Immigration lawyers in Nottingham for sponsor licences
A Nottingham business can instruct an immigration lawyer for its sponsor licence without ever meeting in person, as the Home Office accepts licence applications and supporting documents by email and online. One firm of immigration solicitors handling sponsor licence cases will reply if you contact us with the form on this page.
- Sponsors with a licence in Nottingham1,050organisations, which is 0.8% of the UK's 127,744
- Under the Skilled Worker route1,004out of Nottingham's 1,050
- Transfers that are Senior or Specialist40sponsors who move staff over from a branch overseas
- Sponsor licence fee£611 or £1,682small or charity / medium or large, paid to the Home Office
These numbers come from the Home Office's licensed sponsor register, 22 October 2026 edition.
Immigration solicitors in Nottingham for a sponsor licence
When Nottingham employers look for an immigration solicitor, they usually want help with one of these:
- getting a licence on a first-time application
- weighing up 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 hold
Each one has its own papers, and its own deadlines. One regulated immigration solicitor firm receives your question, then works with you directly. What that involves is set out in our general guide to immigration solicitors.
| Skilled Worker | 1,004 |
|---|---|
| Senior or Specialist Worker | 40 |
| International Sportsperson | 24 |
| Minister of Religion (old Tier 2) | 20 |
| Charity Worker | 13 |
| Religious Worker | 13 |
| Creative Worker | 8 |
| Graduate Trainee | 3 |
| Government Authorised Exchange | 2 |
Does your immigration lawyer need to be in Nottingham?
No, not for the licence. You complete the application form online, and your supporting documents must be emailed to the Home Office within 5 working days of submission (Appendix A, sections 1.3 and 1.5). Your key contact gets any caseworker questions by email. The licence names them as the Home Office's main contact. That means a firm based anywhere in the UK can handle a Nottingham application for you by email and video.
Visits are the exception. With a Home Office compliance visit, inspectors come to your premises, or to any site where your sponsored staff work, and you may get no warning (sponsor guidance Part 3).
Nottingham employers that hold a sponsor licence
The Home Office register of 22 October 2026 shows 1,050 organisations with Nottingham as their town (GOV.UK register). Of 127,744 licensed sponsors UK-wide, Nottingham accounts for about 0.8%. Among the 5,763 register towns, it falls between Leeds (1,083) and Ilford (942). A Skilled Worker licence is held by 1,004 of the Nottingham sponsors. To look up an employer by name, use our register search.
Keeping compliant with a licence in Nottingham
Once your licence is granted, most changes to your organisation have to be reported within 20 working days. You do this in SMS, the sponsorship management system, the Home Office's online account that sponsors log into (Part 3, C2). A suspension letter also gives you 20 working days to reply in writing (Part 3, section C9). Employers tend to call in a solicitor during that short window. The day-to-day obligations are set out in our sponsor duties guide.
What lawyers charge, and which papers to gather first
Prices are set by each solicitor. A sponsor licence application costs £3,000 to £4,500 plus VAT at two of the firms that publish their prices. Whichever firm replies, it will give you its own quote. Before getting in touch, it helps to have these ready (Appendix A):
- your latest annual accounts, or a link to them posted free on Companies House
- a recent bank statement for the business
- proof from HMRC that you are registered for PAYE, with your employer reference shown
- a staff list with job titles for each person, if your headcount is 50 or under
- who fills each role for managing the licence: level 1 user, authorising officer, and key contact (GOV.UK)
Questions Nottingham employers ask about immigration lawyers
How do I check whether a Nottingham immigration lawyer is regulated?
Nottingham sits in England, so its solicitors are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and appear on the SRA register. There is also a Find a Solicitor directory run by the Law Society of England and Wales. If you're dealing with a non-solicitor adviser, search the Immigration Advice Authority adviser finder to see the level of work any adviser may do. If an adviser is not regulated, you cannot get your money back, GOV.UK warns (GOV.UK).
If our Nottingham licence application was refused, what could we do?
Applying unsuccessfully in the last 6 months usually means you won't get a licence (GOV.UK). You can only ask for a review if the caseworker made a mistake or overlooked your documents; disagreeing alone isn't enough (GOV.UK). Which of these applies is something a solicitor can work out from your refusal letter. Our refused licence guide has more.
Ask an immigration solicitor about your Nottingham business
Tell the firm what you are trying to do and it will answer by email.