A UK employer is validly capable to assign a Certificate of Sponsorship (COS) only if they possess a valid sponsor license. Certificates of Sponsorship are virtual documents an employee requires to make a sponsored work visa application. The UK sponsor who is the employee in this case needs to have access to the online portal known as the Sponsor Management System which is where they assign Certificates of sponsorship.
There are certain duties that you as a sponsor need to uphold and maintain whilst holding the license. The breach of any of these duties might compel the Home Office to suspend your license as a sponsor until further actions are taken.
Duties of a Sponsor While Holding a Sponsored License
- Ensure you comply with all the UK Laws and guarantee that you only sponsor workers for authentic vacancies.
- Each sponsored worker record must be recorded appropriately.
- The immigration status of employees should be monitored.
- Monitoring and tracking of all sponsored workers as well as absences and annual leaves.
- Preservation of contact details of sponsored workers.
Reasons For a License Suspension
Before a license happens, there is usually a visit by the Home Office and in the event, any or more of the listed below is found, a suspension of a sponsor license might be issued by the home office. The most common reasons for this suspension are;
- Wariness with the legitimacy of the vacancy the sponsor is intending to sponsor or is sponsoring.
- Providing untrue information on a certificate of COS.
- When you disappoint in paying employees as stated by the sponsorship guidance on the COS.
- When it is uncovered that the sponsor has employed an illegal worker.
- The inability for you to implement the record-keeping requirements which are the evidence of employment, job descriptions, contact details, and others.
- An omission by the sponsor to report changes in situations for the migrant worker for instance a change in the employee’s job title or for you as the sponsor a change of the organization’s address.
- Deficient Human Resource policies and procedures especially as regards the right-to-work checks for all workers.
The implication of the License Suspension
When your license gets suspended, the implication of this is that you will not be allowed to assign any Certificates of Sponsorship and your business will be deleted from the register of sponsors. It will also affect any workers with the pending visa application.
Conclusion
If you qualify as a UK sponsor, it is advised you uphold the duties ascribed to and expected of you in order to avoid suspension because getting suspended may thwart the growth of your company or organization. If you need more details about the UK Sponsor License, we offer free legal immigration advice online in the UK for both companies and individuals.
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