Been treated unfairly at work? Have your rights been breached? or have you been discriminated against?
14th January 2021
Health and Care Visa for Senior Care Workers, Nursing Auxiliaries and Assistants
23rd February 2021
Tier 2 General sponsor licence and individual application information
Tier 2 Sponsor licence general requirements
In general, we will require the following information/evidence:
1) Lease or rental agreement for office premises. All signatures should appear in this document.
2) Business bank statements for at least three months. The letter from the UK bank should set out the dealings it has had with you, including the nature and duration of those dealings.
3) VAT and/or NI and PAYE registration document. It may be possible to have documents certified if documents are online or enclosed as attachments in emails.
4) Latest Annual accounts and if the company does not have annual accounts, we can submit a business plan
5) Employers liability insurance certificate (at least £5 million)
A potential sponsor must:
- be genuine and operating or trading lawfully in the UK
- be based in the UK
- hold the appropriate planning permission or Local Planning Authority consent for the type of business operated at the trading address (if relevant)
- be ‘honest, dependable and reliable’
- not represent a threat to immigration control, and
- be capable of complying with the sponsor duties and responsibilities, and evidencing that compliance, in the timeframe and manner set out in the guidance
Detailed Information and evidence required
The documents must be the originals or certified copies
Relevant information to enable online checks of regulatory bodies etc
Names of people who will have access to the system as level 1, level 2, and administrators. If you are using a third party as well provide their details
Company name(s). Tann Law can also act as administrators for a fee
Registration details with the Companies House, HMRC (corporate, VAT, PAYE) Pension provider etc
Evidence of Registration with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) as an employer to pay PAYE & National Insurance. Provide proof of PAYE Reference Number & Accounts Office Reference Number. Evidence of registration must be original or certified copies of documentation issued by HMRC only. Latest acknowledgement of a Company Tax Return CT620, or the completed CT600 tax return and the CT603 notice.
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) VAT registration certificate confirming VAT registration number and ‘effective date of registration if business’ VAT taxable turnover is more than the ‘threshold’.
Details of Directors and relevant managers
Names of all the people who have access to the email address supplied with the online sponsor licence application and a landline telephone number, if you have one.
Reasons why are you applying for a sponsor licence
Details of which sector you operate in
Your opening/operating hours
You must provide an up-to-date hierarchy chart detailing any owner, director, and board members. If your business has 50 employees or fewer, you must list all employees and set out the names and titles of all staff.
Information about the jobs you wish to fill and for which you intend to assign a certificate of sponsorship (CoS). Include the following information for each job:
• Job title and Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code – Tann Law can locate the Soc code for you
• Duties
• Where the job sits on the hierarchy chart referred to above
• Minimum salary you would guarantee if the job were vacant today
• Skill, experience, and qualifications required
You must indicate which jobs are currently vacant and for which you intend to assign a CoS
Your latest audited annual accounts with the name of the accountant are clearly shown. The accountant should be a member of an accredited accounting body
Proof of ownership or lease of your business premises. If you send a copy of your lease agreement, it must be signed by all parties concerned.
Proof of membership or registration with a professional body
A letter from your corporate banking provider, setting out the dealings it has had with you, including the nature and duration of those dealings
Our fees to give advice, draft relevant documents, signpost you, complete online application, correspond with the Home Office up to decision stage range is £1500 inclusive of VAT per application. If you want to submit the application yourself and we check your application, our fee will be £950 inclusive of VAT.
Government Fees and other costs:
| Costs for certifying documents (may not be necessary): About £30 |
| Tier 2 Sponsor Licence and Restricted Certificate of Sponsorship Government Fees for Tier 2 Sponsor Licence: £536. Government Certificate of Sponsorship Fee: £199 for the main applicant. |
| Tier 2 Visa (Shortage Occupation List): £464 for up to three years or £928 for three to five years for the visa applicant. This is the fee for occupations that come under the Shortage Occupation List. The same for each dependent (if relevant). Additional Government fees for faster processing. |
| Immigration Skills Charge £364 per year for a small company for the main applicant. |
| Health Surcharge £624 per year. To be paid for the main applicant and each dependent. Paid in advance for the duration of the visa. Refundable on a pro rata basis if the person leaves. N/B subject to visa type |
To clarify, the Home Office fee:
| Type of licence | Fee for small or charitable sponsors | Fee for medium or large sponsors |
| Tier 2 | £536 | £1,476 |
A business is regarded as a small business if:
- Your annual turnover is £10.2 million or less
- You have 50 employees or fewer
At Tann Law Solicitors, we also offer Lever 1 service user assistance should you require our services. We also do mock audits on your systems and we can respond to any Home Office investigations on your behalf. These services attract different fees from what is outlined above.
Individual applicants leave to enter or extension applications
Once you have your Sponsor Licence you can then issue sponsor certificates (CoS) to the applicants you want to recruit. It is advisable to issue the CoS only once you are satisfied that the candidate meets all the points required for the job. It is my understanding that Calvin has a bank of applicants who already meet these requirements. The candidate will then make an application to the Home Office for entry clearance or extension of his/her existing visa.
Home Office fees:
How much a candidate pays for a Tier 2 (General) visa depends on the type of visa and where they are.
Up to 3 years
| Who you are applying for | Apply (outside the UK) | Extend or switch (in the UK) |
| Candidate | £610 | £704 |
| If they are a citizen of Turkey or Macedonia | £555 | £649 |
| All dependants | £610 for each person | £704 each person |
Tier 2 – Health and Care Visa – Over 3 Years £232 £232
Generally, they also have to pay the IHS fees although the government has given some concessions during this Covid 19 circumstances.
Some companies just issue a CoS to a candidate and leave them to do the application themselves, footing their own costs. Some companies help their prospective candidates with both the fees and assistance with the application or just the fee for example. That will depend on your own decision what you want to do.
Our fee for assisting clients (the individual applicants) to apply for the visa is £950 per application. However, where employers instruct us for multiple employees, we can offer a reduced fee of £650 per application.
