Hiring a Tier 2 migrant? 5 things you should know
Have you read the latest guidance for Tier 2 sponsors licence holders?
If not, then get reading! The Tiers 2 and 5: guidance for sponsors details the processes an employer must follow when sponsoring a migrant employee.
To assist employers in ensuring that they are able to meet all of the duties and responsibilities associated with being a licensed sponsor, we highlight 5 key points which every sponsor should be aware of.
- When you are ready to sponsor a migrant under the Tier 2 visa category, you must assign a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) to them using your account with the Sponsor Management System. Assigning a CoS does not guarantee that the migrant will succeed in being granted entry clearance, leave to remain or worker authorisation, however, as the applicant must first meet all of the criteria of the visa category for which they are applying.
- Before assigning a CoS, you should talk to the migrant about their current immigration status. There are particular rules surrounding switching from one immigration category to another which could complicate any application which they wish to make.
- A migrant may only have one CoS assigned to them at any given time. If you have assigned a CoS to a migrant who intended to start working for you, but then decided to take up a job offer with a different sponsor, the withdrawal of their CoS should be arranged.
- With few exceptions, if a migrant has been sponsored under Tier 2 and their leave has ended or expired, they must wait 12 months before applying again under a Tier 2 category. This is called the Tier 2 ‘cooling off period’.
- Where a migrant is working on a contract basis and is being supplied to one organisation by another organisation, their sponsor must be whoever has full responsibility for all the duties, functions, and outcomes or outputs of the job the migrant is doing.
Contact us for more UK immigration advice, from how to best optimise your corporate immigration strategy to the individual care of your migrant employee population.
