UK work visa: Employers and foreign citizens residing in the UK will be much relieved by the Home Office’s recent announcement that they will no longer need to renew sponsor licences every four years. This would simplify things greatly for businesses in the country that previously had to cope with an abundance of paperwork and costly fees to keep the workforce.

According to information on gov.uk from UK Visas and Immigration, a UK sponsor licence is required in order to hire a foreign national. Residents of EU member nations as well as citizens of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland who entered the UK after December 31, 2020, are included in this. A sponsor licence was also necessary for educational establishments to bring foreign professors and students to the UK.

• Regulations mandating the renewal of sponsor permits every four years will end on April 6.
• There won’t be any need for renewals because sponsor licences that are set to expire will automatically be renewed by 10 years once they start.
• During this time, sponsors who have valid licences don’t need to do anything; the extension will take care of their licences on its own.

• Companies sponsoring licences had to submit applications ninety-days before the licences expired.
• Furthermore, they were required to pay an enormous fee that varied based on their size and charitable status, from £536 to £1,476.
• Additionally, processing times for renewals could be up to eight weeks.

Sponsors will receive their application fees back from the UK Home Office during the renewal process; nevertheless, sponsors are advised to check the expiration date of their licence online using the Sponsorship Management System (SMS). It said that sponsors who have already begun the process of renewing have been contacted.

Immigration has long been a controversial topic in the UK. With a large rise in wage standards announced in December, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s administration plans to increase the cost of hiring foreign labour.

Expand the potential of your company by working with Conroy Baker Ltd. to meet your UK sponsor licencing requirements.

Get in touch with us on +44 203 773 2948 or [email protected] to find out how our knowledgeable services can streamline your sponsorship application.