence and you wish to continue sponsoring migrant workers, you will be able to apply to add other routes to your Sponsor Licence (for example, Skilled Worker or Senior / Specialist Worker). Your sponsored workers can then apply to switch to these visa categories if they meet the relevant requirements.

How we can help

Our knowledgeable and experienced immigration team can:

• Assess your case and advise whether you are eligible to apply
• Assist with your initial consideration as to the appropriate type of licence and suitable key personnel
• Provide you with a tailored & comprehensive document list
• Review all your documents and advise on necessary amendments
• Review your HR and recruitment procedures in preparation of a UKVI visit
• Suggest on how to improve your application
• Complete your application forms in accordance with the UKVI requirements
• Assist you to complete the application submission process
• Provide our representation letter to support your application with necessary legal arguments
• Liaise with UKVI on your behalf
• Advise on sponsor duties and compliance
• Act as your Level 1/2 user for the Sponsorship Management System and assist in sponsorship related tasks

Depending on your need and budget, we have different levels of services that you may choose from. Check out Our Services to see which one is for you. 

Want to discuss your case with an immigration specialist? Contact Us now.