Managing your business is hard enough, however when a business or institution decides to employ an individual for a post, where they need a visa be it, they may be in the UK or outside the UK, there is the sponsorship process that needs to be followed.
As a business or institution, it is important to take note the Home Office requires a sponsor license holder to take on certain responsibilities, whilst holding a license.
KEY NOTE: The fiscal impact migrants have on the UK economy, Migration Watch part of Oxford University, reports that non-UK nationals have a positive impact on the economy on a surplus, taking into consideration housing, schooling as well as NHS services.
As a business or an institution, you should follow some helpful guides from ICS Legal:
- The genuineness of the role is always considered as part of the sponsorship process. This is to confirm that a role does exist, and the organisation requires a person to complete it as necessary.
- Note your business or institution would need to apply for a Sponsor license and provide evidence of the setup in the UK.
- The migrant you intend to recruit will need the organisation to provide a Certificate of Sponsorship, also known as CoS, to apply for the Skilled Work Visa thereafter.
- Commonly it is asked, how long is a Skilled Work Visa issued for, this is entirely dependent on the employer, and normally lasts an average of 3 to 5 years.
- Applying for settlement also referred as indefinite leave to remain, for the individual is normally conducted once they complete a term of 5 years in the UK.
At ICS Legal, our Lawyers acknowledge the complexities a sponsor has being an employer. As part of the Sponsor Guidance, the Home Office requires an employer to maintain certain standards to ensure compliance over the life cycle of holding a sponsor license.
ANOTHER NOTE: Since April 2015 the UK Home Office had introduced the Immigration Health Surcharge, this requires all applicants applying for a skilled worker visa from outside or inside the UK to pay to access NHS services, this includes family routes, such as the Fiancé or Spousal visas.
The costs of the Health Surcharge sit on an average of £624 per year. These do exclude any tax contributions a migrant pay during their lifetime of the visa.
Today we have Labour Leader Keir Starmer outlining the need to have a positive immigration policy focusing on a skilled labour force. We could not agree more.
Now the irony, Lord Wolfson (CEO of Next PLC) a Tory Peer, and a pro Brexiteer voted to leave the EU, now wants to have an immigration policy to support workers from overseas to take roles in the UK, specifically stating ‘economically positive migration’.
As a business it is imperative to acknowledge the processes involved in sponsoring a migrant. A common factor of costs is always asked, there are Home Office fees and here as follows:
• Sponsor License application fees.
• Immigration Skills Surcharge.
• Allocation cost.
• Skilled Work Visa Fees.
• Immigration Health surcharge.
Majority of the fees are based on the type and size of the organisation.
Tel: 020 7237 3388
Email: info@icslegal.com
Website: www.icslegal.com