Immigration lawyers in Cardiff for sponsor licences
A Cardiff business can hire an immigration lawyer for its sponsor licence with no face-to-face meeting, since applications and supporting documents go to the Home Office online and by email. Write to us through the form on this page, and a single firm of immigration solicitors handling sponsor licence cases will get back to you.
- Cardiff's licensed sponsors628organisations, equal to 0.5% of the UK's 127,744
- Using the Skilled Worker route594of those 628 based in Cardiff
- Senior or Specialist staff transfers34sponsors transferring staff out of 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's register of licensed sponsors, edition dated 22 October 2026.
Immigration solicitors in Cardiff for sponsor licences
When employers in Cardiff look for an immigration solicitor, they usually want help with one of these:
- getting a licence on a first application
- figuring out their options after a refusal
- staying on top of their sponsor duties
- replying to a suspension letter, or handling a revocation
- sponsoring one particular worker with a licence they already hold
Each one comes with its own deadlines and its own paperwork. One regulated immigration solicitor firm receives your question and then works with you directly. What that involves is set out in our general guide to immigration solicitors.
| Skilled Worker | 594 |
|---|---|
| Senior or Specialist Worker | 34 |
| Minister of Religion (old Tier 2) | 13 |
| Religious Worker | 12 |
| International Sportsperson | 11 |
| Creative Worker | 9 |
| Charity Worker | 8 |
| Government Authorised Exchange | 3 |
| Graduate Trainee | 2 |
Does your immigration lawyer need to be in Cardiff?
No, not for the licence. The application form is online, and after submitting it, the Home Office needs your supporting documents by email within 5 working days (Appendix A, sections 1.3 and 1.5). If a caseworker has any question, your key contact gets it by email. The licence names that person as the Home Office's main contact. That means a firm anywhere in the UK can handle a Cardiff application for you by email and video.
Visits are the exception. A compliance visit by the Home Office happens at your premises, or at the place your sponsored staff work, and it may come unannounced (sponsor guidance Part 3).
Cardiff employers that hold a sponsor licence
The Home Office register of 22 October 2026 lists 628 organisations giving Cardiff as their town (GOV.UK register). Of the UK's 127,744 licensed sponsors, that is about 0.5%, and it leaves Cardiff between Oxford (626) and Sheffield (693) among the register's 5,763 towns. Of the sponsors in Cardiff, 594 hold a Skilled Worker licence. Look up a named employer on our register search.
Keeping a Cardiff licence compliant
Your licence means most changes to your organisation must be reported within 20 working days, using the sponsorship management system (SMS) (Part 3, section C2). This online account is the Home Office's tool for sponsors. A suspension letter also gives you 20 working days to reply in writing (Part 3, section C9). Solicitors are usually brought in by employers during that short window. The day-to-day obligations are set out in our guide to sponsor duties.
What lawyers charge and the documents to collect first
Every solicitor sets their own prices. Among firms that publish their prices, £3,000 to £4,500 plus VAT is what two charge for a sponsor licence application. Whichever firm replies, the quote you get will be its own. It helps to have these ready before you make contact (Appendix A):
- your latest annual accounts, or a Companies House link if they are online for free
- a bank statement for your business, dated recently
- proof from HMRC that you are registered for PAYE, with your employer reference on it
- a list of staff showing each person's job title, if your workforce is no more than 50 people
- who takes each licence management role: the authorising officer, the key contact, and the level 1 user (GOV.UK)
Questions Cardiff employers ask about immigration lawyers
How do I confirm a Cardiff immigration lawyer is regulated?
Since Cardiff is in Wales, the Solicitors Regulation Authority regulates its solicitors, and you can find each one on the SRA register. A Find a Solicitor directory is also run by the Law Society of England and Wales. If your adviser is not a solicitor, search the adviser finder run by the Immigration Advice Authority. It shows what level of work any adviser may take on. GOV.UK gives a warning: if an adviser is not regulated, you cannot get your money back.
What happens if our Cardiff licence application was refused?
If you applied without success in the last 6 months, you will usually not be given a licence (GOV.UK). A review is only possible if the caseworker made a mistake or failed to consider your documents; disagreeing alone is not enough (GOV.UK). By looking at the refusal letter, a solicitor can tell you which of these is the case. Our guide to refused licences has more.
Ask an immigration solicitor about your Cardiff business
Tell the firm what you are trying to do and it will answer by email.