Sponsor Licence Applications – Using the Home Office Pre-licence Priority Service

Posted onApril 5, 2023

When it comes to sponsor licence applications to enable your business to recruit overseas workers on the skilled worker visa or to transfer existing overseas-based employees to the UK on the senior or specialist worker visa you may need to act quickly because of time or contractual or other pressures on your company.

ln this article our immigration solicitors look at the option of using the Home Office pre-licence priority service to speed up the Home Office processing time of your sponsor licence application.

UK Online and London-Based Immigration Solicitors and Sponsorship Licence Lawyers

For advice on sponsor licence applications and sponsor licence management call the immigration lawyers at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.

Fast-tracking a sponsor licence application

If you are in a hurry to get a decision on a sponsor licence application then it is worth enquiring about getting your sponsor licence application fast-tracked and asking your Sponsorship Licence lawyers to request the priority service from the Home Office.

Our business immigration solicitors say that it isn’t just large multinational companies keen to transfer existing employees to the UK on senior or specialist worker visas that want to fast-track their licence application. At OTS Solicitors we also get enquiries from entrepreneurs desperate to secure their first sponsor licence so they can recruit highly specialist workers on skilled worker visas. We also get enquiries from companies who allowed their sponsor licence to lapse and who need to submit a fresh sponsor licence application and get a decision quickly because their existing sponsored workers have had their work visas curtailed because of the firm’s mistake in not applying to renew the sponsor licence before its expiry date.

Some businesses don’t realise that fast-tracking an application is an option. Talking to a specialist Sponsorship Licence lawyer will help your company understand your options and the cost implications.

Why fast-track a sponsor licence application?

It can take the Home Office around 8 plus weeks to determine a sponsor licence application. Sometimes it is faster but it is a game of chance.

Recruitment of overseas workers is put on hold until the sponsor licence has come through as the new recruit can't apply for their skilled worker visa until the sponsor licence is in place and the company has been able to allocate the recruit a certificate of sponsorship for the recruit to use to apply to the Home Office for a work visa.

Sponsorship Licence lawyers can advise your company on likely timescales for your sponsor licence application to be processed so you can decide if the option of using the Home Office pre-licence priority service to speed up the Home Office processing time of your sponsor licence application is likely to be of significant benefit to you. For example, our business immigration solicitors can tell you if your industry or sector is an area where the Home Office is likely to want to pay close attention to the application because your industry is perceived as ‘high risk’ or if there are particular circumstances that may result in Home Office officials taking particular care with an application. For example, because of your choice of key personnel.

One thing to emphasise is that paying to use the Home Office pre-licence priority service does not guarantee a successful sponsor licence application. All your company is paying for is a fast decision – the answer from the Home Office may still be no even though your business has paid an additional Home Office fee. Our Sponsorship Licence lawyers can discuss the benefits of a fast-track application if your sponsor licence application is thought to be complicated.

The pre-licence priority service

The pre-licence priority service fast-tracks sponsor licence applications by expediting application processing times. Using the priority service can reduce the wait down from 8 weeks plus to around 10 days. The 10-day timeframe starts from when you lodge your application, and then request a fast-track decision and pay all the necessary fees.

Sponsorship Licence lawyers warn that if the Home Office deem that your sponsor licence application is complicated, they may not meet the 10-day turnaround time but for some companies paying a fast-track fee is still better than waiting over 2 months for a licence decision.

Using the pre-licence priority service

You can only use the fast track service after you have lodged your sponsor licence application and provided that your application has not been allocated to a Home Office official for standard processing.

That’s why it is best to discuss fast-tracking your application with your Sponsorship Licence lawyers before you submit the substantive application so they can immediately follow up on your licence application with a priority request.

It is also important to understand that priority requests are limited in number and if the Home Office receive too many requests in one day, then your pre-licence priority service request may be refused. You can submit a second or third fast-track application provided the sponsor licence application is not in the process of being determined as it has been allocated to a Home Office caseworker.

The priority request application is made by emailing the Home Office during the priority service opening times. If the fast-track application is accepted by the Home Office an email is received confirming that the application will receive priority provided the priority fees are paid within 72 hours. If the extra fees are not paid within the set deadline your sponsor licence application will revert back to standard processing.

The priority licence application service fee

The priority licence application service fee is £500. The £500 fee is payable on top of the sponsor licence application fee. The fee is £500 whether or not your company is classed as a small firm or a charity and is therefore only liable to pay the lower sponsor licence application fee of £536.00 instead of the fee for medium or large companies of £1,476.00.

The £500 payment may save your business around 6 weeks of time and that can be important if you are desperate to recruit an overseas worker for a specialist role or fear that a job applicant will be snapped up by a rival business that already has a sponsor licence in place.

The £500 fast track fee or application fee is not refundable if your application is refused by the Home Office or if your company decides to withdraw the sponsor licence application before the Home Office caseworker has considered it.

If you are interested in applying for a sponsor licence or want to know more about fast-tracking our Sponsorship Licence lawyers can help your business.

UK Online and London-Based Immigration Solicitors and Sponsorship Licence Lawyers

For advice on sponsor licence applications and management call the immigration lawyers at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.

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