UK visa sponsorship for employers
Types of licence
The licence you need depends on whether the workers you want to fill your jobs are:
- ‘Workers’ - for skilled or long-term employment
- ‘Temporary workers’ - for specific types of temporary employment
You can apply for a licence covering one or both types of worker.
Worker licence
A ‘Worker’ licence will let you sponsor people in different types of skilled employment. The skilled work can be for a short time, long-term or permanent depending on the worker’s visa.
The licence is split into:
- Skilled Worker - the role must meet the job suitability requirements
- Senior or Specialist Worker visa (Global Business Mobility) - for multinational companies which need to transfer established employees to the UK, previously the Intra-company Transfer visa
- Minister of Religion - for people coming to work for a religious organisation
- International Sportsperson - for elite sportspeople and coaches who will be based in the UK
Temporary Worker licence
A ‘Temporary Worker’ licence will let you sponsor people on a temporary basis, including for volunteering and job-shadowing. You can only get a Temporary Worker licence for specific types of employment and visas.
The licence is split into:
- Scale-up Worker - for people coming to work for a fast-growing UK business
- Creative Worker - to work in the creative industry, for example as an entertainer or artist (up to 2 years)
- Charity Worker - for unpaid workers at a charity (up to 1 year)
- Religious Worker - for those working in a religious order or organisation (2 years)
- Government Authorised Exchange - work experience (1 year), research projects or training, for example practical medical or scientific training (2 years) to enable a short-term exchange of knowledge
- International Agreement - where the worker is coming to do a job which is covered by international law, for example employees of overseas governments
- Graduate Trainee (Global Business Mobility) - for workers transferring to their employer’s UK branch as part of a graduate training programme
- Service Supplier (Global Business Mobility) - for workers with a contract to provide services for a UK company (6 or 12 months)
- UK Expansion Worker (Global Business Mobility) - for workers sent to the UK to set up a new branch or subsidiary of an overseas business
- Secondment Worker (Global Business Mobility) - for workers transferring from overseas to work for a different UK business as part of a high-value contract
- Seasonal Worker – allows people to come to the UK and work in horticulture (for example, picking fruit and vegetables) for up to 6 months, or poultry from 18 October to 31 December each year
If you’re sponsoring a scale-up worker
Your sponsorship responsibilities as a sponsor for a scale-up worker will end 6 months after they get permission to come to or stay in the UK.
After that, a scale-up worker can do any of the following until their visa expires:
- continue working for you without getting a new certificate of sponsorship
- change jobs without getting a new sponsor