1st March 2023 | Melissa Vangeen | Global Mobility, International Presence, Immigration

Immigration specialist Melissa Vangeen at Sherrards Solicitors, London and St Albans, recently worked for a large care home provider on several immigration matters,

Melissa has significant experience working with care home providers and has recently worked for a large care provider providing specialist care services for more than three decades. Recognised as a market leader in the provision of care, the care provider is committed to developing its staff and providing them with the right environment, motivation and training through which to excel. It needed to first apply for a sponsor license and then to apply for and assign the required sponsorship paperwork to prospective employees, followed by the visa applications themselves.

Care homes often need support when recruiting care workers and nurses from outside of the UK.  The freedom of movement of people between the UK and other European member states, let alone the rest of the world, has been hugely impacted by Brexit, and at one time was put almost completely on hold as countries closed their borders in response to Coronavirus, further exacerbating the issue of recruitment from outside of the UK.  The care sector was and continues to be highly impacted by the shrinking pool of available workers. It is estimated that 115,000 adult care workers are recruited from other EU countries.  As a result, a sponsor license is essential.

Holding a sponsor license enables an employer to sponsor most types of workers from outside the UK. Only organisations, not individuals, can be licensed sponsors. To secure a sponsor license, an organisation must make an application to the Home Office and pay the relevant application fees. A sponsor licence will only be granted if the organisation can show the roles for which it is recruiting and the workers it intends to sponsor, meeting the eligibility requirements.  Once granted, the organisation must also have HR systems in place that comply with onerous sponsorship compliance duties. The organisation can then issue Certificates of Sponsorship to workers so that they can apply for the required visa to carry out the role in the UK.

This type of immigration work for care home and healthcare providers is typical for Melissa and the Immigration team at Sherrards. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to our team on the details below.