The priority service offers consideration of a Sponsor Licence application within 10 working days, rather than the standard processing time of 8 weeks. From 21 June 2023, a request for priority processing will be incorporated into the online sponsor licence application form.
The organisation will be able to pay £500 for priority service at the time they pay for the sponsor licence application if priority service is available.
The daily limit of 30 priority service applications will remain in place and the option of paying for priority will not be available once the daily limit is reached.
From 21 June, requests for priority service will no longer be accepted by email. To request priority service after submitting the application, you will need to log in to the sponsor licence application account and pay the fee. If your application is already in progress, priority service will not be on offer.
The same applies if you are making an application to add a new route to your existing licence. You can also request priority service and pay the fee online.
If priority service is not available at the time you are submitting the application, you can still submit it and log into your sponsor application account the following day. You will need your user name and password to log in. You can select “Finish incomplete application” tab and, if the priority service is available, you can pay for it separately at this stage.
Types of sponsor licence eligible for priority service:
- Skilled Worker
- GBM- Senior or Specialist Worker
- GBM- Graduate Trainee
- Minister of Religion
- International Sportsperson
- Charity Worker
- Creative Worker
- Religious Worker
Types of sponsor licence not eligible for priority service:
- GBM UK Expansion Worker
- GBM Service Supplier
- GBM Secondment Worker
- Scale-up Worker
- Government Authorised Exchange
- International Agreement
- Seasonal Worker
