How do I sponsor a migrant?
Scoring system
This page explains the scoring system we use to assess your human resource systems, civil penalties and non-compliance when giving you a licence to sponsor migrants under the points-based system.
On this page
The scoring system
When deciding whether you are suitable for a sponsor licence, we assess you using a scoring system.
We mark using the following scores:
- 1 - meets all of the criteria.
- 2 - meets only some of the criteria.
- 3 - does not meet any of the criteria.
The categories we score
We score:
- your human resource systems;
- the civil penalties and criminal convictions of your staff;
- any non-compliance by your organisation.
Scores for civil penalties and criminal convictions
The only scores you can be given for criminal convictions are 1 (no convictions) or 3 (one or more convictions found). If a member of your staff who has access to the sponsorship management system is found to have an unspent criminal conviction for an offence listed in Appendix B of the full policy guidance, you will receive a 3 marking. Any other unspent convictions could also lead to a 3 marking.
What the scores mean and how they affect your rating
We give an A rating if you receive a 1 score in the three categories and there are no other reasons for giving a B rating or refusing your application.
We give a B rating if your organisation receives a 2 score in any of the three categories and there are no other reasons for refusing your application.
We are likely to refuse your application if you receive a 3 score in any of the three categories.
It may also be possible for an organisation to get an A rating or B rating if it receives a 1 or 2 for having paid a civil penalty or for non-compliance but receives a 3 for human resource systems. In such cases, the visiting officer may still be able to recommend an A rating or a B rating with an action plan, which will last a maximum of 12 months, with review points every three months.
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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Civil penalties
A requirement to pay money that can be imposed for an offence without the need for a court conviction.
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Review point
This applies to organisations licensed to sponsors migrants under the points-based system. It means we will review their performance as a sponsor once they have issued a certain number of certificates of sponsorship.
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Unspent convictions
Convictions for criminal offences may become 'spent' after specified periods of time from the date of conviction if there are no further convictions during that time. Spent convictions will be disregarded for certain purposes. They will not normally be taken into account when assessing whether someone is of good character. Convictions that are not yet spent are known as unspent convictions and will be taken into account when assessing good character.