UK Immigration Lawyers and Business Owners Benefit From Home Office Improvements to the Sponsor Licence Priority Service

It isn’t often that our UK Immigration Lawyers can report on a good news story involving the Home Office.

Today we can! Our Sponsorship Licence Lawyers are keen to highlight to sponsor licence applicants and holders that they can use the improved Home Office sponsor licence priority service. It isn’t free of charge – the Home Office levy an additional fee for its use but our UK immigration lawyers for business recommend its use where speed is of the essence and a fast decision makes financial sense.

Legal assistance for UK immigration and business sponsorship

For sponsorship and immigration advice call our visa lawyers in London on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.

The Home Office improvements to the sponsor licence priority service

Home Office improvements to the sponsor licence priority service are long overdue. Experienced Immigration Solicitors were embarrassed to explain the previous limitations and caps imposed on the sponsor licence priority service.

The improvements are:

1. Removing the cap on the number of pre-licence priority applications that can be submitted on behalf of sponsor licence applicants per day
2. Extending the hours of opening of the priority change of circumstance service

Who can use the sponsor licence priority service?

Your Sponsorship Licence Lawyers recommend the use of the sponsor licence priority service if you are:

• A sponsor licence applicant
• A sponsor licence holder requesting some types of changes and updates

Using the service is not always beneficial, so our specialist Immigration Solicitors in London will continue to tell you whether paying for the Home Office priority service is justified.

What is the pre-licence priority service?

A sponsor licence applicant can use the pre-licence priority service to get a faster decision on their licence application.

The cost is £500 – the fee is on top of the standard sponsor licence application fee.

Use of the priority service can be requested when submitting the application or afterwards. Rather than waiting up to two months for a decision your UK Immigration Lawyers should get notification of the Home Office's decision within ten working days.

To use the sponsor licence priority service the priority request must be submitted when the service is open - between 9 am and 11:59 pm on weekdays (except public holidays).

The improvement to the pre-licence priority service

The improvement to the pre-licence service is the removal of the 30-application limit per day. The limit was ludicrously low and frustrating for both sponsor licence applicants and London Visa Solicitors.

What is the priority change of circumstance service?

The priority change of circumstances operated by the Home Office enables sponsor licence holders to get a quicker decision on reported changes.

The Home Office fee for using the service is £200 per request.

Decisions that are fast-tracked by Home Office officials receive a decision within 5 working days. If the priority service isn’t used then you can expect to wait up to eighteen weeks for a decision.

What changes of circumstance can be reported on the priority change of circumstances?

You can only use the priority service if:

1. A-rated – you have an A-rated sponsor licence and
2. Eligible changes - the circumstance you are reporting on must be on the list

There are ten circumstances where you can apply for a quick decision on a change of circumstance. The ten are:

1. Replacing the authorising officer
2. Amending the authorising officer
3. Replacing the key contact
4. Amending the key contact
5. Adding a representative
6. Appointment of a new level one user
7. Changing the level one user
8. Changing company details, such as a change of business address
9. Requesting extra annual certificates of sponsorship
10. Requesting a certificate of sponsorship so it can be allocated to a Work Visa applicant

To use the priority service the request must be made within the revised service opening hours of 7 am to 5 pm on weekdays. Before the changes, the service did not open until 9 am.

Limits on the use of the change of circumstances priority service

Disappointingly there is still a cap imposed on the number of priority change of circumstance requests that can be made per day.

The limit has only increased to 100 requests per day, an increase of 40 from the previous daily cap of 60. All Sponsorship Licence Lawyers and sponsor licence holders will think the cap remains modest and somewhat odd if the drive is to achieve business growth. Frequently sponsor licence holders need to entice the brightest and best in highly competitive global recruitment markets. Many highly skilled candidates will have multiple job offers and can take their pick of the company they choose to work for and the country. Waiting 18 weeks for a decision on a certificate of sponsorship just isn’t an acceptable option for many sponsor licence holders and job applicants.

Why your business should use the sponsor licence priority service

Use of the sponsor licence priority service can avoid:

1. Missing recruitment opportunities
2. Incurring financial losses because your business can't meet deadlines
3. Reduced employee satisfaction because the company is stalled while waiting for a Home Office decision

Although our UK Immigration Solicitors encourage the use of the sponsor licence priority service, finances are always a consideration. At £200 per priority request, you may need to carefully consider if all requests for a certificate of sponsorship need to be prioritised when you are recruiting several overseas workers at entry level or when a senior employee is being recruited but they have a 12-month notice period before they can move to the UK and join the company on a Skilled Worker Visa.

Legal assistance for UK immigration and sponsorship of overseas workers

You may be applying for your first sponsor licence as a start-up to secure a Self-Sponsorship Visa or you may need a new sponsor licence following corporate changes. Whatever the circumstances of your licence application the likelihood is that you want and need efficient legal advice from London-based UK Immigration Lawyers and a quick decision from the Home Office.

Whether your company sponsors one overseas worker on a Skilled Worker Visa or a hundred on Health and Care Worker Visas it is hard work to keep up to date with sponsor licence changes. Getting your reporting and recording obligations wrong can have devastating consequences for your sponsor licence, profits and for your sponsored employees.

Navigating the immigration rules and Home Office guidance on sponsor licence duties is complicated but that’s where our team of Immigration Lawyers in London can support your business with:

• Pre-licence advice
• Sponsor licence audits before you apply for your first licence
• Full support and guidance on sponsor licence applications
• Sponsor licence handholding with advice on the basics of key personnel roles and certificate of sponsorship allocation for new sponsor licence holders
• Immigration Law Training on all your business needs to know on sector-specific information on recruitment and sponsorship in your sector of the UK economy
• Annual sponsor audits and reporting
• Full Sponsor Licence Management Service
• Sponsor licence problem solving
• Advice on sponsor licence compliance
• Help in retaining your sponsor licence if you are at risk of sponsor licence suspension or revocation
• Employment law advice tailored to the needs of a business with a sponsor licence and sponsored employees
• Help with challenging cooling-off periods
• Applications for judicial review in cases where sponsor licences have been downgraded or revoked

If you have questions about the updates discussed in this article or need assistance with your sponsor licence, please contact a member of our team for UK immigration legal advice.

Legal assistance for UK immigration and business sponsorship

For sponsorship and immigration advice call our visa lawyers in London on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.

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