How do I sponsor a migrant?
How we award A and B ratings
This page explains how we award A and B ratings to sponsors on the register of sponsors under the points-based system.
On this page
How we award your rating
When we give you a licence, we award you an A rating or B rating, rating each application on its own merits. Your rating reflects any track record you have in employing or teaching migrants, and appears on the published register of sponsors.
If we suspend you, we remove your rating from the register during the suspension period. If the suspension is lifted, we reinstate your name on the register with the rating we award.
Your rating will usually be the same for all the tiers you are registered for. However, in exceptional cases, if you are performing poorly in your duties in only one tier, we apply the B rating only to that tier. For example, we might do this if a college has adequate procedures in place for managing its migrant workers, but not for overseas students.
A-rated sponsors
If you are an A-rated sponsor, you have no evidence of abuse, and have all the necessary systems in place to meet your duties.
B-rated sponsors
If you are a B-rated sponsor, a visiting officer has found evidence that the correct systems are not in place or not adequate to meet your duties, or there may be previous evidence of abuse.
We will award a B rating if:
- you, or another relevant person, have been issued with a penalty for one of the offences listed in Appendix C of the full policy guidance of the policy guidance within the five years ending on the date of application, unless:
- we withdrew that penalty or it was cancelled on appeal; or
- you or another relevant person has been issued with a maximum civil penalty within the previous six months, in which case we will refuse the application instead; or
- you are an existing sponsor applying to renew your licence and are already B-rated (unless we are satisfied that you have successfully finished your action plan).
We may award a B rating if:
- you, or another relevant person, have a conviction for serious offences to do with how you run your business and this makes us doubt your suitability as a sponsor (such as a conviction under the National Minimum Wage Act or for benefit fraud). We will not take into account spent convictions under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. (Convictions may become 'spent' after specified periods of time from the date of conviction if there are no further convictions during that time. Spent convictions are disregarded for certain purposes.)
We consider, among other things, how serious the offence is, the penalty the court imposed and, if the offence was committed by an individual member of staff, any action you took against that person.
We hold you fully responsible for anything done by an employee who appears to act on your behalf. We may withdraw your licence or downgrade it to a B rating if you do not comply with the rules on issuing or allocating certificates.
See also
Terms explained
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A rating
This term is applied to a sponsor under the points-based system for coming to the United Kingdom to work, train or study. It is the rating awarded by us when a sponsor joins the register of sponsors.
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B rating
This term is applied to a sponsor under the points-based system for coming to the United Kingdom to work, train or study. It is the rating awarded by us when a sponsor joins the register of sponsors. A B rating is a transitional rating for a sponsor who is under a sponsorship action plan.
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Certificate of sponsorship
This is a virtual document (a unique reference number) that an organisation gives to migrants they want to employ, and that the migrant uses when applying.under the points-based system for coming to the United Kingdom to work, train or study. Also known as confirmation of acceptance for studies.
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Spent convictions
Convictions for criminal offences may become 'spent' after specified periods of time from the date of conviction if there are no further convictions during that time. Spent convictions will be disregarded for certain purposes. They will not normally be taken into account when assessing whether someone is of good character. Convictions that are not yet spent are known as unspent convictions and will be taken into account when assessing good character.