An employer's duties as a sponsor

The Points Based System has been designed to prevent instances of illegal migrant working in the UK. To this end, the Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) has stipulated a number of duties that sponsoring employers must undertake in their role as a sponsor of migrant workers.  

As a sponsoring employer you must fulfil certain duties to ensure that immigration controls stay effective. The objectives of these duties are to:

  • prevent abuse of assessment procedures;
  • capture early any patterns of migrant behaviour which cause concern;
  • address possible weaknesses in your processes which cause those patterns; and
  • monitor compliance with immigration rules.

The sponsorship duties are:

  • record keeping;
  • reporting;
  • compliance;
  • co-operating with the BIA;
  • tier specific duties.

If you fail to comply with any of you sponsorship duties, you may be down-graded to a B-rating, or have your licence withdrawn.

Record keeping
Employers must keep copies of the following records or documents and must be prepared to give them BIA officials if asked:

  • a photocopy or electronic copy of each sponsored migrant's passport or United Kingdom immigration status document, showing evidence of their entitlement to work or study; and
  • each sponsored migrant's contact details (address, telephone number, mobile telephone number), which must be kept up-to-date

Reporting
Employers are required to report the following information to the BIA within the time limit given below:

  • if a sponsored migrant fails to turn up for their first day at work - report within 10 working days;
  • if they are absent from work for more than 10 working days without reasonably granted permission - report within 10 working days of the tenth day of absence;
  • if their contract of employment or registration ends (including where they resign or are dismissed) - report within 10 working days of the event in question, and provide the name and address of any new employer or institution that they have joined (if known);
  • if the employer stops sponsoring the migrant worker for any other reason, e.g., if they move into another immigration category, like the highly skilled tier of the points-based system, that does not need a sponsor;
  • if there are any significant changes in their circumstances, e.g. change of job or salary;
  • if the employer has suspicions that the migrant worker is breaching the conditions of their leave;
  • if there are any significant changes in the employer’s circumstances, e.g., if you stop trading or become insolvent, substantially change the nature of your business, or are involved in a merger or are taken over;
  • details of any third party or intermediary, in the United Kingdom or abroad, that helped in the recruitment of employees or students.

Information about migrants' non-attendance, non-compliance or disappearance will be used to inform enforcement action against them.

Compliance
Employers must comply with the immigration laws and meet the following obligations:

  • employers must make sure the migrant who is coming to work is legally allowed to do the job, and has the right registration or professional accreditation where needed, and keep a copy of the registration document or certificate;
  • employers must not employ someone whose immigration status (or lack of status) does not allow them to do the job they are applying for, and must stop employing someone who is not allowed to work for any reason;
  • employers must only issue certificates of sponsorship to those who, to the best of their knowledge, meet the requirements of the tier or category they are applying and who are likely to meet the conditions of their permission to enter the United Kingdom or permission to stay here.

Co-operation with the BIA
As a licensed sponsor you must comply with the following duties:

  • you must allow BIA officials access to any of your premises on demand. Visits may be either prearranged or unannounced;
  • you must stick to any sponsorship action plan set by the BIA;
  • you must look to minimise the risk of immigration abuse by complying with any good practice guidance that the BIA produce for you in particular tiers or sectors.

Tier specific duties
Some licensee duties will only apply to certain tiers or categories of registration. These duties will be added when the BIA start accepting applications for licenses in those tiers or categories. At present only tier 2 specific duties have been unveiled, details of which are outlined below.

As a sponsor of a migrant in the Tier 2 (General) - skilled worker or Tier 2 - intra-company transfer category, you must only issue a certificate of sponsorship to a migrant if you are satisfied that the migrant intends to and is able to do the job in question, which must be at least of NVQ3 skill level.

When issuing a certificate of sponsorship you must show one of the following, where appropriate:

  • that you have carried out the resident labour market test - advertising the job in certain specified media at an appropriate salary for the UK and confirming that there were no suitable EEA national applicants; or
  • the job is on the list of shortage occupations published by the BIA, or on the Scotland-only list (if in Scotland) at the date that you issue the certificate of sponsorship for that job; or
  • that if the sponsored migrant is part of an intra-company transfer, you only issue a certificate of sponsorship to a migrant if you are satisfied that the migrant intends to and is able to do the specific skilled job in question, which must be of at least NVQ3 skill level. You must also show that the migrant being sponsored is the subject of an intra-company transfer.