Meet the Sponsor Licence Key Personnel: Authorising Officer

As a licenced sponsor, Key Personnel operate your SMS. They each play defined and vital role in the management of your sponsorship licence. They include:

• Authorising Officer
• Key Contact
• Level 1 User
• Level 2 User

For organisations who sponsor overseas workers, the Authorising Officer (AO) is the person with overall responsibility for recruiting employees. The AO is a senior person in the organisation and they are responsible for the actions of the staff and representatives who use the SMS. All major decisions, such as addition of a legal representation or addition of a site, must go through them.

The AO is also responsible for deciding who has access to the SMS. However, the day to day management of the licence is the responsibility of the Level 1 User. Therefore, if the AO requires access to the sponsor management system (SMS) they must also be set up as a Level 1 or Level 2 User.

The Home Office recommend that the AO checks the CoS assigned to workers at least once a month.

There is only one AO on a sponsors’ SMS.

In order to be appointed an AO, there are a number of requirements that an individual must meet. For example, the AO must be based in the UK and must not have any unspent criminal convictions.

The AO is an essential role for all sponsorship licence holders. It is essential that there is an AO in place throughout the period which you hold a licence, otherwise the sponsor will be non-compliant and risk their licence. The Home Office can take action against sponsors for non-compliance, such as downgrading or revoking a licence. It is therefore vital to report any change in the AO.

If you require any assistance with sponsorship, please do not hesitate to contact our Head of Immigration, Julie Moktadir.