A complete guide to sponsoring skilled workers

In recent years, especially after Brexit, the UK has experienced severe labour shortages in many industries. This has prompted many businesses to look for alternative recruitment methods to fill core skill gaps and stay ahead of the competition.

Today, many employers are leveraging the international labour market to hire skilled workers and the trend is not slowing down. In fact, non-British nationals make up 18% of the national workforce according to the latest statistics

So, if you want to overcome the skills shortages in the country and hire the best talent from across the world, here’s everything you need to know about sponsoring skilled workers in the UK.

What is the process to sponsor skilled workers in the UK?

Firstly, you need to become a registered sponsor with the Home Office by obtaining a sponsor licence.

The sponsor licence gives you permission from the Home Office to hire workers from abroad or to employ those who are in the UK on other types of visas.

The licence is normally issued for 4 years with the automatic option for renewal if your organisation continues to meet the eligibility and suitability criteria.

Once you’re granted a sponsor licence, you can conduct interviews and right-to-work checks and issue Certificates of Sponsorship (required to apply for a visa) to the candidates you’re planning to hire.

What’s the process of hiring skilled workers after getting the licence?

First, you need to call for applications and conduct right-to-work checks on all your applicants to ensure they have the legal right to work in the UK.

Please note that, due to COVID-19, sponsors were granted a COVID-19 concession that allowed them to conduct the right-to-work check in the UK using scanned copies of required documents, video calls, or through the Employer Checking Service (ECS).

This concession has now been extended until the 30th of September 2022 due to the continued impact of the pandemic.

There are 3 steps you must follow to check that a job applicant is allowed to work for you in the UK before you employ them:

1. Obtain

You must obtain original copies of the following documents:

Passport
Biometric Residence Permit – From 6 April 2022 you will not be able to accept biometric residence cards or permits. Ask the applicant for a share code instead.
Stamped entry clearance visa—only if your employee was granted a visa outside the UK

2. Check

Check the applicant’s right to work online, if they’ve given you their share code. Check the applicant’s original documents. While conducting your check, you must ensure that:

The dates for the right to work have not expired
The date of birth is consistent across all documents
The applicant has the right to work in the job role offered
The presented photos are consistent across all documents and resemble the applicant
The documents are legitimate, unaltered, and belong to the person presenting them to you
In case there are name inconsistencies, there are supporting documents explaining this

3. Copy and retain

After you’ve checked all the documents, you must:

Make clear, unalterable copies of all the documents
Attest the copy by stating “I confirm that these are true copies of the original”—also include your name, role in the company, the date the check was conducted, and signature
Save the copy of the right-to-work check done online via the Home Office Service

Keep the copies in a safe location during employment and 2 years after the end of the employment period. Nation.better users store these documents on our secure platform.

Online right-to-work check (using a share code)

You must conduct the online check using the Home Office ECS, which works by allowing the candidate to first view their right-to-work status in the UK on the Home Office website.

The candidate profile can then be checked if they provide you with a share code. This code, when entered along with your candidate’s date of birth, allows you to access their right-to-work status. Your candidates can share the code with you directly or through the online service.

Keep in mind that this shared code is only valid for 30 days, after which you will need a new code to access the candidate profile.

Once you’ve received the code, you must:

Access the ‘View a job applicant’s right to work details’ via GOV.UK
Enter the ‘share code’ provided to you by the individual
Enter their date of birth
After you’ve gained access to the candidate’s profile, you need to ensure that the photograph in the profile is the same as the person applying for work—you can do this by a live video link.

You must only hire the candidate or continue sponsoring them if the online check confirms their right to work and you agree to conduct a follow-up check.

The candidate’s profile must be saved to retain evidence of your check—you have the option of printing it out or saving it as a PDF. Regardless of how you choose to save it, however, you must keep this copy for the duration of the employment and 2 years after the end of the sponsorship.

How much does it cost to sponsor skilled workers?

Once you have a sponsor licence and you’ve identified the right candidate for your business, you should assign a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) to them. They will only be able to apply for a visa once the certificate is issued.

It will cost you £199 to assign a CoS to a skilled worker.

While assigning a CoS through the Sponsorship Management System (SMS), you will also need to pay an immigration skills charge, which will be based on:

The size of the organisation
The duration with the worker will work for the company (which will be determined using the start and end dates on the CoS)

A minimum of 12 months is payable. This amount is non-refundable unless paid in error or the sponsored worker fails to take up the post. The charge applies only to the main applicant in the Skilled Worker route and does not apply to their family members (dependants).

The fees are as follows:

Period	Small or charitable sponsors	Medium or large sponsors
First 12 months	£364	£1,000
Each additional 6 months	£182	£500

The next step in the sponsoring process is the Skilled Worker visa application – the expenses depend on the candidate’s location (inside or outside the UK), the period of employment, and if the job is in the Shortage Occupation List.

For applicants inside the UK, the fees are as follows:

Skilled Worker, where a certificate of sponsorship has been issued for three years or less—main applicant and each dependant	£704
Skilled Worker, where a certificate of sponsorship has been issued for over three years—main applicant and each dependant	£1,408
Skilled Worker, shortage occupation where a certificate of sponsorship has been issued for three years or less—main applicant and dependants	£464
Skilled Worker, shortage occupation where a certificate of sponsorship has been issued for over three years—main applicant and dependants	£928

For applicant outside the UK the fees are as follows:

Skilled worker, where a certificate of sponsorship has been issued for three years or less—main applicant and each dependant	£610
Skilled Worker, where a certificate of sponsorship has been issued for over three years—main applicant and each dependant	£1,220
Skilled Worker, shortage occupation where a certificate of sponsorship has been issued for three years or less—main applicant and each dependant	£464
Skilled Worker, shortage occupation where a certificate of sponsorship has been issued for over three years—main applicant and each dependant	£928

Immigration health surcharge—£624 for an adult and £470 for a child—should also be paid when the visa application is submitted to the Home Office.

You can also pay for the Priority service—which costs £500 per person—to get a decision within 5 working days.

For example,

If you’re a small organisation that already has a sponsor licence and you’re hiring a skilled worker from outside the UK for 3 years. They don’t have dependents and you’re not buying a priority service.

Then the fees you have to pay are:

Assignment of a Certificate of Sponsorship – £199
Immigration skills charge (for 3 years) – £1092
Skilled Worker visa application (occupation is in the shortage occupation list) – £464
Immigration health surcharge – £1872

Total: £3627

Streamline the skilled worker sponsorship process with expert support

Leveraging the talent of sponsored employees can elevate your business to the next level and help you gain an edge over your competitors. But, the process of sponsoring skilled workers can be stressful for you and your applicants.

At Nation.better, our team of immigration experts make this process streamlined and stress-free through our end-to-end sponsorship management solution, including sponsor licence support, complimentary candidate assessment, CoS and visa application support, and a sponsorship compliance platform.

If you’d like to learn more about how we can help you, don’t hesitate to contact our team.