Common questions about sponsors and sponsorship

No, your sponsor is not allowed to charge recruitment fees. It is illegal under Article 7 of  the Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 for a recruitment organisation or agency to charge a fee for providing a work-finding service to a job applicant. Costs incurred by a recruitment agency should be included in the fee charged to employers, not passed on to the employee.

If you are charged a fee by a recruitment agency or employer, you should ask for a breakdown of the fees to establish what is included. 

If you are concerned about the fees you have been charged by a recruitment agency, you can report your concerns to the Employment Agency Inspectorate at 02890257796 or eai@economy-ni.gov.uk.

If you are concerned about fees charged by your employer, seek advice from your Trade Union or Law Centre NI.

Your sponsor will need to check your passport and identification documents when you first arrive to confirm that you have the right to work in the UK. However, your sponsor/employer is not allowed to keep your passport and identification documents.

As a health and care worker visa holder, you can work part time (up to 20 hours per week) for another employer in certain occupations (eligible occupation codes) in addition to working for your sponsor. 

Before you start any additional work, you must first update your visa. 

You do not need to update your visa to work overtime for your sponsor. 

You can do unpaid voluntary work.

Note that if your main employment ends for any reason, you will not be able to continue your part time work until you have found a new sponsor and updated your visa.

If, on arriving in Northern Ireland, there is no work for you and your sponsor does not fulfil its contractual obligations to you, you need to seek specialist immigration advice. You are likely to be breaking the terms of your visa if you are not working or not earning at a certain level. In this case, you might need to find another sponsor, apply for leave to remain in a different capacity or arrange to leave the UK. 

If you are struggling financially, you might be able to get financial support such as free school meals for your children or foodbank vouchers. Contact your local advice agency to see what financial assistance is available to you: Local Advice | Advice NI. 

If you are not provided with any or enough work by your sponsor, you could have a claim for unauthorised deduction of wages and/or unfair dismissal. Contact your Trade Union or Law Centre NI for advice.

If your employer is physically abusive or tries to control you in a coercive way, you should contact the Police Service of Northern Ireland in an emergency and also seek advice from your Trade Union or Law Centre NI.

If you have another complaint about your treatment at work, you can raise a grievance with your employer. You should do this informally at first, and then write to your employer, setting out your concerns. If you are concerned about raising a complaint with your employer or if your grievance is not resolved, contact your Trade Union or Law Centre NI for advice. 

You might be able to claim compensation from an Employment Tribunal for the way you have been treated, particularly if it involves an unauthorised deduction of wages or discrimination. Most claims to the Employment Tribunal must be made within 3 months of the act being committed. 

You can also contact one of the UK’s Labour Enforcement agencies for advice and assistance.

It is possible to change sponsors. If you identify another sponsor, you will have to apply to the Home Office to update your visa. Your new job will need to meet the eligibility requirements of your visa and you’ll need a new Certificate of Sponsorship. 

You can continue working in your current job while your new application is being considered, but you should not start working in your new job until you have confirmation of permission. You should also not travel outside the UK, Ireland or Channel Islands until you get a decision.

Your dependents, if you have them, must also update their visa.

The Autonomy Institute has created a database of sponsors in the Health and Social Care sector primarily operating in Great Britain: Care Visa Sponsor Database – The Autonomy Institute.

NHS Employers updates and maintains a list of ethical recruiters who may offer sponsorship opportunities: Ethical Recruiters List | NHS Employers.

Your employer might include a repayment clause in your contract so that they can recover some of their upfront costs if you leave their employment within a certain period of time. 

The Department of Health’s Code of Practice for the International Recruitment of Health and Social Care Personnel provides that any repayment clause should be clearly set out in writing in the employment contract and be clear, proportionate and flexible. 

If your employer is insisting that you repay a debt before changing employers, ask it for an itemised list of the costs it claims you owe. Your employer should not try to recoup the following costs from you: 

• Agency fee
• Immigration skills charge
• Sponsor licence fee
• Certificate of sponsorship
• Cost of the interview process

Your employer should allow you to enter into a repayment plan. Your employer should also consider waiving costs if you have been forced out of employment because of their conduct or  if your health or family circumstances have changed. 

If you are being pursued for a debt unfairly, contact your Trade Union or Law Centre NI.

Recovery of training fees and other upfront costs can result in you being paid below the National Minimum Wage. If you think this is the case, contact HMRC on Pay and work rights complaint – Digital Forms Service – GOV.UK – About the complaint (tax.service.gov.uk).

If your sponsor loses their licence, the Home Office will consider if your permission to enter or remain in the UK should be cancelled. 

As long as the Home Office decides that you were not actively or knowingly involved in the reasons the sponsorship licence was revoked, it will cancel your permission so that you have 60 days to find an alternative sponsor or apply to remain in the UK under another form of leave. You should contact an immigration advisor for assistance on applying for a new visa. 

You will not be able to work in the meantime and your dependents’ rights to work will also be curtailed.

If you are dismissed from your employment, your sponsor should notify the Home Office within 10 working days. You should receive a letter informing you that your leave has been curtailed to 60 days. 

If you want to stay in the UK beyond that 60 days, you will either have to find a new sponsor or apply to remain in the UK under another form of leave. It is essential that you make any new visa application before your existing visa expires. You should contact an immigration advisor for advice on whether you are eligible for a different type of visa. 

If you decide to remain in the UK, you might be able to challenge your dismissal as unfair. Applications for unfair dismissal must be made to the Employment Tribunal within three months of dismissal. For further information on making a claim to the Employment Tribunal see LCNI Employment Tribunal Guide (lawcentreni.org).

If you are unable to find a new sponsor, and can’t switch to a different visa route, you should make arrangements to leave the UK before your visa expires. 

You should be careful that you do not ‘overstay’ your visa. If you do become an ‘overstayer’ then you lose your right to be in the UK and your entitlements such as right to work in the UK and to access your healthcare. As an overstayer, you can’t apply for a new work visa. You also risk immigration enforcement i.e. being put in immigration detention and/or forcibly removed. This will adversely impact any future immigration applications.

A health and care worker’s visa will generally be issued subject to the requirement that the visa holder has no recourse to public funds. In certain circumstances, you can apply to have the ‘no recourse to public funds’ condition lifted. You should seek specialist advice from Law Centre NI on this application.

If you are subject to the no recourse to public funds condition, you may be entitled to contributory benefits if you meet other eligibility criteria. Contact your local advice agency to establish what financial assistance is available to you: Local Advice | Advice NI.

After 5 years, you might be able to apply to settle permanently in the UK (this is also known as Indefinite Leave to Remain or ILR). Once you are granted settlement, you are no longer subject to any restrictions: you can live in the UK for as long as you like, work for any employer and apply for social security benefits. You might also be able to sponsor dependent family members to come and live with you.

If you obtain settlement, you could be eligible to apply to naturalise as a British citizen after a further 12 months. 

The settlement and naturalization applications are very expensive. You should seek professional advice to ensure that you have applied correctly so you do not risk losing the application fee.