UK Case Study: Tier 5 Sponsorship Licence Success

Recently our expert Immigration Solicitors were instructed by a well known basketball organisation in relation to an application for a Tier 5 Sponsor Licence. The organisation is a start-up company as it has been trading in the UK for less than 18 months. Our Solicitors at Lexvisa provided the basketball organisation with a detailed documents list tailored to their company in order to be able to prove that they are a genuine organisation and a basketball team which is operating legally in the UK. Furthermore, our expert Immigration Solicitors wrote comprehensive legal representations and prepared the application for the client.

We submitted the application with confidence that the organisation met the eligibility and suitability criteria required for this application as required in the Home Office’s Tier 2 and Tier 5 of the points based system – guidance for sponsors. Our Solicitors received news from UK Visas & Immigration that our client has obtained an ‘A’ rated Tier 5 Sponsorship Licence and is now able to sponsor basketball players from outside the EU to play basketball professionally in the UK.

Sponsorship Licence for Employers

According to the Home Office’s official immigration Statistics the total number of employers registered to employ Tier 5 and Tier 2 employees was 28,302 in the year ending June 2014. This figure is 6% higher than the previous year.

If an organisation is established in the UK and wants to sponsor individuals who want to play sports, they must obtain a Sponsorship Licence. As an employer wishing to obtain a Sponsor Licence, we would arrange for you to meet with our Immigration Solicitors at our London offices to explore your matter in detail in order to measure the eligibility of your company. Before applying for a Sponsorship Licence you must make sure you have an endorsement from the governing body for your sport which is recognised by the UK Home Office as a genuine organisation. The list of governing bodies currently recognised by the Home Office is in Appendix M of the UK Immigration Rules.

If you are a start-up company, the checks by the Home Office will be different to the checks carried out on more established businesses in the UK. As a start up company, you should provide documents such as evidence that you have a current, corporate bank account with a bank registered by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK.

The Home Office have set out documents that are mandatory to submit with a sponsorship licence application in Appendix A. We would review the documents that you have collated in order to ensure that your sponsorship licence application meets the Home Office’s mandatory requirements and provide you with feedback.

Tier 5 Sporting & Creative Visa

The Tier 5 Sporting & Creative visa is a sub category of the Tier 5 Temporary Workers visa route. The Tier 5 Sporting & Creative visa is for those coming to the UK to work or perform as sports people, entertainers or creative artists for up to 12 months. Entertainers and creative artists may apply to extend their stay to a maximum of 12 months if they continue to work or perform for the same sponsor. If you are a sportsperson, you must be internationally established at the highest level in your sport and/or your employment must make a significant contribution to the development and running of sport at the highest level in the UK. If you are a coach, you must also be suitably qualified to do the job.

Successful UK Tier 5 Sponsorship Licence Application

Obtaining a UK Sponsorship licence is far from a straightforward process involving referencing not only the immigration rules but also supplementary guidance notes. Together with this issue is ensuring that the bundle of supporting documents meets the Home Office’s stringent requirements and properly evidences the application. For this reason it is usual for a professional employer to instruct expert immigration sponsorship solicitors to manage this process.

Contact us to discuss your eligibility in obtaining a UK Sponsorship Licence and to find out more about your duties once you are a Sponsor.

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