UK sponsor licence application guide 2026

1. Check eligibility and the jobs you want to sponsor

Start with the business and the work, before completing the application form. Identify the employing entity, where it operates, the route it needs and the roles it intends to fill. Check regulatory registrations and the suitability history of both the organisation and its key personnel.

For each proposed Skilled Worker role, record the duties, occupation code, normal working hours, salary, work location and required skills. Test the actual duties against the current eligible occupation and salary rules. A job title alone does not establish eligibility. The general skill threshold is now RQF level 6, with specified lists and transitional exceptions; do not rely on an old blanket RQF level 3 rule.

A useful internal review pairs the hiring manager with the person preparing the application. They should be able to explain why the job exists and how the description, budget and organisation chart fit together. Resolve inconsistent information before it reaches the submission pack.

Home Office Part 1: eligibility and suitability · Skilled Worker role requirements

2. Appoint your key personnel

• Authorising Officer: the senior, competent person responsible for sponsorship and the actions of SMS users.
• Key Contact: the main point of contact with UKVI during the application and licence lifecycle.
• Level 1 user: the person handling day-to-day licence management in the Home Office Sponsorship Management System.

One person may hold more than one role, but every relevant requirement must still be met. Ordinarily at least one Level 1 user must be an employee, partner or director of the sponsor and a settled worker. Check the detailed guidance for exceptions and suitability conditions rather than assuming an external adviser can fulfil every role.

Agree who monitors correspondence, who provides cover and who approves reporting actions. The Home Office began introducing mandatory SMS multi-factor authentication on 3 September 2026; include secure account access in your preparation. New Level 2 users can no longer be appointed from 9 September 2026, so plan the appropriate Level 1 access from the start.

Key personnel requirements · Current Part 1 guidance and SMS access changes

3. Build your Appendix A document pack

Most organisations must provide at least four documents or combinations of documents. Start with the mandatory items for your organisation type and route, then identify additional acceptable evidence if needed. Some organisations have different requirements, and some checks can be made against public registers.

A start-up trading or operating for less than 18 months must provide its most recent corporate or business bank or building society statements. A regulated business needs the relevant registration evidence. Other possible items include HMRC registration evidence, accounts, premises evidence or qualifying employers’ liability insurance, depending on the Appendix A categories that apply.

Skilled Worker applications normally also need a business explanation, opening hours, an organisation hierarchy and details of the jobs to be filled. For organisations with 50 employees or fewer, the hierarchy information includes employee names and job titles. Where a worker has already been identified, prepare the required recruitment explanation and evidence.

Use an evidence index

Give each requirement a row with the document name, evidence owner, version date and status. Mark whether it is mandatory, additional or checked online. Have another colleague open every attachment and compare the business names and addresses. This catches unreadable scans, expired documents and mismatches that a simple file count misses.

Appendix A: mandatory documents, exceptions and Skilled Worker information

4. Prepare your HR systems and evidence

Your HR processes must support immigration-status monitoring, Right to Work evidence, attendance, current contact details and reporting. Be ready to show how an action moves from a manager noticing a change to an authorised person reviewing it and retaining the evidence.

Specialist software can make this easier to maintain as a team. LuwaSuite connects employee records, Home Office share-code verification, document expiry alerts, attendance and compliance evidence, with LuwaScore™ helping you prioritise gaps. Explore the sponsor compliance workflow.

The general application guidance does not make buying a particular type of software a universal requirement. Nor does Appendix A prescribe software screenshots for every application. UKVI may request additional evidence or conduct a compliance check. Prepare a working process your team can explain and demonstrate.

Home Office HR-system responsibilities · Appendix A evidence requirements

5. Sponsor licence fees and sponsorship costs in 2026

Separate the licence application cost from the later cost of sponsoring each worker. The table below covers a Worker licence and Skilled Worker sponsorship, using fees checked on 24 September 2026.

You are usually a small sponsor if you meet at least two of these conditions: annual turnover no more than £15 million, total assets no more than £7.5 million, and no more than 50 employees. Charitable status has separate qualifying rules.

Worked budget: one worker for three years

For an illustrative small sponsor making a new licence application, one three-year Skilled Worker sponsorship with no Immigration Skills Charge exemption totals £2,576: £611 licence + £525 CoS + £1,440 Immigration Skills Charge. Adding optional £750 pre-licence priority processing makes £3,326. This excludes visa fees, any health surcharge, advice and software. The licence fee is paid for the organisation, not again for each worker.

The sponsor must bear the applicable sponsor licence, CoS and Immigration Skills Charge costs; do not pass prohibited sponsorship costs to the worker. Confirm any exemption and the exact sponsorship period before assigning a CoS.

Licence fees and priority service · CoS fees · Immigration Skills Charge and exemptions

6. Apply online and send the supporting documents

1. Complete the official online application with the agreed business, route, personnel and job information.
2. Pay the appropriate application fee and retain the application reference.
3. Have the Authorising Officer sign and date the submission-sheet declaration.
4. Email all submission-sheet pages and required evidence to the address shown on the sheet within five working days of submitting the application.
5. Retain a complete copy and evidence of sending; monitor the named Key Contact’s inbox for further requests.

Use readable PDF, JPEG or PNG files and descriptive filenames no longer than 25 characters. Include a certified translation where a document is not in English or Welsh. Build this check into your final review before submission day.

Most applications are dealt with in less than eight weeks. The optional £750 priority service aims for a decision within ten working days and has limited availability. Further checks or a visit may be needed. Plan recruitment around the actual decision rather than promising a worker a start date based only on a target timeframe.

Appendix A distinguishes an invalid application missing mandatory evidence from a refusal. Read any Home Office request or decision carefully: the response, fee treatment and any cooling-off period depend on the reason. Obtain regulated advice if you need to challenge a decision or assess a previous refusal or revocation.

Official application and processing information · Submission deadlines and missing-document treatment

7. Sponsor licence applications for care providers

If you intend to sponsor care workers or senior care workers under occupation codes 6135 or 6136 with a working location in England, check the active CQC registration and regulated-activity requirements. Appendix A asks for the relevant CQC details, including branch information where applicable.

Do not confuse obtaining a licence with eligibility to recruit a particular worker. Since 22 July 2025, these care occupations are closed to new overseas entry-clearance sponsorship. Eligible in-country sponsorship has specific conditions, including prior sponsored status or qualifying employment with the sponsor. Assess the worker and role under the current guidance before making an offer dependent on sponsorship.

For a multi-site care employer, make the evidence clear about the employing entity, branches and intended work locations. Align the application pack with the way managers will maintain attendance, contact information and worker records after approval.

Care-worker sponsorship conditions · Appendix A care-provider example · Ongoing compliance for care providers

8. Final sponsor licence application checklist

Use this as an internal readiness review alongside the official requirements. Assign each action to a named colleague and record where the evidence is stored.

• 1.Confirm your business is genuinely operating and the proposed work is eligible for the chosen route.
• 2.Check the Authorising Officer, Key Contact and Level 1 user meet the current suitability requirements.
• 3.Match your organisation type and route to the mandatory evidence in Appendix A.
• 4.Prepare the additional Skilled Worker business information, organisation chart and job details.
• 5.Reconcile business names, addresses and job information across the application and documents.
• 6.Test how your team will record Right to Work checks, attendance, contact changes and permission expiry.
• 7.Confirm the correct sponsor fee category and budget for later CoS and Immigration Skills Charge costs.
• 8.Have the Authorising Officer available to sign and date the submission sheet.
• 9.Send the submission sheet and required documents within five working days; retain a copy and sending evidence.
• 10.Monitor the Key Contact’s inbox and meet the deadline in any Home Office request.

9. Build sponsor compliance into everyday work

Approval is the start of ongoing duties. Assign suitable CoS records, complete the prescribed Right to Work checks, keep worker information current and review changes for reporting. Significant organisational changes generally have a 20-working-day reporting period; worker-event deadlines depend on the event and are often ten working days. Check the applicable rule rather than using one deadline for everything.

Give your team a weekly process: review upcoming dates, allocate unresolved actions and sample completed records. LuwaSuite brings those worker records and compliance views together so your team can move from application preparation into ongoing sponsor management.

Sponsor licence application questions