Academic Institutions & Higher Education

ICS Legal works closely with educational and academic institutions to supporting on their sponsor licence applications and manage their student programs. This would also include skilled workers within the organisations. 

Through our experience we have developed relationships with both educational sponsors and Home Office, to ensure that compliance requirements are being met. Home Office places both trust and a requirement for institutions to manage their sponsorship licence. 

Both institutions and students face tremendous immigration complexity and requirements, including compliance, visa process including CAS allocations. Students look at a global scope of structuring their careers, so getting the right help through their immigration program is important. 

Our approach to advising and helping both institutions and students is to ensure that immigration changes that impact the sponsor licence and student visa processes are filtered through the right channels. 

Sponsor Licence applications

The Home Office's introduction of the sponsor licence applications is to prevent abuse and protect students to fall into financial loss. An educational provider including a non-profit is required to hold a valid sponsor licence. 

The initial sponsor licence is granted for a limited time period and this is when the Home Office does checks to ensure the educational institution is complying with the sponsor licence guidance. After the period, subject to changes, the Home Office will ask the sponsor licence holder to confirm the assessment before a full grant of licence is given. 

ICS Legal helps educational institutions to apply for a sponsor licence, putting together the application and specified evidence, as a refusal could prevent an educational provider from re-applying for the sponsor licence. 

Sponsor licence management (SMS) & Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies (CAS)

Once a sponsor licence is granted, the educational provider is given access to a restricted part of the Home Office system. This would then help the educational institution to sponsor students. 

This is the process is to issue a CAS, so that an international student can use the reference number to make their application to come and join the institution to complete their studies in the UK. The CAS document contains details of the course the student intends to follow including the school fees and how they were assessed. 

The process is the same if a student requires to do a student extension. On each application, a student is required to provide their sponsorship through the CAS document. 

An educational provider must be able to use the sponsor licence management platform correctly or they can risk losing their licence. ICS Legal helps and manages the sponsor licence management platform. 

Student visa process and application

Students would be required to apply for a visa either in the UK or outside of the UK. There are specified requirements to be met at the date of application. The Home Office continues to update and repeal where required immigration policies to ensure the student visa process is used by those intending to study in the UK as their main activities. 

To avoid abuse of the student visa route, the Home Office requires students to have a valid CAS, meet the assessment requirements, demonstrate academic progression unless exempted and meet the financial requirements and English language requirements. 

Skilled worker visas

Educational providers are allowed to recruit skilled workers to help with their organisational needs. The process is somewhat similar to a student migration. 
 
Audit and compliance meetings including training

ICS Legal offers a bespoke audit process to ensure educational providers are compliant with immigration policies and maintain a record of compliance.

We will provide guidance, help prepare guidance including policies, and train staff to ensure the sponsor licence compliance requirements are being met.