Changing role for a different company within the same group

Hello,

I work for a corporate which has different brands within, each brand has its own plant and head quarter however they all are managed through the group.

There's only one company that does the sponsoring, which is the one I worked for. Now I've been offered to move to a similar role but with another brand/company in a different location in the UK, which doesn't have a sponsorship licence.
I did ask the question to HR if the other company needs to obtain a sponsorship licence and whether I'll need to re-apply for a visa with the new company, and they said No as they're both are under same group.

Can you please confirm? if you faced similar situation please share it, and let me know whether this will jeopardise my ILR application which is due in a year.

Thanks

The Sponsor licence can cover off all the various subsidiaries in the group so it is entirely possible HR are correct. BUT it is not a default grant to all companies in the group. Every part / legal entity must be noted as branch of the group licence in order that that part / legal entity can employ a Sponsored migrant under the head licence for the group.

It is a relatively simple process to add branches so it is no big deal if the part you are going to of the business was not a branch already.

I would be inclined to accept what HR say as the company has wat too much to lose if they get it wrong.

Hi Frontier,

I just asked HR and they had no clue, they thought as all the brands are managed through the same payroll and under the same group then they don't need to do anything.

Can you please direct me towards a document/page that explains this situation?

Frontier Mole wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 24, 2019 7:55 am

The Sponsor licence can cover off all the various subsidiaries in the group so it is entirely possible HR are correct. BUT it is not a default grant to all companies in the group. Every part / legal entity must be noted as branch of the group licence in order that that part / legal entity can employ a Sponsored migrant under the head licence for the group.

It is a relatively simple process to add branches so it is no big deal if the part you are going to of the business was not a branch already.

I would be inclined to accept what HR say as the company has wat too much to lose if they get it wrong.

From current guidance version 03/19

5 Sponsor’s structure
Can a licence reflect the structure of my organisation?
5. If you have a number of different offices, UK based subsidiaries or entities, locations or campuses, which we call ‘branches’ in this guidance, you can register in a number of ways, including by:
• applying for a single licence that includes your head office and all branches in the UK
• each branch applying for a separate licence
• grouping a number of branches in a single licence, such as a large UK
wide company might find it more convenient to register all of its operations in a particular region under a single licence
5.1 We may ask for evidence to show that your head office and/or group of branches listed, for any tier, are linked by common ownership or control. We assess common ownership or control of branches as we assess it for applications for a Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) licence.
5.2 We will not allow you to add a branch to another sponsor licence you hold if:
• the branch’s sponsor licence is currently suspended whilst we investigate • the branch has a B-rating
• the branch’s licence has been revoked within the past 12 months
• the branch is unable to offer a genuine vacancy that meets the suitability
criteria of your licence
5.3 If you have a number of branches that are individually licensed and we revoke the licence from one of those branches or downgrade it to a B-rating, we will not automatically remove or downgrade the licences from the other branches, but we will investigate them.
5.4 If you are licensed as a ‘head office and all UK branches’ and we revoke your licence or downgrade it to a B-rating, this will apply to all your branches. If we revoke your licence, none of your branches will be able to sponsor migrants. If you are sponsoring migrants when your licence is revoked, we will limit the permission they have to be in the UK, because they will no longer be working for a licensed sponsor. The ‘What happens to my sponsored migrants if my licence is suspended’ section of this guidance has information on what happens to migrants if we are considering action against you, or if we revoke your licence.
5.5 If any of your branches later apply for an individual licence, we will take into account any evidence of previous abuse or non-compliance, and the reasons for it, when considering the application.