Excellent service provided throughout the entire process. I can't recommend them highly enough.
White Rose Visas has been excellent in supporting our business over the years with our talent and foreign sponsorship needs as a startup business. Tracey and team are incredibly responsive and clear with communication. We had a preconception that sponsoring employees would be very difficult for a small business and White Rose Visas has easily busted that myth. Highly recommend.
We have been beyond impressed with White Rose Visas' high professional standards and business integrity and a massive thank you to Kim and the team for all your guidance, support and help with our employer sponsorship license application, which was just approved by the Home Office! A special thanks to Tracey, who was assigned to support our business during the process. Tracey's professional conduct, wealth of knowledge and expertise, attention to details, and constant support make the process seamless and delightful. Even more impressive is all along Tracey treats everyone at our business with such level of care, kindness and humility that is inspiring and most appreciated. We are so pleased that we have chosen White Rose Visas initially by word of mouth and wish to recommend White Rose Visas, 'the cream of the crop' UK immigration consultancy, to anyone seeking immigration advice with personal, family or business needs.
I highly recommend White Rose Visas. We were applying for our sponsorship license leading up to Brexit and during Covid-19. Despite the uncertainty and WFH changes, Tracey who managed our account was always responsive and went above and beyond throughout the entire process.
One of my friend recommended White Rose Visas to contact and process my visa application. I was introduced to Jessica to start the process and provide the related documents. She was explaining all the steps over the phone or by e-mail and processed our sponsorship license successfully . She is very helpful and at the same time calm and try to minimize the stress of the client by offering the best way to process the application. In my case she advised me to do my English test same time I was busy with the licence process which was fantastic idea. I really apricate the fantastic support I got from her and will deffently process my other migration requirements only with White Rose.
Your details were given to me by ___ and I have constantly kept them up to date and advised them about the excellent service that White Rose has offered. I would have no hesitation in recommending your company in the future and have made all those involved aware of this! Many thanks once again, for making a daunting task so stress free and simple.
How can White Rose Visas help you?
We assist UK employers to obtain a Sponsor Licence, which is a requirement of employing people from outside the UK. We also manage the process of issuing Certificates of Sponsorship, and can assist employees with their own visa applications.
We offer support to those Sponsor Licence holders who are faced with a Home Office compliance visit. In this situation the most important thing is to thoroughly check in advance of the visit whether your company's systems will meet Home Office criteria. We provide you with our written guide to compliance visits, and offer individual coaching on questions that will be asked during the visit.
Sponsor Premium Support Package
Our flagship Sponsor Premium Support Package includes all the services to enable you to satisfy Home Office requirements on an ongoing basis, with no hassle or risk to you.
The first year of the Premium Support Package is included for free to all our Sponsor Licence clients. Subsequent years are charged on an annual basis, but the fee paid for this service is credited towards all applications (e.g. Certificates of Sponsorship, or employee’s immigration applications) made in that year. The Sponsor Premium Support Package includes:
- Unlimited support and advice by phone, email, and in person
- Named responsibility for the Home Office’s Sponsor Management System as your Level One User and Key Contact
- Responsibility for management of your annual certificate allocation renewal process: we will contact you ahead of time to assist with planning your sponsorship needs for the year ahead and will submit these requests on your behalf to the Home Office
- Responsibility for your legal reporting duties as a Sponsor to the Home Office, including changes to employee’s work location, changes to employee job details, employee leaving
- Notifying the Home Office of changes to Key Personnel within your organisation eg/ Change of Authorising Officer, Level 1 User
- Proactive notification of any relevant policy or rules changes
- Proactive notification/ reminder of any critical deadlines
- Advice on your employees’ rights and responsibilities (including permitted absence periods from the UK), and those of their dependants/ families (including their right to work)
- Creation and maintenance of a bespoke shared Migrant Tracker spreadsheet which contains all information required by the Home Office
- Option to book an annual audit based on the criteria used by the Home Office during compliance visits, to ensure your systems are up to date and acceptable
- Storage of all documents required by the Home Office in relation to sponsored workers, e.g. right to work documents, National Insurance evidence, professional certificates evidence of work undertaken
Our Certificate of Sponsorship service (CoS/ DCoS) is charged separately and includes:
- assigning the CoS/ DCoS on your behalf in the Sponsor Management System (SMS)
- submitting the individual DCoS request to the Home Office
- ensuring that the correct SOC code is used
- ensuring that the correct salary is stated
- checking all other information to ensure that your employee’s Skilled Worker application is not refused
What are the Home Office rules for Sponsor Licences?
The main aspects of the Home Office rules governing the Sponsor Licence are:
- Registered Sponsors: Employers must be registered as a sponsor with the Home Office in order to issue Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS). Registered employers can issue a CoS, which is then required for the migrant to make their immigration application.
- Defined Certificates: Defined Certificates of Sponsorship are used to hire workers who are coming to the UK from overseas and who are eligible for a Skilled Worker visa. Licence holders must specifically apply for each Defined CoS that they require. in most cases Defined Certificates will be granted by the Home Office within 1 day and must be allocated to an individual within 3 months.
- Undefined Certificates: Undefined Certificates of Sponsorship are used to hire workers who are already within the UK and who are eligible for a Skilled Worker visa, such as those switching from a Student visa. They are also used for those applying for a CoS for all other visas. When signing up as a sponsor, a licence holder is able to request as many Undefined CoS as they feel they will require each year. If a sponsor runs out of Undefined CoS they musts either request one within the year through a priority service or risk a wait of up to 18 weeks. Any unassigned Undefined CoS will expire on April 5th each year.
- Salaries: Employers must ensure that an appropriate salary for the post is paid, so as to match the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code. We continue to see many refusals caused by employers not meeting this requirement, and it is therefore crucial that this information is checked carefully before submitting a Skilled Worker application.
- Immigration Skills Charge: In most cases Sponsor Licence holders must pay an Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) to hire a Skilled Worker. The cost of the ISC will depend on the size of the company and the length of the certificate being issued. Some of the exemptions to the charge include hiring employees for specific SOC codes and hiring individuals who are hoping to switch from the Student visa.
- Compliance Visits: It is common for the Home Office to conduct a compliance visit to a business where a sponsor licence is held. This can be either announced or unannounced. Between Q3 and Q4 of 2017 14% of licence applicants received a pre-licence visit and 8% received one after their licence had been issued. 71% of these visits resulted in suspension or revocation of their licence. It is vital for all sponsor licence holders to uphold immigration law in order to ensure that they avoid a similar fate.
Sponsor Licencing is one of the most complex areas of Immigration Law. For this reason, a competent and pro-active Representative is a necessity for many employers who employ migrants, or who intend to do so.
Here at White Rose Visas we have assisted numerous companies and organisations within multiple sectors, including IT, consultancy, engineering, designers, retailers and healthcare providers. We are also experienced in working with several religious, charitable and Not for Profit organisations.
