The UK is a power source of the best and the brightest minds, globally. In recent times, the Uk has been offering lucrative opportunities to the overseas students to come to study and eventually seek settlement in the UK.
Many education providers rely on international students to stay afloat financially, but only those with a sponsor licence can enrol international students for longer than six months.
The rising need of a Sponsor licence
The UK education providers must first consider the question of whether they need sponsor licence or not.
If the sponsor will only be educating international students who will enrol on courses in the UK for up to six months, a sponsor licence is not required. They can enter through the guest route if they match the qualifications.
The education provider must meet the Home Office’s requirement of “accredited” in order for students to be permitted to study as visitors. Accreditation can be obtained in a variety of ways, including having a complete sponsor licence. The sponsor licence and visit visa guidance contains a fair description of what else matters, as well as more information about what study visitors can undertake.
Check your eligibility
Whereas any sort of education provider (including universities) is eligible for a sponsor licence, only independent schools can become licenced sponsors for school students. For example, state schools and academies are still unable to sponsor international students.
Educational oversight requirements
An education provider cannot seek a licence to sponsor international students unless an authorized organisation has approved its academic provision, student assistance, and other activities. The educational oversight obligation is what it’s called.
The higher education provider must be registered with the Office for Students. Before applying for a sponsor licence, higher education providers must first get on the OfS register, which is a complicated and time-consuming process.
Private colleges must be inspected by Private Further Education and independent schools must be inspected by Ofsted or the Independent Schools Inspectorate. The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education is the relevant agency for higher education institutions based outside but with a branch locally.
Application Process and fee
The process of applying for a sponsor licence for an education provider could get cumbersome initially, but with the help of an immigration solicitor, you can complete your application with appropriate legal advice.
However, if you’ve managed to register, the application form itself is pretty simple. It requests confirmation of the problems discussed above — eligibility, educational monitoring, and key individuals — as well as a few other details, such as the projected number of students who will require sponsorship under the licence. There’s also a statement about complying with sponsorship obligations, among other things.
After completing the form, it is submitted online and the £536 charge is paid. A submission sheet, a PDF document, is subsequently created. This, along with the required documentation, must be sent to the Home Office within five working days.