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How do I sponsor a migrant worker?

An interview panel

Tier 5 - government authorised exchange

This page explains who can sponsor migrants under the Tier 5 - government authorised exchange category of the points-based system, and how the schemes work.

Types of scheme

All schemes are in one of three categories:

  • A work experience programme. These schemes offer work experience including volunteering, job shadowing and internships for a maximum of 12 months. This includes work exchange programmes between the UK and other countries outside the European Economic Area.The aim of the scheme must be for migrants to gain experience of work in the UK.
  • A research programme. These schemes are to allow migrants to undertake research programmes and fellowships for a maximum of 12 months on a scientific, academic, medical, or government research project at a UK higher education institution or another research institution operating under the authority of a relevant government department. The relevant government department may also be offering financial sponsorship to the institution.
  • A training programme. These schemes offer migrants formal, practical training in the fields of science and medicine for a maximum of 24 months. This includes training programmes created for qualifying postgraduate students who need to undergo a period of formal training to gain their full qualification before leaving the UK.

Who can establish these schemes?

Individual employers and organisations are not allowed to sponsor migrants under this category, even if you are licensed as a sponsor under other tiers or other sub-categories of the points-based system. The only exceptions to this are:

  • if you are a government department or an executive agency of a government department; or 
  • a Higher Education Institution (HEI) and you are recruiting:

- a sponsored researcher; or 
- a visiting academic who will give lectures, act as an examiner or work on a supernumerary research collaboration.

Apart from the exceptions above, the sponsor for a Tier 5 (Government authorised exchange) scheme must always be an overarching body which is willing to administer the exchange scheme and act as the licensed sponsor for any migrants participating in the scheme.

The category of visitor undertaking permitted paid engagements is an alternative way for visiting academics to come to the UK for no more than 1 month to carry out certain permitted paid engagements. If you use Tier 5 (Government authorised exchange) to sponsor academics, it may be more convenient for them to use this visiting category instead.

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How long does it take to set up a scheme?

We cannot be specific about how long it will take to set up a new government authorised exchange scheme as there are several factors involved.

Migrants cannot participate in a new scheme until it has been added to Appendix N of the Immigration Rules and that will usually only be possible in April and October each year. As a general rule, we recommend that you allow around 3-4 months to establish a scheme and get a sponsor licence. Precisely when you do this will dictate when migrants can start to participate.

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What is the overarching body?

If you wish to set up a scheme under Tier 5 (Government authorised exchange) and cannot act as the overarching body (for example if you want a sector-wide scheme but you only represent a small part of your sector), you should try to find an organisation that can be the overarching body. Consider the schemes that have already been approved because one may already cover what you want to do, or could be expanded to include it.

A specific trade or sector body may like to be involved in establishing a scheme and acting as the overarching body. A private recruitment company may be willing and able to act as the overarching body, for example if they organise specific kinds of internships for overseas graduates.

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Gaining endorsement

The overarching body must choose a relevant government department (or one of its executive agencies) and write to it giving full details of the scheme it wants to establish, and ask whether it will endorse the scheme.

If you are the prospective overarching body and do not know who to contact in your chosen government department, email Tier5GAEEnquiries@ukba.gsi.gov.uk and we will help you contact the right person. We cannot tell you whether the scheme you are proposing is likely to be approved.

Government departments (or their executive agencies) are expected to select schemes that meet the following requirements.

  • The scheme must not harm the resident labour market. Migrants coming to the UK to take part in work experience schemes must not fill vacancies in the workforce and must do work that is additional to normal staffing requirements.
  • Any work the migrant does must be at a skill level of NQF level 3 (or the equivalent in Scotland) or above. The only exception to this is when the migrant is coming to the UK through a scheme set up as part of the EU Lifelong Learning Programme. In this case the migrant may do vocational education and training at a lower skill level.
  • The scheme must help the government department (or its executive agency) meet one of more of its published aims or contribute to its wider objectives.
  • The employment must conform to all relevant UK and European employment legislation, such as the National Minimum Wage Act and the EU working time directive.
  • The scheme must include measures that protect it from being abused.

The government department or executive agency will contact us to discuss whether your requirements fit within what is permitted and within the government's wider aims and objectives for immigration control.

If the government department or executive agency decides to endorse the scheme, its relevant accounting officer must send a letter of endorsement to our chief executive, giving your details as the overarching body and officially confirming that:

  • the exchange scheme satisfies all the requirements it must meet when selecting schemes to support;
  • the exchange scheme will help it deliver one or more of its published aims or contribute to its wider objectives;
  • it is satisfied to the best of its knowledge that the overarching body is capable of meeting its sponsor duties; and
  • if significant numbers of migrants under the exchange scheme break the immigration rules, it accepts that we may end the scheme.

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Our approval

Once the relevant government department or executive agency has endorsed the scheme, we will decide whether or not to approve it.

If we approve your scheme, we will write to the supporting government department or executive agency to confirm that it meets the requirements and that we agree with the terms of the scheme as set out in the department's letter to us. The department will send you a copy of that letter.

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Applying for your licence

When we have approved your scheme, you can apply for a sponsor licence under Tier 5 (Government authorised exchange).

If we approve your licence application, we will then add your scheme to Appendix N of the Immigration Rules. The Immigration Rules are updated twice a year in April and October. Although you will be able to assign certificates of sponsorship before your scheme is added to Appendix N, you should tell the people you assign them to not to apply before this has done. If they make their application befre your scheme has been added to Appendix N, their application will be refused.

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More information

If you are interested in setting up a government authorised exchange scheme and you have an question, please email Tier5GAEenquiries@ukba.gsi.gov.uk.

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