Immigration lawyers in Aberdeen for sponsor licences
A Aberdeen business doesn't need to meet an immigration lawyer in person to instruct one for its sponsor licence, because the Home Office accepts applications and supporting documents by email and online. Write to us through the form on this page, and a firm of immigration solicitors that handles sponsor licence cases will get back to you.
- Sponsors licensed in Aberdeen497organisations, which is 0.4% of the UK's 127,744
- Under the Skilled Worker route478among the 497 in Aberdeen
- Staff transfers under the Senior or Specialist route86sponsors transferring staff from a branch overseas
- Sponsor licence fee£611 or £1,682small or charity / medium or large, paid to the Home Office
These figures come from the Home Office licensed sponsor register, 22 October 2026 edition.
Sponsor licence help from Aberdeen immigration solicitors
Support with one of the following is what Aberdeen employers tend to look for in an immigration solicitor:
- getting a licence on a first application
- understanding their options after being refused
- staying on top of their sponsor duties
- responding to a suspension letter, or handling a revocation
- sponsoring one particular worker with a licence they already have
Each one has its own paperwork and its own deadlines. One regulated firm of immigration solicitors receives your question, then works with you directly. Our general guide on immigration solicitors walks through what that involves.
| Skilled Worker | 478 |
|---|---|
| Senior or Specialist Worker | 86 |
| Charity Worker | 12 |
| Minister of Religion (old Tier 2) | 10 |
| Graduate Trainee | 8 |
| Religious Worker | 7 |
| Creative Worker | 4 |
| International Sportsperson | 3 |
| Government Authorised Exchange | 2 |
Does your immigration lawyer need to work in Aberdeen?
No, not for the licence. The application form is online, and the Home Office must receive the supporting documents by email within 5 working days of submission (Appendix A, sections 1.3 and 1.5). Your key contact gets any caseworker question by email; the licence names them as the Home Office's main contact. That means a firm located anywhere in the UK can handle your Aberdeen application over email and video.
With visits, that changes. Compliance visits from the Home Office take place at your premises, or at any site where your sponsored staff work, and they can be unannounced (sponsor guidance Part 3).
Aberdeen employers with a sponsor licence
The Home Office register dated 22 October 2026 lists 497 organisations with Aberdeen as their town (GOV.UK register). The UK has 127,744 licensed sponsors in all, so this is about 0.4%. Aberdeen ranks between Derby (513) and Wolverhampton (497) across the register's 5,763 towns. A Skilled Worker licence is held by 478 of the Aberdeen sponsors. To find a named employer, use our register search.
Keeping a Aberdeen licence compliant
Once you're licensed, most changes affecting your organisation must be reported inside 20 working days. You report through the sponsorship management system (SMS), which is the Home Office's online sponsor account (Part 3, section C2). For a suspension letter, you also have 20 working days to reply in writing (Part 3, section C9). It is in that short window that employers usually bring in a solicitor. The everyday obligations are set out in our sponsor duties guide.
Lawyer fees and the papers to get ready first
Each solicitor decides their own prices. Among the firms with published prices, a sponsor licence application costs £3,000 to £4,500 plus VAT at two of them. Whichever firm replies, it will quote you its own fee. It helps to have the following ready before you make contact (Appendix A):
- a Companies House link where your newest annual accounts appear online for free, or the accounts themselves
- a recent statement from your business bank account
- proof from HMRC that you are registered for PAYE, with your employer reference shown
- a staff list showing each person's job title, if your workforce is 50 people or fewer
- the person acting as authorising officer, the key contact, and the level 1 user: the three roles that manage a licence (GOV.UK)
Immigration lawyer questions from Aberdeen employers
How do I check that an immigration lawyer in Aberdeen is regulated?
Aberdeen sits in Scotland, so the Law Society of Scotland, not the SRA, lists its solicitors. Search the Immigration Advice Authority adviser finder instead when the adviser is not a solicitor; it shows what level of work they may do. GOV.UK warns that money paid to an adviser who is not regulated cannot be recovered (GOV.UK).
What happens if our Aberdeen licence application is refused?
A licence is not usually granted if your application failed in the last 6 months (GOV.UK). You can only ask for a review if the caseworker made a mistake or overlooked your documents; disagreeing alone is not enough (GOV.UK). Which of these applies is something a solicitor can tell you after reading the refusal letter. Our refused licence guide has more.
Ask an immigration solicitor about your Aberdeen business
Tell the firm what you are trying to do and it will answer by email.