I am about to apply for a sponsor licence for my UK business, who can be the Authorising Officer?

UK businesses wishing to employ non-UK nationals, or those who are not settled in the UK, require a sponsor licence granted by the UK Home Office to do so.

As part of the process of applying for a licence, a company will be required to nominate ‘Key Personnel’. The Key Personnel are allocated specific responsibilities that they must take on in relation to maintaining sponsor licence compliance with the UK Immigration Rules. There are 4 roles:

1. Authorising Officer;
2. Key Contact (which can be an employee or your immigration provider);
3. Level 1 User (you must have one Level 1 User employee, and can then nominate your immigration provider as a further Level 1 User); and
4. Level 2 User (which can be an employee or your immigration provider, or both).

A business can nominate as many Level 1 and Level 2 Users as it is comfortable, allowing access to its licence.

A crucial Key Personnel position is the Authorising Officer (AO). The AO must be the most senior person in the company who is responsible for the recruitment of all migrant workers. They must ensure that the company meets all of its sponsor duties in relation to migrants it wishes to sponsor. Should the company not recruit the sponsored workers themselves, then the AO must be the most senior person responsible for the company’s activity as a licensed sponsor.

The business must have an AO in place at all times throughout the duration of the sponsor licence. If the originally appointed AO leaves the company the business has to nominate a new AO immediately and inform the Home Office of the change in Key Personnel. If a business has no AO in place, or does not inform the Home Office of any changes in this position, the UK authorities will take action against the business. This could result in downgrading, or the complete loss of, the sponsor licence.

The role of AO must be filled by a person who:

• Is based in the UK for the period in which they fill the role of AO;
• Does not have any unspent criminal convictions; and
• Is a paid member of staff of the company who holds the sponsor licence.

There are a significant number of compliance requirements to be met and processes to be implemented when a company wishes to apply for a sponsor licence.

How can we help?

Gherson’s Corporate Immigration team has extensive experience in all aspects of Sponsor Licences, and would be happy to assist. Please do not hesitate to contact us to discuss your options, send us an e-mail, or, alternatively, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, 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 don’t 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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