International Organization for Migration (IOM)

Improving Access to Labour market Information for migrants and employers
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records of the migrants employed, reporting any migrants who cease to attend for
work, and ensuring that none are working illegally. Once a licence is in place, before
an employer can sponsor a skilled migrant (Tier 2) to do a specific job, the onus is on
that employer to check that the job in question meets the requirements on skill level
and the “appropriate rate” of pay for the job. 104 Only if a job meets the conditions
specified, and the migrant in question has the necessary registration/professional
accreditation (where appropriate) is the employer legally entitled to issue a certificate
of sponsorship (COS). 105 Assuming that the conditions are met, the employer then
issues a COS to the migrant in order that they can apply for permission to enter the
United Kingdom if they are overseas106 or permission to stay if they are already in the
United Kingdom. 107 These actions are performed via the Sponsorship Management
System. 108 An application fee is charged on receipt of application for a sponsor licence
if an employer is registering for the first time or renewing a sponsor licence. 109 In
some instances a sponsor licence fee will be payable if an employer already has a
sponsor licence and wants to add more tiers to the licence. A fee is also charged
for assigning a COS. 110 Employers sponsoring workers under Tiers 2 and/or 5 of
the PBS can pay extra for a premium customer service offering greater business
support, priority treatment and guaranteed direct access to a personal contact within
UKBA. 111 Given that employers may apply for different numbers of COSs and the
fees vary by size and status of employer, and may or may not apply for different
levels of additional support from UKBA, it is not appropriate to provide an ‘average’
monetary cost for this process.
Failure to follow correct procedures may result in the loss of an employer’s right to
sponsorship and, in certain circumstances employers may also face fines or/and criminal
action. The burden of responsibility is with the employer112 (Davies and Owers, 2012):
a sponsorship licence does not guarantee or assure UKBA that an employer is up to
104 There is a code of practice issued by the UKBA detailing the minimum rates of pay and the skill level
for specific jobs and the methods employers are allowed to use to advertise a job. Detailed guidance for
sponsors is published on the UKBA website.
105 The COS is a virtual document with a unique reference number.
106 This is known as ‘entry clearance’.
107 This is known as ‘leave to remain’.
108 Copies of the COS and any other relevant registration documents must be kept by an employer and
made available to the UKBA on demand.
109 At the time of writing the fee is £500 for small sponsors or sponsors with charitable status and £500
or £1500 (depending on the [mix] of tiers) for medium or large sponsors – see http://www.ukba.
homeoffice.gov.uk/business-sponsors/points/sponsoringmigrants/costs/costofalicence/.
110 At the time of writing the fee for assigning a COS for Tier 2 is £179 (and for Tier 5 is £13) – see
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/business-sponsors/points/sponsoringmigrants/costs/certificate
ofsponsorship/.
111 At the time of writing the costs involved are £25,000 per year for a full package and £8,000 per year
for a reduced package – see http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/business-sponsors/points/sponsoring
migrants/premium/.
112 The employer may make use of the UKBA helpline and pay for additional support from UKBA (as
noted above). Additionally/alternatively an employer may purchase specialist support (using their own
funds) from immigration lawyers and/or private organizations. During the course of this research
no mainstream publicly funded initiatives providing free legal counselling/other support, with the
exception of the UKBA helpline and support, were identified.