EMPLOYMENT SPONSORSHIP

Transcription

1 EMPLOYMENT SPONSORSHIP Our Employer's guide to UK Visa Sponsorship. This document was written and designed by AMY MAGEE Visit our website:

2 CONTENTS: The Purpose of this Guide What Is Employee Sponsorship? How To Apply Tier 2 Licences Sponsorship Management What You Need To Do How Much Does it Cost? Fee Breakdown Fee Breakdown How Applications are Reviewed Refunds Lawyers How ISL Can Help & Contact Us

3 THE PURPOSE OF THIS GUIDE We understand that many UK businesses may not be familiar with the process or benefits of sponsoring employees from outside of the EU, and neither did we at first! However, after going through this process with many of our clients and seeing the skills that sponsored candidates have brought to UK businesses, we have created this guide to help our clients understand the benefits and processes involved in employment sponsorship. We have researched official information from the UK Government and UK Visa Bureau websites to save you time and give you clarity over how employment sponsorship works; including the fees, processes and employer responsibilities involved. 1

4 WHAT IS EMPLOYMENT SPONSORSHIP? Employee sponsorship is when a UK employer sponsors the visa of a non-eu migrant worker, allowing them to work in the UK for their company. For this, an employer will need a sponsorship licence. Types of licence: Tier 2 - Designed for long-term or permanent workers. For our clients, Tier 2 licences will mainly apply to the hiring of general roles for which the UK is experiencing skills shortages (e.g. Engineers) or the intra-company transfer of employees from overseas branches to UK branches. Tier 5 - Our clients typically apply for Tier 2 licences but for reference, Tier 5 licences are designed for the temporary hire of sportspeople, creative artists (dancers/performers) and charity, religious or government workers. 2

5 HOW TO APPLY Check your eligibility Visit Choose licence type Internally appoint a sponsorship manager Apply online and pay fee Review and approval UK Visa Bureau is an independent immigration advisory service. They provide advice, information, case management and postapproval support to businesses. Most applications take less than 8 weeks to complete, during which a UKVI representative (UK Visas & Immigration) may visit your business. 3

6 TIER 2 LICENCE Generally, our clients would apply for a Tier 2 licence which is primarily designed for the longterm or permanent employment of: General Workers- e.g. Engineers, Project Managers, IT and Medical professionals (see the UK Tier 2 Shortage Occupation List for all approved roles) Intra-Company Transfer Workers - for multinational companies needing to transfer employees to the UK. Type of Licence Small sponsors Medium/ large sponsors Tier ,476 4

7 SPONSORSHIP MANAGEMENT Sponsorships are managed online through the Sponsorship Management System (SMS). Employers must appoint members of their team to manage the licence application and ongoing sponsorship. Sponsorship management roles include: Level 1 user day-to-day management of licence through SMS Authorising Officer - responsible for staff using the SMS Key Contact main contact for UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) Sponsorship Managers must ensure that: Workers have the necessary skills, qualifications or accreditations Certificates of sponsorship are only assigned to workers if the job is suitable for sponsorship Tell UKVI if workers are not complying with the conditions of their visa 5

8 WHAT YOU NEED TO DO Supporting documents During your application, you will need to provide at least 4 supporting documents to prove that you are a genuine business unless: You are a public body recognised by the UK government (e.g. a local authority) You are listed on the London Stock Exchange Main Market Monitoring employees You must monitor your employees immigration status and keep relevant documents (passport, right to work) for each employee You must track and record employees attendance Keep employee contact details up to date Report to UKVI if there is a problem (e.g. your employee stops coming to work) You should register any changes to your business on the SMS if you: stop trading/become insolvent change address or the nature of your business are involved in a merger or take-over 6

9 HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? Fees are dependent on: The size of your organisation How long the worker will work for you Small Business: annual turnover < 10.2 million < 50 employees Medium/Large Business: annual turnover > 10.2 million > 50 employees The cost of sponsoring an employee is broken down into: Licence fee Immigration Health Surcharge Visa Application fee Certificate of Sponsorship fee Immigration Skills charge The fees for each of these are explained on the following page... 7

10 FEE BREAKDOWN LICENCE FEE: Type of Licence Small sponsors Medium/ large sponsors Tier ,476 VISA APPLICATION FEE: 587 IMMIGRATION HEALTH SURCHARGE : 600 CERTIFICATE OF SPONSORSHIP FEE: 199 8

11 FEE BREAKDOWN CONT. IMMIGRATION SKILLED CHARGE: This is for employees working for more than 6 months with a: Tier 2 (General) visa Tier 2 (Intra-company Transfer) visa Small sponsors Medium/ large sponsors First 12 months 364 1,000 Each additional 6 months Period You are exempt from Immigration Skilled Charges if your employee: Is switching from a Tier 4 (Student) visa to a Tier 2 (General) visa Has a Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) Graduate Trainee visa Will do a job with a PhD-level standard occupational classification (SOC) code 9

12 HOW APPLICATIONS ARE REVIEWED The Review Process After starting the application process, the UK Visa Bureau licensing specialist will: Request more information and supporting legal, financial and employee documents. Analyse the company s policies and practices and recommend new ideas. Confirm that the company's policies comply with UK immigration legislation Review and lodge your application on your behalf. Approval 10

13 REFUNDS Full refunds will be issued if the worker's visa application is: Refused or withdrawn Successful, but they don t come to work for you Partial refunds will be issued if the worker's visa application: Gets less time on their visa than you sponsored them for Starts working for you but then changes to another sponsor Leaves their job before the end date on their certificate of sponsorship You usually get a refund within 90 days of: Telling UKVI that the worker didn t come to work for you The expiration date on the worker s certificate of sponsorship The worker s visa application being refused or withdrawn 11

14 LAWYERS You may want to consider the help of an Immigration Lawyer to help you fill out the initial licence application forms. This is because applying for a sponsorship licence can be a lengthy and complicated process where sending the wrong paper, or documents certified incorrectly will likely result in your sponsorship application being refused. Solicitor advice ranges in cost between 1,200 and 2,000-4,000 depending on whether you go to a top law firm or a smaller firm for advice. 12

15 HOW ISL CAN HELP Whether you are looking for more information on employee sponsorship, or you are ready to kick-start your recruitment process and start finding the talent you need, ISL is ready to help you with this on a local or even global scale. Our consultants are experts in the Technology and Engineering markets and will be more than happy to assist you in your recruitment process. CONTACT US Telephone: Website: office@isluk.co.uk Disclaimer: Information provided in this brochure was sourced from the UK Government and UK Visa Bureau website, and is, to the best of our knowledge, accurate and up to date (2017). ISL holds no liability for any changes that may result in the individual incurring additional fees outside of those outlined in this document. 13