Employing Overseas Nationals

Sponsorship under the points based system of the immigration rules.

Anyone who would like to employ someone who is not British or Irish needs to have a skilled worker sponsor licence (unless the overseas national already has a visa which allows them to work). Once the licence is in place, an organisation can issue a certificate of sponsorship to enable an overseas national to apply for a skilled worker visa. There are three main requirements for this visa:

1. The job must be listed in Table 1 of Appendix Skilled Occupations of the immigration rules;
2. The salary paid must exceed the applicable 'global rate', the applicable 'going rate' for the specific occupation, and the hourly rate of £10.75 per hour;
3. The applicant must sit and pass an English language test.

The 'global salary' rate is usually £26,200, although a lower rate is applied in some circumstances. For instance the minimum salary for a 'new entrant' - which includes anyone under the age of 26 - is £20,960. This lower rate also applies if a job appears in Appendix Shortage Occupation List, which as the name suggests list occupations for which the UK is currently suffering a skills deficit. The 'going rate' is different for each occupation. The salary applicable for each job can be found in Appendix Skilled Occupations. Normally an employer must pay 100% of this going rate. Although again this can be lower in some circumstances. For instance new entrants must be paid 70% of the going rate and those doing a job on the shortage occupation list must be paid 80% of the going rate. The going rates are usually based on a 37.5 hour working week.

If the overseas national will work different hours, the salary must be prorated. Only guaranteed basic gross pay can be included for the purposes of the salary requirement. Overtime, bonuses, allowances, accommodation provision, employee benefits such as health insurance or a company car, and travel costs are all excluded. The salary calculations can be complex and depend on the particular circumstances of the case. It is best to seek advice before assigning a certificate of sponsorship to an overseas national, as if the salary does not comply with the immigration rules the visa application can be refused. The overseas national must pass a Home Office approved English language test - including reading, writing, speaking, and listening - at level B1.

If the overseas national has a degree taught in English or is a national of a majority English speaking country, they can rely on this to meet the English language requirement instead. If the overseas national is already in the UK you can assign an undefined certificate of sponsorship from your annual allocation. If the application is being made from abroad, a defined certificate must be requested.

There are various costs associated with sponsoring a skilled worker. The fee for the licence (if the employer does not already have one) is £536 for a small organisation and £1,476 for a large organisation. This only needs to be paid once every 4 years. The remaining fees must be paid each time an overseas national is sponsored. The fee for assigning a certificate of sponsorship is usually £199. An immigration skills charge must also be paid at this stage. This is £364 per year for a small organisation and £1,000 per year for a large organisation. When the migrant makes their visa application they will need to pay an application fee, which will be between £247 and £479 for a healthcare visa only or otherwise between £625 and £1423, depending on factors such as the length of the visa. An immigration health surcharge of £624 per year must also be paid at this stage. There may also be scope in some circumstances to pay additional fees for speedier processing of a visa application.

The total cost of sponsoring a migrant for 3 years (including the fee for assigning a Certificate of Sponsorship, Skills Charge, Health Surcharge and basic application fee) can be in the region of £5,700 for a large sponsor or £3,800 for a small sponsor. The cost of assigning a Certificate of Sponsorship and the Immigration Skills charge must be borne by the sponsor. To pass these costs on to the sponsored worker would be a licence compliance issue. The Immigration Health Surcharge and application fees can be paid by the worker or can be paid or reimbursed by the sponsor. The health surcharge and skills charge are refunded if the application is unsuccessful. The other fees are not refunded. It is therefore important to get it right first time.

At Burness Paull we have years of experience dealing with the sponsorship system. We can guide you through the process and ensure compliance with the immigration rules to maximize the chance of success. Get in touch with our Immigration team.