Immigration roundup - for schools which hold Child Student visa sponsor licences

A recent message posted by UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) to the Sponsorship Management System (SMS) message board - which all holders of Student and Worker sponsor licences will see each time they login to the SMS - requires all sponsors to make two updates to the system. The first is to ensure that the National Insurance numbers of the Authorising Officer and Key Contact named on their licence are added to the system. Where those details are not already on the SMS then the sponsor is required to add them. If an Authoring Officer or Key Contact does not have a National Insurance number, then the sponsor will be asked to provide reasons why and may be asked to provide further evidence that they have applied for one.

The second update to the SMS which sponsors have been asked to make is to add the Companies House reference number of the legal entity which holds the licence. Some schools may not have a Companies House reference number (those which are unincorporated charities, for example) but if you do then UKVI ask that you add it to your Sponsor Management System "at your earliest convenience".

UKVI say that the provision of these reference numbers will help them monitor changes more effectively and will also "aid the migration of sponsors to the transformed sponsorship system". It is common knowledge that UKVI already conduct routine checks of sponsors' Companies House records to monitor whether any reportable events have occurred that they have not yet been advised of, such as a change in ownership (which in some circumstances will require an application for a new licence). The reason for the requirement to provide National Insurance numbers is a little less clear but is perhaps to help UKVI check whether individuals named on the licence meet the requirements to hold those positions. We understand that future upgrades to the SMS will allow these checks to be conducted automatically using data shared with UKVI by Companies House and HM Revenue & Customs.

Home Office offer Study Sector Support service

Holders of Student/Child Student sponsor licences now have access to a new service being offered by UKVI for no extra charge. The Study Sector Support Team offer the following services to sponsor licence holders:

• Immigration Health Surcharge, immigration history, Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies, and visa application and cancellation related queries
• Telephone support for emergencies involving sponsored students
• Policy related queries
• BRP and eVisa corrections

Further information about the service - including a form to register for the online Account Management Portal (AMP) through which queries can be submitted - can be found here.

While this service does look particularly useful, from time-to-time schools will still have immigration or sponsorship queries that they would prefer not to raise with UKVI, or which may also require advice on safeguarding, your Parent Contract, or other aspects of the school's activities. We would of course be happy to assist you in those circumstances.

Fee increases

Schools which sponsor visa applications by their overseas pupils should also be aware of recent and forthcoming increases to the fees associated with Student and Child Student visa applications. On 4 October the application fee for a Student or Child Student visa application increased from £363 to £490. This brings the fee for overseas applications in line with the fee for applications submitted from within the UK. In addition, the priority processing fee for overseas visa applications, which aims to decide visa applications within one week instead or the usual three weeks, has increased from £250 to £500.

Additionally, regulations for increasing the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) have been laid before parliament, so we now know that an IHS increase will take effect on or after 16 January 2024. For Student and Child Student visa applicants (as well as applicants for Youth Mobility Scheme and dependent child visas) the IHS will increase from £470 per year to £776. Schools which also sponsor workers (e.g. under the Skilled Worker or Charity Worker immigration routes) should be aware that the IHS for applicants for those visas will increase from £624 per year to £1,035.

Child Student visa sponsorship support from VWV

VWV's experienced immigration team offer a range of services to provide independent schools with the confidential and impartial support they need, including:

• An immigration helpline - offered as either a "pay as you go" or fixed monthly retainer
• Immigration Manager - the online tool developed in partnership with ITQ Metis and which is designed to help schools and parents manage the sponsorship and visa application process
• Our Right to Study policy and queries
• Advice and support in relation to the sponsorship of workers, and their visa applications
• Audits of sponsorship systems, processes, and records
• Training - both bespoke and as part of our regular programme of training events for schools

For further information on these developments, or any other immigration issues, please contact our Immigration team on 0121 227 3700 or complete the form below.