UK Expansion Worker Sponsor Licence: Responsibilities and Requirements
In This Article
- Introduction
- Pre-Grant Responsibilities: Appointing Key Personnel
- Post-Grant Responsibilities: Certificate of Sponsorship Allocation
- Post-Grant Responsibilities: Additional Responsibilities for Overseas Authorising Officers
- UK Expansion Worker Sponsor Licence Validity and Transition
- UK Expansion Worker Sponsor Duties and Compliance
- Contact Our Immigration Barristers
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Glossary
- Additional Resources
1. Introduction
The Global Business Mobility (“GBM”): UK Expansion Worker route is for overseas businesses that wish to establish a branch or subsidiary in the UK. With a UK Expansion Worker sponsor licence, a company is able to sponsor senior managers or specialist workers who are being assigned to the UK for a temporary period to undertake work related to the business’s expansion to the UK.
The purpose of this blog post is to help newly-granted UK Expansion Worker sponsor licence holders understand the additional responsibilities that come with holding a UK Expansion Worker sponsor licence, and the steps you will need to take after you are granted a sponsor licence in this route.
For guidance on applying for a UK Expansion Worker licence, see our comprehensive guide to applying for a UK Expansion Worker Sponsor Licence and our earlier post on evidence in UK Expansion Worker Sponsor Licence applications.
2. Pre-Grant Responsibilities: Appointing Key Personnel Before the UK Expansion Worker Sponsor Licence is Granted
All types of sponsor licence require that certain ‘Key Personnel’ roles are filled by individuals in the organisation. In our previous post, Key Personnel in Sponsor Licence Applications, we explained the requirements for each of these roles.
In common with other licensed work routes, it is necessary for a UK Expansion Worker sponsor licence for a company to have an Authorising Officer, Key Contact, and at least one Level 1 User in place at the time that the company applies for a sponsor licence.
Who Can Be your Authorising Officer?
Unlike other routes, however, the UK Expansion Worker route does not require that the company’s nominated Authorising Officer is already based in the UK. In this route, the Authorising Officer can either be:
- a worker who is already based in the UK and will be overseeing your expansion to the UK
- if there no suitable person based in the UK who can take this role, a senior employee of the overseas business who will be assigned to the UK to oversee the expansion
Whichever option the company chooses, the Authorising Officer must be the most senior person in the company responsible for the recruitment of migrant workers and responsible for ensuring that the company meets its sponsor duties.
As the UK Expansion Worker route can only be used where an overseas business has not begun trading in the UK, it is unlikely that the company will have a suitable individual who is already based in the UK. Therefore, it is more common for companies in this route to nominate the migrant who will be senior person responsible for overseeing the business’s expansion to the UK, as the Authorising Officer for the licence (option 2 above).
Who Can Be your Level 1 User?
If your Authorising Officer is overseas (not already based in the UK), it is a requirement that must also act as the Level 1 User for the licence. Once the licence is approved, that person must assign a Certificate of Sponsorship to themselves, using the Sponsor Management System, in order to make their visa application
If a company’s Authorising Officer is based in the UK, they must appoint a Level 1 User (and Key Contact) who is also based in the UK. As with other routes, the Level 1 User must be a settled worker and there must always be one Level 1 User who is an employee, partner, or director of the organisation. The rules on appointing Key Personnel can be found here.
3. Post-Grant Responsibilities: Certificate of Sponsorship Allocation After the UK Expansion Worker Sponsor Licence is Granted
Certificate of Sponsorship Allocation
In the UK Expansion Worker route, the maximum Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) allocation is 5. A company in this route is only permitted to sponsor as many workers as it ‘genuinely needs’ to establish its business in the UK up to a maximum of 5 employees as UK Expansion Worker migrants.
While the company is permitted an allocation of 5 CoS in the UK Expansion Worker route, whether those CoS are available immediately to the company will depend on where the Authorising Officer is located when the licence is applied for.
If the Company’s Authorising Officer is Based in the UK:
If the company’s Authorising Officer is based in the UK when the UK Expansion Worker sponsor licence is granted, the company’s licence will be given an ‘A-rating’ and its full CoS allocation (up to a maximum of 5, as stated above).
This means that the Company is able to sponsor up to 5 workers immediately, upon the grant of the licence.
If the Company’s Authorising Officer is Based Outside of the UK:
If, as is more common, the company’s Authorising Officer is based overseas, the company will be given a ‘Provisional’ licence rating and an initial allocation of only 1 Certificate of Sponsorship.
The Authorising Officer must assign that 1 CoS to themselves in order to make their visa application. Once the licence rating is upgraded to an ‘A-rating’ (as is explained below), the Authorising Officer can request for the CoS allocation to be increased, up to a maximum of 4.
4. Post-Grant Responsibilities: Additional Responsibilities for an Overseas Authorising Officer Following a Grant of Permission
Update your Details on the Sponsorship Management System:
Once the Authorising Officer has been granted entry clearance, the first action they must take is to update their details on the Sponsorship Management System (SMS). This should be done as soon as possible, once entry clearance is granted. The details that must be updated are as follows:
- the type of permission they have (this will be ‘UK Expansion Worker’)
- the expiry date of their permission
- their Home Office reference number (this can be their Visa Application Form number, their biometric residence permit number, or any other reference number provided by the Home Office to the applicant)
- their UK address (when they know this)
Request to Upgrade your UK Expansion Worker Sponsor Licence Rating:
The second action the Authorising Officer must take is to request for the company’s UK Expansion Worker sponsor licence rating to be upgraded from ‘Provisional’ to an ‘A-rating’. It is not possible to sponsor any additional workers until the company’s sponsor licence is A-rated. This request is made by the Authorising Officer through the Sponsorship Management System.
It should be noted that the Authorising Officer is able to report these details and make the request to upgrade the sponsor licence rating as soon as they are granted permission to come to the UK. They are not required to wait until they have arrived in the UK.
Where a company has an overseas Authorising Officer, it is vitally important that the Authorising Officer completes the steps described above. The sponsor licence system places significant trust in licenced sponsors to fulfil certain duties. Specific reporting duties, such as those described above, must be complied with and failure to do so could result in your company’s sponsor licence being suspended or revoked. The guidance on sponsor duties and compliance can be found here.
Changing your Key Personnel
Once your Authorising Officer is legally resident in the UK and the company’s licence is A-rated, they can appoint different people to the Key Personnel roles. Any appointments or changes must be made in line with the general requirements for Key Personnel.
5. How Long Will a UK Expansion Worker Sponsor Licence Be Valid?
Unlike the Skilled Worker sponsor licence (which no longer expires), a UK Expansion Worker sponsor licence can only be valid for a maximum of 4 years. It is not possible to hold a UK Expansion Worker for longer than 4 years.
The purpose of the UK Expansion Worker route is to allow overseas companies to expand to the UK. For that reason, there is an expectation that companies using this route will establish a full trading presence in the UK within two years of the date that the licence is granted.
By the end of the two year period, starting from the date the UK Expansion Worker sponsor licence is granted, the Home Office will reduce a company’s CoS allocation to zero. At this point, it will no longer be possible for the company to sponsor any new workers in this route, or to extend applications for existing sponsored UK Expansion Worker migrants.
Having established a trading presence in the UK, the company is able to apply for a different sponsor licence that will enable it to continue to sponsor workers in the UK (for example, Skilled Worker or Senior or Specialist Worker). For guidance on obtaining a Skilled Worker sponsor licence, please see our comprehensive guide to applying for a Skilled Worker sponsor licence.
After four years, a UK Expansion Worker sponsor licence will automatically expire and the company will not be given an option to renew it. If the UK Expansion Worker licence is no longer needed prior to the end of the 4 year period, the company can choose to make the licence ‘dormant’ at any stage.
6. UK Expansion Worker Sponsor Duties and Compliance
As a final point, it is important to be aware that, as with any sponsor licence, the Home Office is able to conduct compliance checks at any time.
For a UK Expansion Worker sponsor licence, the Home Office will consider (in addition to the sponsor duties and compliance requirements that apply to all licenced sponsors) whether there is a ‘realistic prospect that you will be able to establish a UK trading presence’. If the Home Office is not satisfied that your company will be able to establish a UK trading presence, it can decide to revoke your licence.
7. Contact Our Immigration Barristers
Understanding your duties as a licensed sponsor can be difficult. For advice on how to navigate your duties as a licensed sponsor, contact our immigration barristers in London on 0203 617 9173 or complete our enquiry form below.
