Tier 2 Sponsor Licence Compliance Home Office Visits to Sports Clubs

Elite sports clubs often access international talent in their quest for the top spot in their league. Whether it is players, coaches, or support staff, being able to recruit talent from anywhere in the world is essential. However, like all UK employers who hire foreign workers, elite sports clubs must obtain a Tier 2 Sponsor Licence and comply with extensive Home Office sponsorship duties and responsibilities.

Although it may feel like acquiring a Sponsor Licence is the culmination of efforts to bring foreign team members in, there are still a few essential actions to undertake. All Sponsor Licence holders can expect to receive compliance visits from the Home Office.  These visits are designed to check that Sponsor Licence holders are compliant with UKVI rules and regulations. If the compliance officer finds that the sports club is in breach of compliance duties and responsibilities, the Sponsor Licence can be suspended or revoked causing the loss of all foreign talent in that sports club and an inability to issue new Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS).

What Are Sponsor Licence Compliance Duties?

If you are a Sponsor Licence holder, you are deemed compliant if you follow the rules and regulations set out in the Sponsor Guidance, and under various UK legislation. The Home Office is carrying out more checks of Sponsor Licence holders than ever before, and there is zero tolerance for non-compliance.  Many of these inspection visits take place unannounced, so all Sponsor Licence holders need to be fully prepared for a Home Office visit at all times.

Do you have a way to calculate the sponsor licence UK cost?

Yes! Use our calculator below to calculate your sponsor licence visa cost.

Please answer the questions and you will be able to calculate the approx cost for The sponsor licence –

 

What Are Some Examples of Sponsor Licence Compliance Duties and Responsibilities?

When a sports organisation obtains a Tier 2 Sponsor Licence, it must comply with several duties and responsibilities set by the Home Office.  When applying for a licence, the company is declaring that it can comply with all compliance duties:

  • Monitoring immigration status and preventing illegal employment
  • Maintaining migrant contact details
  • Other record keeping
  • Monitoring and reporting migrant activity
  • Ensuring that relevant professional registrations and accreditations have been obtained
  • Reporting various changes of circumstances to the sponsor
  • Complying with the law, including employment law and having relevant planning permission
  • Cooperating with the Home Office

In addition, there must be personnel within the organisation with specific responsibility for some, or all of the duties and responsibilities who are:

  • sufficiently trained in their areas of compliance
  • aware of the importance of complying and the possible implications of failing to do so, and are;
  • aware of others who have responsibility and the scope of their responsibility

Sponsor License holders also need to ensure there are sufficient backup systems and personnel in place in case those with specific responsibility are away from work or there are other potential breakdowns in reporting lines.

All staff responsible for the employment of the sponsored migrants should be aware of their duties and responsibilities, and when they need to contact Home Office with other specific responsibilities (i.e. the Level 1 user) for reporting relevant matters. For example, the person charged with managing the Sponsor Management System (SMS) should inform UKVI via SMS of the change of work location for a sponsored worker within 10 working days from the date of the change.

As a Sponsor Licence holder, you have agreed to work with the Home Office, and are expected to allow compliance officers entry to your club to conduct compliance checks. If you are unprepared for an inspection, this might lead to suspension or revocation of the licence and your current international team members may be unable to continue to work and compete for you, and you may be unable to bring international talent to your club in the future.

The impact can be devastating to all involved.  A Y & J Solicitors can work with you to protect your Sponsor Licence, making you more confident in hiring the talent required to continue your club’s success.

How A Y & J Solicitors Can Provide Assistance to Sports Clubs Needing a Compliance Audit

We have substantial experience with Sponsor Licence matters.  The Sponsor Licence Compliance Audit that we have developed for sports clubs will identify any compliance weaknesses within your organisation and give you the solutions to fix these concerns. The result is the certainty that you remain compliant with immigration requirements and your sponsored skilled players can retain their positions within the club.

Our Sponsor Licence Compliance Audit for sports clubs has been created to prepare you for a Home Office inspection. We are 100% confident that this investment is a winning solution, and we stand by our service.

Yes, all sports clubs that wish to apply for a Sponsor Licence must obtain an endorsement from the governing body for your sport.  This endorsement confirms to the Home Office that the application for a licence is from a genuine sports club (or equivalent) that has a legitimate requirement to bring migrants to the UK as sportspeople.

Absolutely. In fact, it is in the Home Office’s interests to catch high-profile organisations which breach their compliance duties, as the media attention garnered will ensure that smaller clubs and organisations increase their diligence regarding their Sponsor Licence duties and responsibilities.

A Y & J Solicitors’ Review

We at GNL has pleasure and privilege of having Yash Dubal , Senior Immigration Lawyer of A Y & J Solicitors at our office to discuss Sponsorship duties and have an open forums on multiple of questions we had on UKVI regulations on sponsoring and employing skilled migrant workers. We learnt great deal of critical aspects of Sponsorship responsibilities. We were able to clarify a long list of doubts/questions we had on regulations and sponsorship duties. Yash is very professional and he attended to every question we had regarding UKVI regulation with great detail and care. His attention to detail, focus, in-depth understanding of regulations and implications are without any parallels available in this industry. We feel privileged to have spent the day with him at our office and are looking forward to have future engagement with him. We recommend A Y & J Solicitors service to anyone who wish to sponsor skilled migrant workers in the UK.

GNL

A sigh of relief after Tier 2 sponsor licence restored. The day our Tier 2 sponsor licence was revoked, we had a nightmare as to how we would keep up with our Non EU skilled staff within our business. We were very fortunate to have engaged A Y & J Solicitors as our lawyers to help us with the Tier 2 sponsor licence revocation. Initially, it appeared that the job would be impossible as the Home office had prepared very strong revocation letter but with A Y & J Solicitors expert help we have our Tier 2 sponsor licence back. Our NON-EU skilled work force have been saved. They know their job well and we would recommend them to all employers and businesses who require legal assistance in relation to their NON-EU skilled staff and Tier 2 matters.

I approached A Y & J Solicitors after a visit from the UKBA. The service I received from them was highly efficient and professional. The level of expertise, was a notch above all the other companies I had used. I have had a positive result from our representations to the UKBA allowing me to keep my Non resident labour. I cannot thank them enough for their service. I would highly recommend to anyone who would like a review of their Sponsor Compliance etc.

Success Story on Sponsor Licence Compliance Visit – Sports Clubs

On October 17, 2017 | In Sponsor Licence Suspension | By
A Y & J Solicitors

Suspended Tier 2 Sponsor Licence Reinstated Successfully – Travel Industry

Company C is a leading travel company which has been trading in the UK for over 20 years; providing a high-quality service to a huge variety of groups and individuals visiting the UK from China. These groups comprise High Net Worth Individual and Business delegates. As the company’s targeted market is in China, their staff…

Video on Sponsor Licence Compliance Visit

Tier 2 Sponsor License Guidance
Intro to Sponsor Licence

Compliance duties, reporting, record keeping, and renewals.

Sponsorship Licence Compliance Duties for Sponsor Licence Holders

We are a specialised UK immigration law firm.

I will talk about Sponsor Licence compliance Duties in this video.

As a Sponsor Licence holder you are responsible for complying with your sponsorship duties as set out by the Home Office.

If any rules/regulations change (which is likely) it is your responsibility to keep yourself informed, and act on any changes as needed.

Your sponsorship Licence duties include but not limited to reporting and record keeping.

You should report within a specific deadline significant changes within the company that includes but not limited to ‘change of address’, ‘merger/acquisition’, ‘TUPE transfer’.

You should also report information on sponsored worker such as but not limited to, changes in job title/job duties or salary, change of the work location and certain absences.

You must have a system you use to check your workers can legally work. Each licence holder is responsible for monitoring immigration status and prevent illegal working.

When the time approaches, you must also apply for a renewal of your Sponsor Licence so it remains up-to-date.

We strongly advice businesses to remain complaint with their sponsor licence compliance duties.

If you require legal advice in relation to sponsor licence matter, please contact us today. Our contact details are at the bottom of the video. We are happy to help. Thank you.

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