Sponsor Licence Experts Ltd
An OISC regulated consultancy with expertise in UK business immigration
Our area of expertise is employer-led sponsorship – helping UK organisations of all sizes to make use of the Skilled Worker and Intra-Company Transfer immigration routes. We also help employers and individuals with a wide range of other visa applications for the UK, including Indefinite Leave to Remain and British Citizenship.
Our core values
Technical excellence
After all, why would you engage an immigration consultancy if they don’t know what they’re doing?! We believe that truly knowing our stuff is the most important part of our service – that 95% of immigration questions have a definite answer, and where there is genuine ambiguity, we help our clients navigate it with confidence.
Trust
Trust is the foundation of any successful business relationship. We are responsive and always strive to act in a conscientious manner, taking genuine responsibility for the quality of the service we provide and the consequences of our actions – whether applications are approved or refused.
Transparency
From our first conversation, we’ll be open and upfront with you about viability, cost, timeframes and what’s required from you. And if those things change, we’ll let you know as soon as we do. We’ll send you regular updates on the progress of your case and in those rare cases where something does go wrong, we’ll let you know straight away, along with a detailed plan of how to resolve the problem.
How we work with you
Making an immigration application can be an extremely stressful and potentially life-changing experience – not just for individuals but for employers too. Our number one objective in working with you is to build a productive working relationship built on trust that allows us to de-stress the experience for you and get your application approved with the minimum of fuss. You’ll still need to prepare information and documentation, but we’ll let you know exactly what is needed and when – you don’t need to worry about getting it wrong. Our process of working with you is outlined below:
When you get in touch, we’ll often need to ask you a few questions about your situation and what you want to achieve. With a little information, we can form an accurate understanding of your case and the options open to you. Depending on the complexity of your case, we can often do this assessment in real time over the phone, and let you know straight away what your options are. If it’s more complicated, we’ll get back to you in writing within 24 hours with a full picture of your options and the timeframes and costs of any applications you might be eligible to make.
We believe in being crystal clear on costs upfront – we will always give you a full breakdown of foreseeable costs, including our professional fees (which are fixed), application fees and any other relevant costs. That way you can make an informed decision whether to proceed or not.
When you decide to go ahead with our services, we’ll send you a clear and concise client care letter setting out our understanding of your situation, what we’ll do for you and what it’ll cost. This letter forms the contract between us and sets out our responsibilities to you as well as what we need from you to complete the application.
Our client care letter can be signed digitally via your phone or computer – there’s no need to print anything out.
Our client care letter and accompanying email will outline everything we need from you to prepare and submit your application. We’ll need you to gather this information and documentation – in most cases, copies are fine. We’ll do a thorough review of everything to ensure it meets the stringent Home Office requirements and let you know if there are any problems.
In addition to reviewing your documentation, we’ll prepare the official form on your behalf and where possible, submit it on your behalf. Where you need to take additional steps – for example attending a biometric appointment – we’ll set out exactly what you need to do and when.
Once your application has been decided, we’ll explain any additional information you need to be aware of. This might include conditions attached to your visa prohibiting certain types of work, or it might be that you need to collect a Biometric Residence Permit from your local Post Office in the UK. Whatever it is, we’ll explain everything you need to know, clearly and concisely.
Throughout your case, you’ll have a single point of contact who you can reach by phone or email at any point during the working week (in an emergency or where there are tight deadlines, we are often able to help outside of office hours too). We are extremely responsive and aim to acknowledge receipt within the hour and respond to all substantive queries in one business day.
Our leadership
Tim Whittaker – Director
Tim has over 13 years of experience helping UK employers and individuals with their immigration needs and has devoted his career to providing industry-leading quality of service and innovative thinking in his field.
Tim started in the industry in 2008 and experienced first-hand the introduction of the UK’s first ‘Points Based System’, with its focus on employer compliance through the Sponsor Licensing regime. Working primarily with individual applicants and SMEs, many of whom were first-time sponsors, Tim quickly formed a profound understanding of what matters most to employers and applicants in this space – getting it right, being responsive and acting proactively. In other words, acting as a genuine trusted partner!
Most recently, Tim spent 5 years in senior management for a ‘Big 4’ accountancy firm, leading the delivery of immigration services at scale to household brands, while continuing to work with start-ups and SMEs and authoring award-winning thought leadership.
In late 2020, Tim decided to form Sponsor Licence Experts Ltd and offer his expertise to a wider range of businesses that are looking for a cost-effective way to manage their immigration requirements. Tim now focuses on what he finds most rewarding – building fantastic working relationships with SMEs and applying his encyclopaedic knowledge of the UK’s immigration system to get the best results for employers and individuals.
OISC regulation
Sponsor Licence Experts Ltd is regulated by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC). Our registration number is F202000208.
The OISC regulates immigration advisors, ensuring they are fit, competent and act in their clients’ best interests. The OISC also investigates complaints about immigration advisors and can prosecute anyone found to be delivering immigration advice illegally.
In order to legally provide immigration advice in the UK, organisations must be regulated by the OISC or another regulatory body such as the the Solicitors Regulation Authority.