United Kingdom: Automatic 10-Year Extension of Sponsor Licenses

• Current practice. Currently, sponsors are required to renew their sponsorship license every four years, by submitting a renewal application before the expiry date. Initial and renewal application fees range from GBP 536 to GBP 1,476.
• Licenses set to expire before April 6, 2024. Sponsors whose licenses are scheduled to expire before April 6, 2024, must still submit and pay for a renewal before the expiry date if they want to remain licensed.
• Licenses set to expire on or after April 6, 2024. Sponsors whose licenses are due to expire on or after April 6, 2024, no longer need to apply to renew their sponsor license or pay a renewal fee. In these circumstances, sponsors who have already made an application for renewal will be refunded the renewal fee. Any sponsors who have already received a notification to renew their license do not need to take any further action.

• Reduced renewal costs for employers. This change will reduce the costs related to hiring foreign workers for employers who require a sponsorship license, giving employers greater flexibility with their long-term talent management strategy. However, sponsors should expect continued checks by the Home Office to ensure that compliance with sponsor requirements is maintained.
• First-time applications. This change does not impact the requirement to secure a licence in the first place. Application costs and processes to secure a licence for a business that does not have one will remain the same.

This extension is in anticipation of a rule change effective from April 6, 2024, whereby sponsor licenses will no longer need to be renewed. This policy change comes amid a continuing increase in the number of sponsor license applications.

This change – which reduces the costs for certain employers of foreign nationals – will balance more restrictive requirements recently implemented, such as increased restrictions on work migration routes and increased visa and immigration health surcharge costs.