Immigration > For hiring companies
Sponsor License Applications
In line with the points based system that was introduced by the UK Government, any UK company wishing employ non-EEA nationals must obtain a sponsor license. This involves preparing and submitting a number of documents to demonstrate a company’s trading presence, efficient HR system and compliance with the immigration rules.
This will then allow the UK company to issue a Certificate of Sponsorship in accordance with the Home Office’s code of practise so that the appropriate leave / visa application can be submitted.
This system puts a significant emphasis on a UK company’s compliance with the Home Office legislation and, because NES is OISC registered, NES can manage your sponsor license as well as process the related visa applications that will allow you to sponsor non-EEA nationals. Alternatively, if you already have a sponsor license and are looking to change your current or appoint a new representative, NES can assist.
Tier 2 scheme
Once a UK employer has obtained a sponsor license they can issue a Certificate of Sponsorship so that a Tier 2 visa application can be submitted.
To be able to issue a Certificate of Sponsorship, the role that a company is looking to fill must be at least equivalent to NVQ level 3 and the individual concerned must be paid what is deemed to be the going rate for the position and satisfy the Home Office code of practise.
Within the Tier 2 rules, the two main categories for which Certificates of Sponsorship can be issued and Tier 2 visas applied for are:
Tier 2 (general)
This is where the position is either one of the recognised shortage occupations or the UK company has advertised the position and can demonstrate that a suitably qualified resident worker was not available to fill the post.
The employee must have the qualification and / or experience to do the job
Tier 2 (ICT) Intra Company Transfers
This allows UK employers to bring key members of staff from an overseas branch of the same company to their UK office. Such staff can either be: an established employee required to fill a post that cannot be filled by a resident worker; a graduate trainee (recently established graduate recruit required in the UK for training purposes) or; skills transfer, where the employee is required to transfer skills to the UK company.
By appointing NES as your representative, we will ensure that your Certificates of Sponsorship and visa applications are processed effectively and that your sponsor license is managed in accordance with the Home Office requirements.
In addition, you’ll be given support on a variety of issues, including compliance to ensure that your HR systems include the statutory checks needed to adhere to current employment legislation. We’ll also let you know if we think your best option would be to apply through an alternative route, such as a Tier 1 (Highly Skilled).
Immigration services are available free of charge for hiring companies that have selected an NES candidate (see also immigration services to support NES placements). However, you can take full advantage of the services even if you aren't using NES to find fill your vacancy - just call for a confidential discussion about our competitive rates.
Call Graham Rawlin on +44 (0)113 279 8100 or email him at graham.rawlin@nes.co.uk for more information.
