Sponsor licence application - Large company

[eduleal]

Hi all,

Tier 2 visa holder here, in the process of changing employers.
Just wondering if anyone here has followed any sponsorship licence application recently?
Would anyone be able to advise how long it normally takes these days?

Official estimation I was given is between 8-10 weeks and it depends on whether there are pre-licence visits or not.

I have about 3.5 months before my current visa expires and have two conditional job offers to change (one from an employer with licence and one without a licence). Quite keen to change to the one without a licence - they have applied for their licence on the 12th of September. Just really hoping there is enough time for them to get it. They have both done the RLMT.

Also, this one is a very large company. Is that a positive or a negative in terms of getting a quicker outcome?
They really seem to be on top of it.

Any advice would be much appreciated!
Best,
Ed

[Frontier Mole]

Size of business makes no difference in real terms. What can make a slight difference is the quality of the application secondary documents etc. Lease, accounts, bank statements etc.

If a larger firm uses one of the noted legal reps it usually means go more smoothly.

[eduleal]

Size of business makes no difference in real terms. What can make a slight difference is the quality of the application secondary documents etc. Lease, accounts, bank statements etc.

If a larger firm uses one of the noted legal reps it usually means go more smoothly.

Thanks for your reply.
Thoughts on current/recent processing times? I know it varies quite a bit, but on average?

[iworker]

2-3 months.

[eduleal]

Thanks, it seems there's time and they're really on top of it... I'll let you how long it takes.

[iworker]

The sponsor can give them a call, and if they do manage to speak to the right person (luckily), then they can send your visa copy showing that your visa is expiring soon, and then the process can be expedited.

[eduleal]

Great to know. I think they would do that if it gets close. Hopefully it will be processed in the next 3 to 6 weeks, as it's been three weeks since all documents were sent.

Thanks for your help.

[Mahir1108]

My sister is going to apply for Tier 2. Her company had applied for the Tier 2 License and the refusal letter came in 2 weeks since all the documents were sent by the company. The refusal was mainly due to a missing document which company forgot to send.

They have re-applied for the license again last week. Lets see when and what response they get this time.

[Mahir1108]

The sponsor license has been approved and the letter came today so the time line is 3 weeks if you provide all the documents.

[eduleal]

The sponsor license has been approved and the letter came today so the time line is 3 weeks if you provide all the documents.

Thanks for the update, Mahir1108!

It's actually been 4 weeks now since the company applied and no news (and no request for additional docs).
They called the Business helpdesk and were told they cannot discuss timelines before 8 weeks - so I guess we're on waiting mode until then.

By the 8 week mark it will be 2 months before my current visa expires, so I guess they'll be able to ask them to expedite it based on that.

[eduleal]

6 weeks now since the company applied and no news.
Anyone else here followed a licence application recently and can share their timelines?

I guess if at this stage they haven't requested additional documents or scheduled a visit, that should be a good sign?

Or maybe that's just wishful thinking.

[cherrypie]

Hi eduleal,

My company sent their licence application in on July 8th and licence was granted on July 28th.

Our circumstances are a bit different though. The company is very small and I already work for the company (almost 4 years) as a tier 1 visa holder. We also didn't need to do RLMt as my job is a shortage occupation. They applied for the licence solely to sponsor me so all my details were submitted with the licence application.

Hope this helps.

[eduleal]

Thanks, cherrypie, very useful to know.
My current company had a very similar experience when they applied. It was in 2013, though, when I think it was slightly faster too.

Let's see what happens to the new one!

[eduleal]

Hi there,

Quick update just for the records, it seems the company got their licence approved this week as their name appeared on the sponsors register.

So exactly at the 7 weeks mark!

Cheers

[cegun2003]

Hi cherrypie,

You said your company is a small company. Do you mind sharing any information regarding the dcouments that were submitted i.e. audited account. Did your co0mpany submit UNAUDITED account for small companies?
My company is a small company. Normally small companies prepare abbreviated unaudited accounts and wondering if HO accepts this.

Thanks

[noajthan]

This is not a timeline thread - no useful information about timelines found here; removed timeline from Subject.

Kindly note this is not a generic chat thread about anything under the sun remotely connected to sponsor and/or licence and/or company size.

[cherrypie]

Hi cherrypie,

You said your company is a small company. Do you mind sharing any information regarding the dcouments that were submitted i.e. audited account. Did your co0mpany submit UNAUDITED account for small companies?
My company is a small company. Normally small companies prepare abbreviated unaudited accounts and wondering if HO accepts this.

Thanks

Hi cegun2003,

I have no idea what documents were submitted on behalf of the company. HR took care of the application. Immigration lawyers were also consulted. I was only told that more documents were submitted than was required by the HO.

Even though we are now a small company we used to be a subsidiary/department of an international company and I think we still follow all the same procedures in place as when we were part of the larger company.

Sorry I couldn't be of any help.