Company G is a start-up IT company providing IT consulting services including software development, business analysis, and project management. Company G has been successful in securing businesses from corporate clients ranging from small to large in the past few years. It is a steadily growing company.

IT Start-Up Needs Skilled Migrant Workers and Sponsor Licence

To continue to be competitive in today’s challenging economy, Company G needs employees with multiple IT skills who can work efficiently with the latest technologies. However, finding individuals with these skills have proven to be very difficult, both in the local and the EEA labour markets. The company has made several recruitment attempts without success, and as a result, their plans to expand the business have been delayed.

After the latest recruitment effort, Company G identified a suitable candidate who is a non-EEA national to fill in one of their vacant IT roles. In order to employ this individual, Company G applied for a Tier 2 General Sponsor Licence. The application was refused by Home Office who took the view that the job role offered was not a genuine vacancy.

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Refused Sponsor Licence Application Puts Company At Risk

Following the refusal of their Sponsor Licence application, and near the end of the 6-month cooling off period required before they could apply again, Company G came to A Y & J Solicitors for help. They were in the process of securing a contract to deliver IT services to a client and required an IT expert with specific skills to deliver the services. They were concerned that the previous refusal of a similar application could have a negative impact on the current application. Failure to obtain a Sponsor Licence and the subsequent inability to hire a skilled migrant worker could result in losing the contract with the new client.

The complication, in this case, is the issue of genuine vacancy. Home Office applies a very subjective test when considering a genuine vacancy, leading to unnecessary refusals. We provided detailed advice to Company G about the information and documents required to address the genuine vacancy issue, and other issues that may be raised such as recruitment and record keeping duties. We also assisted Company G in setting up a system to monitor their prospective sponsored workers and ensure they would comply with their sponsor duties. We reviewed the documents provided by Company G and provided support in submitting their application.

The Second Refusal Successfully Challenged, Company Receives Sponsor Licence

After an unannounced visit from the Home Office and an interview with the director, Company G’s application was refused solely on the ground of genuine vacancy. This was in spite of the company meeting all the requirements of the application. As the refusal was unreasonable and failed to acknowledge that Company G had provided sufficient documents to show that the vacancy was genuine, we advised and assisted Company G in making a formal request for the decision to be reviewed.

Company G was successful in challenging the refusal decision and has been granted their much-needed Sponsor Licence. They are now able to employ the skilled individual they need to work on the project and are proceeding with their expansion plans.

We are very passionate about the work we do. We understand that corporations do require legal help in managing their Sponsor Licence matters. Our dedicated team is always ready to help!