This was not the first time I came to Imperial & Legal for advice, and they always help me achieve my goal. This time I wanted to employ an Argentinian specialist who looked like the right fit for a vacancy at our London office. However, I had no idea how to prepare the necessary documents, to help the person apply for a UK work visa and relocate to the UK. Imperial & Legal worked their magic again.
A foreign specialist cannot come to the UK to look for a job; there is no such visa. But they can apply for a work visa after getting employed by a business with a sponsorship licence and hence the right to issue certificates of sponsorship (CoS).
The best way for a UK-based company to obtain a sponsorship licence would be to get in touch with authorised immigration advisors and comply with the Home Office’s requirements.
That was what Jessica Parker, our regular client, did. Our company has been helping her with both immigration and business cases. She wanted to employ an Argentinian worker and came to Imperial & Legal for help to make sure all the criteria of the UK immigration laws were satisfied.
Jessica Parker is the head of a pharmaceutical company selling quality medications from England, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland to South America.
She is amazing at managing staff both at the London office and overseas. She highly values her employees and always does her best to help them achieve a lot in their careers.
Their London office was looking for a Business Development Manager. Jessica took her time looking for a suitable employee only to find out that the best candidate worked at the Argentinian office. She was a perfect fit: an experienced and skillful business development manager with relevant expertise in the pharmaceutical industry.
Jessica Parker came to Imperial & Legal for advice on how to get a UK visa for the specialist and employ her at the headquarters.
Our immigration advisors suggested the following roadmap: collecting the necessary documents to apply for a sponsorship licence, issuing a certificate of sponsorship, and applying for a UK Skilled Worker visa for the foreign specialist in question.
A sponsorship licence gives British companies the right to employ foreigners. Any UK-based business can obtain a sponsor licence provided it meets all the requirements of the Home Office: the business must be genuine and trading in the UK. Besides, the director of the company must appoint people within the business to manage the sponsorship system. These people must live in the UK permanently.
Home Office caseworkers pay close attention to all aspects of the application. For example, whether a foreign specialist has the necessary knowledge and skills to occupy a position, and what HR practices are implemented in the business. The sponsor must fulfil their obligations before their foreign employees (decent working conditions, required level of pay), as well as before the Home Office by complying with the requirements of employing foreign specialists.
The chosen candidate was essential for the pharmaceutical company, so they were willing to fulfil all the requirements. Imperial & Legal’s immigration advisors made a list of documents to apply for a sponsorship licence.
As a rule, the following documents are required: a bank statement from a corporate account, a bank letter, audited annual accounts, a taxpayer’s registration certificate, and a letter from the regulating authority.
Once all the documents were collected, we applied for a sponsorship licence and submitted a detailed cover letter to the Home Office.
With Imperial & Legal’s help, it took Jessica’s company less than a month to obtain a sponsorship licence and issue a certificate of sponsorship for the Argentinian specialist. With that, the latter applied for a UK Skilled Worker visa to start working at the London office.
Great teamwork between the client and Imperial & Legal’s immigration advisors was key to success. All the requirements of the UK Immigration Rules were fulfilled in no time at all. The company, the specialist from Argentina, and our experts were very pleased with the outcome, and we wish the best of luck to Jessica Parker and her business.
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