Sponsor licence / Sponsor licence applications
Your sponsor licence application, checked before it goes in
A sponsor licence has to stand up to scrutiny from the day you apply. Borderless confirms you can sponsor and guides your team through the application, with our Iris AI agent on hand to answer questions as you go. An IAA-regulated immigration adviser reviews every document and answer before anything goes to the Home Office.
Sponsor licence application
Northgate Digital Ltd
Worker licence · first application
Adviser review
Application · 4 of 5 sections complete
Eligibility
Can sponsor · Worker licence
Complete
Key personnel
3 roles named · checks complete
Complete
Roles to sponsor
Software engineer and product designer
Complete
Liability insurance
Certificate expired · renewal requested
Requested
7 of 8 documents checked
Against the Home Office list
Review
Lul S., your immigration adviser, reviews anything that goes to the Home Office
Lul S. · 09:14
8 documents checked, 1 renewal requested
Lul S. · Adviser
Key personnel checked against the guidance
You · 11:02
Application approved for submission
Iris AI agent
Helps prepare it
Your adviser
Reviews it
You
Approve it
Trusted by sponsors of every size
Everything the application needs
A licence application asks for the right documents, the right people, and a clear plan for the roles you’ll sponsor. Whether it’s your organisation’s first licence or one for another entity in your group, these are the parts we cover with you.
01
Eligibility, checked first
Before you start, we confirm you can sponsor, which licence you need, and whether you apply as a small or large sponsor.
02
A guided application
The platform takes you through the application one section at a time, collecting the key information and documents as you go.
03
Documents checked before submission
Your adviser checks each supporting document against the Home Office list and flags anything missing or out of date.
04
Key personnel set up properly
Your Authorising Officer, Key Contact and Level 1 User, chosen with your adviser and checked against the Home Office rules.
05
The roles you’ll sponsor
Your adviser looks at which roles suit sponsorship, so the licence fits the hires you have planned.
06
After the licence is granted
Your licence moves onto the same record as your certificates and sponsored workers, ready for your first Certificate of Sponsorship.
From first check to licence decision
Check you can sponsor
A short eligibility check confirms the licence you need, and your adviser talks it through with you.
Your documents are checked
Upload as you complete each section, with Iris on hand for questions. Every supporting document is checked against the Home Office list.
Your adviser reviews it all
An IAA-regulated immigration adviser reviews the application and your key personnel before anything is submitted.
You approve, and it’s submitted
Nothing goes to the Home Office until you approve it. Your adviser handles any follow-up questions.
Eligibility
Check
Review
Submit
Can you sponsor?
A few questions before you start
Eligibility check
Trading in the UK
Yes
Criminal record check
Clear
Worker licence
Confirmed
Small sponsor
Confirmed
You can apply for a Worker licence
Notes saved to your record
Eligible
Documents checked as you go
Against the Home Office list of supporting documents
Checking against the list
Business bank statement
Valid
PAYE registration
Valid
VAT registration
Matches
Liability insurance
Expired
7 of 8 documents ready
Renewal requested from Priya S.
1 to fix
Key personnel, set up properly
Each role checked before it’s named on the licence
Priya S.
Authorising Officer · Head of People
Checked
Daniel M.
Key Contact · Operations Manager
Checked
Aisha K.
Level 1 User · runs the SMS
Checked
Reviewed by Lul S.
Immigration adviser · IAA regulated
Reviewed
You approve, and it’s submitted
Nothing goes to the Home Office until you say so
Application complete
Worker licence · 2 roles
Ready
Reviewed by Lul S.
Immigration adviser · IAA regulated
Reviewed
Logged to your audit trail
Every step, with who did it and when
Ready to submit once you approve.
Approve
Clear owners for every part of the application
Each part of the application has a clear owner, and every step is logged with who did it and when.
Iris AI agent
Helps you fill it in
Explains what each section asks for and answers questions as you go, so the application reaches your adviser complete.
Your adviser
Reviews the application
An IAA-regulated immigration adviser reviews your answers, documents and key personnel, and handles any follow-up from the Home Office.
You
Approve it
You choose your key personnel and approve the application. Nothing is submitted without your say-so.
First licences
Sponsors who started here
Each of these employers came to Borderless for its first sponsor licence, then kept sponsoring on the same record.
Technology · Sponsor licence
15
people at the AI studio when it needed its first licence
From no sponsor licence to hiring engineers worldwide.
Read the story →
Technology · Sponsor licence
$20m
seed round, with international hires needed from day one
Sponsorship set up to scale after a funding round.
Read the story →
Homecare · Sponsor licence
5
first certificates issued once the licence was in place
A sponsor licence, after turning away 80% of applicants.
Read the story →
Questions we’re often asked
How long does a sponsor licence application take?
The Home Office says most applications are decided in less than eight weeks. A priority service is available for an extra fee, aiming for a decision within 10 working days, but only a small number of places are offered each working day.
Who needs to be named on the licence?
An Authorising Officer, a Key Contact, and at least one Level 1 User. One person can hold all three roles. Your adviser checks each person against the Home Office rules before they’re named.
What happens once the licence is granted?
You can start requesting Certificates of Sponsorship and sponsoring hires. Your licence, your certificates, and every sponsored worker sit on the same record, with the same advisers behind them.
Apply with every document checked and every role ready
Book a tour of the platform, from the eligibility check to your first Certificate of Sponsorship, with time for your questions.