3 Top tips if you have a Sponsor Management System

Once you are granted a UK sponsor licence, you will also be given access to a Sponsor Management System (SMS).

The SMS is your sponsor licence online portal. It contains details about your organisation and is used to request and assign Certificates of Sponsorship so that you can sponsor migrants in the UK. In this blog, we provide 3 Top Tips to help you stay on top of managing your SMS. 

Check Key Personnel details 

As part of your initial sponsor licence application, you may recall that you were required to choose an Authorising Officer (AO) (a senior person responsible for the sponsor licence), a Level 1 user (a person responsible for using the SMS) and a Key Contact (the person that the Home Office can contact about the sponsor licence). These individuals make up your Key Personnel and their details should be kept up-to-date at all times.

In particular, you must have an AO in place at all times during the life of a sponsor licence. If the AO is leaving the organisation, it is imperative that you replace the AO to ensure there is an AO at all times. Failure to do so could result in the Home Office taking action against the organisation. 

Check organisational details

As above, the SMS contains details about your organisation, such as the name, address, type of business and size. The Home Office will rely on these details when dealing with your sponsor licence. If any of these details change, you must update them on the SMS within specified timeframes.

To update these details, you will need to make reports on the SMS and you may need to send supporting documents to the Home Office.

Log in to the SMS often 

You should log in to your SMS often to check if any details need to be updated. Additionally, the Home Office post changes to sponsor licence policy on the SMS. If you do not log in, you may miss these important updates.

As an example, the Home Office recently posted a notice to say that when requesting a new Level 1 user, you will be required to enter the individual’s national insurance number. It is therefore very important to log in every now and then, so that you are aware of these important updates and you are able to stay on top of managing your SMS.

How Gherson can assist

Gherson’s Immigration Team are highly experienced in advising on sponsor licence matters. If you have any questions arising from this blog, please do not hesitate to contact us for advice, send us an e-mail, or, alternatively, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn to stay-up-to-date.

The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please do not hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.

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