Nation.better

Recruiting International Hospitality Employees

Outshine the competition by sponsoring hospitality employees

Discover how sponsoring hospitality professionals can help you stand out in a competitive industry

While the UK is home to a thriving hospitality industry, businesses today are facing a severe shortage of skilled and unskilled workers, with many Brits preferring to pursue careers outside of hospitality.

For a business operating in the competitive and crowded hospitality industry, this can be a major setback.While employers try adopting various recruitment strategies to attract talent and keep ahead of the competition, these strategies can be unsustainable in the long run.

In response, employers are looking to fill core skills gaps and secure their footing in the market by tapping into the immense potential of the international labour market.

If you’re looking to embark on this route to ensure that your business is supported by the skills and talent you need to stand out in the hospitality industry, here’s what you need to know about the benefits, the challenges, and the process of sponsoring hospitality workers for your business.

The benefits of employee sponsorship for hospitality businesses

If you’re an employer in the UK, the benefits of sponsoring hospitality workers are multifold. 

You can:

  • Reduce your operational costs
  • Cater to a diverse range of palates
  • Hire the best talent from around the world
  • Outcompete your rivals with the support of an international culinary team

Among many more advantages.

The challenges of sponsoring hospitality workers

While there are many benefits to sponsoring hospitality workers, there are also a number of challenges you must navigate through to sponsor workers successfully. 

You may face difficulties in:

  • Meeting your duties as a sponsor
  • Finding the right talent for your business
  • Welcoming your sponsored workers into the UK
  • Supporting your sponsored employees during their vocation

What’s the process of hiring hospitality workers in the UK?

Here’s a quick breakdown of the major steps you will take on your sponsorship journey.

  • The process begins with obtaining your sponsor licence. This is done by submitting an online application, the relevant documents, and by paying the licence fee to the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI).

  • Once you obtain your licence, you can start the interview process and conduct right to work checks for every prospective candidate to ensure they have the legal right to work in the UK.

  • Once you’ve chosen the most suitable candidate for your business, you must assign a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS)—a digital document—to your employee to get visa clearance.

  • Upon your employee’s arrival in the UK, you will need to perform the necessary due diligence to meet your sponsor duties and Home Office regulations throughout the contract period.

The process begins with obtaining your sponsor licence. This is done by submitting an online application, the relevant documents, and by paying the licence fee to the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI).

Once you obtain your licence, you can start the interview process and conduct right to work checks for every prospective candidate to ensure they have the legal right to work in the UK.

Once you’ve chosen the most suitable candidate for your business, you must assign a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS)—a digital document—to your employee to get visa clearance.

Upon your employee’s arrival in the UK, you will need to perform the necessary due diligence to meet your sponsor duties and Home Office regulations throughout the contract period.

How can Nation.better help?

At Nation.better, we understand that sponsoring hospitality employees can be challenging, especially after the latest round of rule changes following COVID-19 and Brexit.

Today, we work with employers and their candidates across the hospitality industry to streamline the sponsorship process with our expert-led consultancy support, industry partnerships, and end-to-end compliance platform.

What our partners say

Great team, great service and really simple process at a fraction of the standard expensive fees. Nation.better actually educates founders on what it means to be a sponsor. Definitely recommend these guys.
Stephan Eyeson
Co-founder, Survey54
Clear and easy process to go through. Nation.better team made sure that we have a super smooth experience and it gets the job done! 100% recommended.
Mo Khodadadi
Founder, Satis.AI
Easy. Having been through this before with other immigration service providers that over complicate the process and charge high fees, Nation.better through innovative ways made the usual painful and stressful experience full of confidence and care. Highly recommended.
Dasha Selyanova
Managing Director, ZDDZ
As a small company, hiring talent from outside the UK can feel very daunting. Nation.better has designed an efficient system to support employers through complex regulations and paperwork. As an employer, I have transparency over the full process. The team has been highly supportive and responsive as well! It’s been a joy working with them.
Bonnie Chiu
Managing Director, TSIC

Find the right candidates through our recruitment partners

Here at Nation.better, we’ve partnered with some of the largest recruitment agencies in the UK, including COREcruitment, which specialises in the hospitality industry, to help employers find the best hospitality employees for their businesses.


By working with us, you get access to COREcruitment’s entire portfolio and can look for suitable candidates for the key roles you want to fill.

Streamline the sponsor licence application process with our support

Obtaining your sponsor licence is easily the most critical step in this journey. Each year, thousands of businesses fail to cross this hurdle given the various requirements that need to be met. 

At Nation.better, we provide you with thousands of pounds worth of support for just £800+VAT to simplify this process through the guidance of our expert legal and immigration advisers. 

We provide you with:

  • A cost forecast
  • A step-by-step guide
  • An eligibility assessment
  • A list of all supporting documents
  • A cover letter to support your application
  • A case review by a qualified immigration adviser
  • The creation of an online Home Office application
  • Representation and communication with the Home Office

Support your employees with Skilled Worker visa support from experts

Due to the complexities in securing a work visa to enter the UK, the arrival of your sponsored employees can get postponed, delayed, or even rejected. 

That’s why we offer Skilled Worker visa support for you to apply for and extend your employees’ Skilled Worker visas effortlessly.

For just £650+VAT, our team of experts can help you and your employees through the visa application process and ensure that your employees’ journey to the UK is as seamless as possible.

Our support covers:

  • A timeline for onboarding and welcoming your candidate to the UK
  • Professional support for the Skilled Worker visa application process
  • Immigration eligibility assessment for all your prospective candidates
  • A report on all the Home Office fees you need to pay for the sponsorship

Stay on top of Home Office rules with our compliance platform

The sponsoring process doesn’t end when your employees arrive in the UK—it continues as long as they remain under your employment, which means you need to ensure you’re meeting Home Office requirements on a long-term basis.

With our compliance platform, we give you all the tools and support you need to stay on top of your obligations.

With the Nation.better platform, you access:

  • Centralised compliance documentation and monitoring
  • Streamlined reporting through powerful SMS integration
  • Automated compliance workflows and SMS notifications
  • A self-management system for your international employees
  • Workflows and alert systems to automate basic administrative tasks

Book a free consultation

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