UK Immigration

Sponsor Licence Refusals: Causes and Solutions – UK visa news

By Annie Ee – Senior Authorized Affiliate

When embarking on the journey of creating a Sponsor Licence Application, the sponsoring firm should perceive the route(s) through which they want to sponsor abroad nationals and the duties that include being a sponsor. On this complete guide, we delve into the nuances of Sponsor Licence Refusals, offering insights and suggestions for these navigating the sponsor licence utility course of.  We discover the explanation why sponsor licence purposes are generally refused, and supply strategic recommendation to empower companies with the data wanted to navigate the Sponsor Licence utility course of efficiently.

Is the Sponsor Licence Utility Refused or Rejected?

When deciding a sponsor licence utility, the House Workplace might both reject the sponsor licence utility as invalid, refuse the appliance or grant the appliance with an A score (or provisional score for the UK Expansion Worker route). 

Invalid utility

As we mentioned in our publish, Employer’s Guide to Appendix A Sponsor Licence Documents, most organisations are required to supply a listing of paperwork in help of their sponsor licence utility. For instance, if your organization is a Start-up, it’s essential to present that your organization has a present, company checking account with a financial institution registered by the Monetary Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority within the UK. 

An instance of an invalid utility would come with paying the inaccurate utility charge.  For those who pay the inaccurate utility charge, the House Workplace will reject your sponsor licence utility and refund the appliance charge. For extra info on the sponsorship prices for the Expert Employee route, please check with our earlier publish here.

As soon as the problems have been recognized and rectified, you’ll be able to submit one other sponsor licence utility.

Utility refused

An utility for a sponsor licence could also be refused on numerous grounds, reminiscent of:

  • Unspent convictions for a related offence by the important thing personnel, proprietor, director or any individual concerned within the day-to-day working of the enterprise; 
  • Employment shouldn’t be real;
  • No obligatory human sources techniques is in place to satisfy your sponsor duties;
  • Offering false paperwork or false info with the appliance;
  • No working or buying and selling presence within the UK;

In case your sponsor licence utility is refused, chances are you’ll solely have the ability to apply after the cooling-off period has elapsed.

Sponsor licence purposes will be difficult and it is best to search authorized recommendation to make sure that your online business has the proper documentation. Examine a few of our sponsor licence success tales here.

When Can I Make One other Sponsor Licence Utility?

In case your utility for a sponsor licence is refused, there is no such thing as a proper of enchantment in opposition to the refusal. You could possibly request the House Workplace to evaluation the choice when the refusal is because of a caseworker error. The request have to be despatched inside 14 calendar days from the date of the refusal letter.

As set out in our publish, Cooling-Off Periods in Sponsor Licence Applications, you have to to attend till the cooling-off interval has elapsed earlier than making an utility. The size of the cooling-off interval will depend upon the explanations for which it’s imposed. For instance, in case your utility has been refused on account of your utility being despatched by a consultant, there is no such thing as a cooling-off interval and you’ll apply once more at any time. Nevertheless, in case your earlier sponsor licence utility was revoked, you would want to attend for 12 months from the date of the discover informing you that the licence has been revoked. In sure circumstances, the cooling-off interval will be as much as 5 years for quite a few civil penalties and fees issued.

Suggestions for Making ready a Profitable Sponsor Licence Utility

We mentioned the sponsor licence utility standards in our publish, How Are Sponsor Licence Applications Assessed the place we centered on the important thing areas together with sponsor duties and key personnel. In case your sponsor licence utility has been refused, you’ll have to deal with the problems raised within the refusal letter and be sure that you meet the eligibility and suitability standards. 

Sponsor Licence Eligibility Standards

As set out above, your online business should present a listing of supporting paperwork to display that your organization is real and has been working within the UK and meets the eligibility standards. In case you are making use of for a UK Expansion Worker Sponsor Licence, you have to to point out that your online business has a UK ‘footprint’ however not already actively buying and selling within the UK. 

Sponsor Licence Suitability Standards

With a view to meet the suitability standards, the House Workplace will take a look at your HR techniques and the way you’ll meet your sponsor duties. These duties embrace reporting any modifications within the employee’s circumstances no later than 10 working days after the related change, holding paperwork required in Appendix D, using employees who’re certified to do the job, not using unlawful employees and never participating in behaviour that’s not conducive to the general public good. 

The House Workplace will even examine that you’ve got appropriate key personnel to hold out the sponsor duties and entry the Sponsorship Administration System to handle the sponsor licence. The House Workplace might perform background checks on them to see whether or not there are any unspent prison convictions or excellent civil penalties.

It’s vital that the function truly exists and doesn’t comprise job descriptions which were exaggerated to satisfy the necessities. The House Workplace steering defines a real emptiness as:

A real emptiness is one which

  • requires the jobholder to carry out the particular duties and duties for the job and meets all the necessities of the related route 
  • doesn’t embrace dissimilar and/or predominantly lower-skilled duties 
  • is acceptable to the enterprise in mild of its enterprise mannequin, marketing strategy and scale’

Do take word that there are particular wage and talent degree necessities for the Skilled Worker, Scale-up and Global Business Mobility routes.

Compliance Visits

Earlier than making a call in your sponsor licence utility, the House Workplace might conduct an inspection to see whether or not you’ve a strong HR system to satisfy your sponsor duties and the knowledge you offered in your utility are correct. 

We defined in our weblog, How An Immigration Audit Can Safeguard Your Sponsor Licence, that an immigration audit is a mock train of checking your human useful resource system, insurance policies and paperwork to make sure that you’re prepared for a House Workplace compliance go to and the way our immigration barristers can help in conducting an immigration audit of your online business. It is a good observe to get your online business prepared particularly in case your earlier sponsor licence utility was refused.

Contact Our Immigration Barristers

For skilled recommendation and help in relation to a Sponsor Licence utility, contact our enterprise immigration barristers in London on 0203 617 9173 or by way of the enquiry type beneath.

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