Becoming a skilled worker visa sponsor: guide for GP practices

What you need before you start

Documents

You will need to send the Home Office a minimum of 4 supporting documents to prove you are a legitimate employer within 5 working days of submitting your application. These are set out in full in the sponsor guidance appendix a. You can send these electronically. A simplified list of example documents which may be most relevant for a GP Practice is below.

Recommended documents

1. You will also need the GMC registration details of the senior partner of the General Practice (mandatory).

2. Corporate/Business Bank Statement (mandatory for start-ups operating for less then 18 months) or supporting letter from your bank manager

3. Employers Liability Insurance Certificate

4. HMRC Registration – PAYE Reference Number/Account Office Reference Number

5. Proof of ownership or lease of your business premises. If you send a copy of your lease agreement, it must be signed by all parties concerned.

6. HMRC VAT registration certificate

7. Latest acknowledgement of a Company Tax Return CT620, or the completed CT600 tax return and the CT603 notice.

Key People

In order to complete an application, you will need to assign three distinct roles to manage the sponsorship process. However, these roles can all be fulfilled by one person, for example your Practice Manager. These roles are:

1. Authorising officer (AO) – this will be your most senior person responsible for recruitment and ensuring that all of the sponsor duties are met. This is usually the Practice Manager.

2. Key contact – this person will act as the main contact between the Home Office and the practice.

3. Level 1 user – this person will carry out the day-today sponsorship activities.

4. Level 2 user – this is an optional role and you do not need to initially assign it (typically used by very large employers).

For a full description of each role, please see Section L4 in Part 1 of the Sponsor Guidance

Cost

1. The cost of the application depends on the size of the practice. For small or charitable sponsors the fee is £536. For a medium or large sponsor the fee is £1,476. Organisations are usually considered a small business if they meet two of the following conditions: annual turnover is £10.2 million or less, balance sheet is £5.1 million or less or there are 50 employees or fewer.

2. The fee is non-refundable if your application is refused (i.e. doesn't meet the requirements). However if your application is rejected because it is invalid (i.e. full fee not paid or mandatory documents not submitted) the fee is refundable.