Sponsors are under several obligations with respect to both their licence and their workers and failing to comply with these duties is a ground for the Home Office to revoke the licence.
In this article, we break down the elements of compliance training, enabling your organisation to maintain an A-rated sponsor rating and retain the ability to sponsor overseas workers.
Duties of the Sponsor
To become a sponsor in the UK, an organisation must meet certain requirements as outlined by the UK authorities, which are designed to ensure the integrity of the UK immigration system. Prospective sponsors will be agreeing, should the licence application be successful, to comply with the duties of a sponsor.
Such duties include reporting changes to the Home Office with respect to the organisation and its sponsored migrants and maintaining complete and up-to-date records e.g. a sponsored migrant’s non-attendance at work.
Many of these responsibilities fall on certain key personnel acting on behalf of the organisation, who will initially have been nominated when applying for the licence, for example Level 1 user(s) and the Authorising Officer. It is common for these personnel to change e.g. due to staff departures, however these personnel are mandatory and there must always be someone nominated in these positions throughout the life of the licence. Understanding the criteria of who can fill these positions is crucial for a sponsor to keep their licence.
Where does compliance training fit in?
Compliance training is an excellent tool for learning how to navigate the complexities of the immigration system and understand the expectations placed on you by the Home Office as a registered sponsor. Such training will help you to identify and implement processes designed to ensure that compliance with Home Office guidance is as effortless as possible and becomes second nature to the key personnel.
Gherson’s sponsor licence compliance training is industry-leading, intuitive and tailored to the specific needs our client’s business. We have a strong track record of guiding sponsors through the relevant criteria to maintain a strong relationship with those authorities that your business will deal with on a regular basis. Gherson maintains in-depth and up-to-date knowledge of corporate immigration law necessary to provide you with the tools to ensure compliance with the duties expected of you by the Home Office as a registered sponsor.
How Gherson can assist
Gherson’s Immigration Team are highly experienced in advising on UK business immigration matters, including delivering bespoke advice or preparing discretionary applications. 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 X, 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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