UK sponsorship licence for educators: why would you need it and how do you get it?

In order to accept foreign students, every UK lawful education provider needs a sponsorship licence. As is the case with businesses, the UK sponsorship system for applicants of study visas acts as a regulator for the inflow of foreign students, and the sponsors act as guarantors.

Despite all the similarities between obtaining a sponsorship licence to employ a foreign worker and to accept a foreign student, the sponsorship system in the area of education deserves a separate article. This article will be especially useful for those who dedicate themselves to the provision of education in the UK and who consider attracting foreign students an important part of their further development.

Two study visa routes suitable for a sponsorship licence

An education provider can apply for a UK sponsorship licence for the following two visa routes:

1. Student visa, aimed at immigrants who are 17 or over and come to the UK for studies.
2. Child Student visa, as the term shows, aimed at children aged between 4 and 17 who have come to the UK for studies. Under this route one can only study at an independent school.

Criteria for an educator applying for the UK sponsorship licence

As is the case with sponsorship licences for employers, a sponsor (an educator) needs to apply to the Home Office to get relevant permissions. The best way to begin is to get in touch with a competent law firm which will not only provide you with a consultation on any arising issue, but will also, if necessary, legally act on your behalf.

An education provider must not only comply with all the mentioned criteria before being granted a sponsorship licence but keep their standards up in order to maintain the licence.

How does the Home Office decide whether a sponsor is eligible?

In order to decide whether you can be a sponsor for foreign students, the Home Office checks several things:

1. They consider history of the educator, background of the key executives and other staff members, appointed in your application to manage the sponsorship licence.
2. They find out whether there is a previous breach of UK immigration laws or any case of misconduct on the part of the education provider or any of its staff members.
3. In order to find out if the educator can act as a sponsor, they consider in detail how the educational process is organised, how the executives and the teachers communicate with students and how you control the attendance.
4. Finally, the Home Office officials may visit your school or college before making the decision, and should they have any doubt with regards to your capability of being a sponsor for a Student visa and a Child Student visa, you will get a refusal.

How can I prepare for the inspection?

The documents which you put in together with the application are not the last thing for the Home Office officials to base their decision on.

• In order to obtain a UK sponsorship licence, you must pass an Educational Oversight inspection by the relevant bodies. The inspection is either statutory or can be applied for, depending on the type of your establishment and the services you provide.
• Besides passing Educational Oversight inspections, you must have all the relevant licences and permissions, pass fire-risk assessments and tax inspections.
• Should you have several sites in the UK and you are not planning to teach foreign students at all of them, you must inform the Home Office of that and specify where you want to do so. Moreover, you must inform relevant bodies how many foreign students you propose to accept for studies in the first year of your prospective licence.

Key personnel

By law, an education provider that wants to be a sponsor, must appoint key personnel responsible for managing their sponsorship licence and issuing certificates of sponsorship for students, and provide their contact details to the Home Office. The key personnel must have no criminal or immigration offences before getting the licence or during its period of validity.

The separation of duties is the same as is the case with sponsorship for foreign workers. You need to appoint thefollowing personnel:

• The authorising officer – the one who will be responsible for the use of the licence.
• The key contact – the one who will communicate with the Home Office.
• Level 1 user(s), managing the sponsorship licence in compliance with instructions by the executives, for example, issuing certificates of sponsorship for students who apply for a UK study visa.
• Level 2 user(s), having access to the licence management system, but not granted as broad an authority as level 1 users.

All the mentioned personnel immediately deal with the UK sponsorship licence management and therefore must be included in the application. Besides, they must advise the Home Office on any alterations in the working process within the prescribed time limits and keep record of all the foreign students accepted for studies. At least one of the level 1 users and the authorising officer must be your employees. The rest of the personnel may be employed by the company offering legal support for your sponsorship licence. All the mentioned positions must be occupied by people who spend most of the time within the UK.

Obtaining a UK sponsorship licence for an educator

In approximately 4-weeks’ time you will be granted a sponsorship licence and will be able to sponsor for Student visa and Child Student visa, provided that:

1. You have put in a legally correct application for a UK sponsorship licence and added all the relevant evidence, confirming that you provide educational services legally.
2. You have appointed the key personnel.
3. You have specified the number of foreign students you are planning to teach in the first year and your British sites where you are going to do so.
4. You have passed all the necessary inspections by relevant bodies and by the Home Office.

Period of validity and withdrawal of a sponsorship licence

Your educational institution will be granted an identification number and included in the register of licensed sponsors. The period of validity of a licence is 4 years. In order not to lose the right to accept foreign students, you must extend your licence before it expires.

For the first time sponsorship is granted to an educator with a probation period. The licence can be withdrawn should the educator fail to fulfill the sponsor responsibilities.

In order to prevent things from going wrong, you can get the support of experienced immigration advisers beforehand. Highly qualified experts of Imperial & Legal have great expertise in the area of obtaining sponsorship licences and supporting immigration into the UK. Our advisers will provide overall support: we can advise you on any issue of obtaining a UK sponsorship licence, help you to make a correct application, make sure that all the supporting evidence is ready and your employees are able to manage the sponsorship licence.