UK employers looking to recruit foreign workers require a sponsor license. Employers use the Sponsor Management System (SMS) to handle sponsor license and work visa applications of foreign workers online. In this article, we’ll explore UK Sponsor Management System.
What is a Sponsor Management System?
The SMS is an online application that lets sponsor licensed businesses:
- Ask for and issue Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS): These are for workers who want a UK work visa.
- Update Home Office: Businesses can report any changes to their business or the sponsored worker’s job to the Home Office.
- The portal is password-protected and only authorized employees in the company can access it. Businesses need to SMS so their license doesn’t expire.
Changes to the SMS
The Sponsor Management System, in place for over 10 years, is undergoing updates. The Home Office released a Sponsorship Roadmap outlining plans to make the process faster and easier for employers, with more changes expected over the next 2-3 years.
Among the primary changes are:
- Quicker Processing: The Home Office wants to speed up sponsor licenses and sponsor application processes.
- More Reasonable Sponsorship Fees: Sponsorship fees companies pay will be evaluated to make sure they are reasonable.
- Small Business Guidance and Help: Small Businesses will be better able to get guidance and help to become sponsors.
- Eligibility Tool: The tool will now let employers know if they are eligible to sponsor a worker.
- Improved Portal Features: SMS will have a new dashboard to make the system easier to understand.
- Greater Connectivity: Data from the SMS will be integrated into other systems, including visa applications and other government departments like HMRC and Companies House.
- Streamlined Licence Renewal: Sponsor license renewal may differ and businesses won’t have to renew every four years.
What Does This Do For Employers?
These updates should make sponsor licenses and hiring foreign workers faster and easier for employers to administer. But the Home Office will still have very tight guidelines for compliance so businesses should be aware of the regulations and make sure they are in line.
Even as the system is improved, employers should still seek legal counsel and assistance so that they don’t go wrong. Failure to follow the rules could get you in hot water, so sponsors must understand their responsibilities and ask for assistance when needed.
The upcoming enhancements to the Sponsor Management System aim to streamline the whole sponsorship process for employers of foreign skilled workers. The Home Office wants to streamline the process. However, companies still have to stay on top of their compliance obligations. Getting legal counsel to make sure that employers comply with all regulations and stay on their sponsor license is still important.
We at Law and Visas offer expert guidance and assistance to organizations that want to sponsor foreign workers. Contact us if you’re thinking about a sponsor license application or need to look after your license.
