Key changes for UK sponsors

This month saw the publication of new Tier 2 and 5 sponsor guidance containing key changes to the way in which sponsor licence holders comply with the UK immigration rules.

Below, we unpick these changes in the first instalment of our four-part summary and present those which we feel are most noteworthy for sponsor licence holders.

As a UK employer of Tier 2 migrant workers, it is of utmost importance that your organisation remains compliant with the latest regulations and processes. If a sponsor is found to be in breach of their sponsor duties, they run of the risk of having their sponsor licence revoked and any future sponsor licence application being refused.

Certificates of Sponsorship

A number of changes have been made to the process of assigning a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS), a document essential to the hiring of a migrant employee.

• The list of family members to whom a CoS cannot be allocated by an SMS user (Sponsor Management System) has been expanded to include step-brother, step-sister, nephew, niece, cousin, father-in-law, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, son-in-law and daughter-in-law.
• If an SME sponsor assigns a CoS to a family member of anyone else in the sponsor organisation, they must notify the Home Office by stating this on the CoS application.
• Where an exemption to the current Tier 2 skill levels applies, the sponsor must make a note on the CoS application, explaining why the assignee migrant is eligible for this exemption.

Record-keeping

• The following documents must now be kept on file for all migrant employees: DBS checks (where necessary), a detailed and specific job description including qualifications, any skills required for the position, and evidence of the migrant employee’s skill level. The new guidance also clarifies that sponsors must also keep a screen shot of any vacancies advertised on Universal Jobmatch, Jobcentre Plus or Jobcentre Online, taken on the first day of the 28-day advertising period.
• The Authorising Officer is responsible for a sponsor’s users of the Sponsor Management System (SMS), and must therefore have a process in place to monitor these activities. The new guidance recommends that as part of their duties, the Authorising Officer checks the CoS assigned to each migrant employee on a monthly basis and to keep a record of these monthly checks.

Read more on the new sponsor guidance for Tiers 2 & 5:

Part two: New rules for sponsor licence applicants

Part three: Clearer rules for UK sponsors: mergers and acquisitions

Part four: New sponsor guidance expands licence revocation rules