Janjua & Associates: UK Immigration Specialists

Sponsorship licenses are issued by the Border and Immigration Agency (BIA). All sponsors are given a grading of either A or B. The BIA works within immigration guidelines and all sponsors are subject to site visits and close monitoring.

What Sponsorship entails?

The PBS is used in all tier 1, tier 2, tier 3, tier 4 and tier 5 applications. This means that anybody wishing to come to the UK must have a sponsor in the UK before they can apply. A sponsor is the main part in the application for a UK visa.

All sponsors hold full responsibility of each candidate they sponsor. The BIA will take away any sponsorship certificates if they feel a sponsor has not fulfilled the relevant criteria.

Ratings

A or B ratings are awarded to all sponsors. If awarded a B rating, the BIA has based this on a risk assessment. Any sponsor on an A rating can be demoted to a B rating and if this is the case they are given an action plan with which they must work towards to regain their A rating.

If a sponsor has been given a B rating, it means the BIA felt that the sponsor was unable to fulfill their role and that they pose a threat to UK immigration.

Penalties

Sponsors are subject to penalties when necessary for non-compliance. These may be civil or criminal depending on the circumstances.

Civil penalties are given when the employer has broken the law or has been proven to have bad conduct and practice. If a company employers illegally then they will receive criminal penalties which may lead to imprisonment and fines.

Immigration Compliance
The BIA will review the points awarded to a sponsor. The sponsor will be subject to either ‘soft' or ‘hard' reviews depending on how many certificates of sponsorship they have.

» If a sponsor is deemed to fall below the standard that is required by the BIA, then criminal prosecution will be imposed.

» All sponsors must be able to show that they have the relevant procedures prepared to guarantee ongoing compliance with immigration law.

» If a sponsor is shown to issue sponsorship certificate inaccurately then any non EU citizen they have sponsored may be given 28 days to leave the UK and stop working altogether.

» A sponsor holds full responsibility on who it sponsors and issues a certificate to

» If a sponsor has been granting sponsorship outside of the PBS then their license will be taken away. If the sponsor violates any immigration law, they will be fined £10,000 or two years in prison

» Any application that has been refused cannot appeal.

PBS - Sponsorship license