How do I sponsor a migrant worker?
B-rated sponsors with sponsorship action plans
This page explains how we will deal with you as a B-rated sponsor under the points-based system. It also describes the sponsorship action plan that we will draw up to help you comply with your sponsorship duties and obtain an A-rating.
As a B-rated sponsor, you cannot assign any certificates of sponsorship to new migrants until you have demonstrated your commitment to make improvements by signing up to the measures set out in a sponsorship action plan (see below). When you have demonstrated this commitment, you can assign:
- certificates of sponsorship for existing employees with permission to stay under Tier 5 or Tier 2, who are eligible to apply to extend that permission; and
- certificates of sponsorship for existing employees who hold valid work permits, who want to apply to continue in the same employment under Tier 2 (General).
You may need to meet additional duties. For example, we may tell you to inform us when a migrant arrives for work, instead of informing us only if they do not turn up. We will tell you of any additional duties that you must meet.
We will inspect you more frequently and extensively. When deciding the amount of monitoring that is necessary, we assess the potential risk that you pose to immigration control.
Sponsorship action plans
If we give you a B rating, we expect you to improve your performance in a relatively short time so that we can upgrade you to an A rating. We will set an action plan for you, which describes the steps that you must take. If you do not comply with this plan, we will revoke your licence.
The action plan will explain what you must do to comply fully with your sponsor duties and get an A rating. This may include making specific improvements to your recordkeeping, improving your control over staff who assign certificates of sponsorship, or improving communication between different branches of your business so that you know when a migrant has not turned up for work.
We charge a fee for a sponsorship action plan (see below), which reflects the cost of preparing it. If we give you a B rating, we will inform you of this and will send you an invoice for the action plan fee. You must pay the fee within 14 calendar days of the date on the invoice. (Payments received on the 14th day will be allowed time to clear.) If the fee is not paid within 14 calendar days, we will immediately revoke your sponsor licence.
When the fee has been paid, we will issue the action plan to you. We will contact you to discuss the action points and the measures required to improve your performance so that you can be upgraded to an A rating. However, we have the final say over the plan's contents.
The action plan will usually cover a period of 3 months, but this may be longer or shorter in some circumstances. At the end of this period, we will decide whether to upgrade you to an A rating. If you have not met the conditions ofthe action plan, we will normally revoke your licence - but, in exceptional circumstances where you have made significant progress, we may keep you on a B rating and create a further action plan.
If additional concerns arise which are not addressed by the action plan while it is in force, we may decide that a new action plan is needed. You will need to pay for the new action plan, otherwise we will immediately revoke your licence.
The maximum period that you can be under a sponsorship action plan is 12 months. We will review the position every 3 months. If you are still B-rated after 12 months, you will automatically lose your licence.
More information
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Fee for a sponsorship action plan
The fee for a sponsorship action plan is £1,000.
See also
Terms explained
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A rating
This term is applied to a sponsor under the points-based system for coming to the United Kingdom to work, train or study. It is the rating awarded by us when a sponsor joins the register of sponsors.
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B rating
This term is applied to a sponsor under the points-based system for coming to the United Kingdom to work, train or study. It is the rating awarded by us when a sponsor joins the register of sponsors. A B rating is a transitional rating for a sponsor who is under a sponsorship action plan.
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Branches
Branches are different offices, locations, or campuses of an organisation that has two or more of these.