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Managing Sponsor Licenses, Businesses and Users

This guide explains how to apply for a new sponsor license or integration an existing license and how to add and manage businesses, sites, and users within the Borderless platform.

Written by Tom Hext

Integrate an Existing Sponsor Licence

Step 1: Open the Sponsor Licence Area

  1. Go to Onboarding in Borderless.

  2. Click Add a sponsor licence.

  3. You will be taken to the Sponsor licences area.

From here, you can manage:

  • Sponsor licences

  • Businesses

  • Work locations (sites)

  • Users

Step 2: Start the Integration

  1. Click Add licence.

  2. Select Integrate an existing sponsor licence.

  3. Click Continue.

Step 3: Select or Create a Business

  1. Choose the business this licence belongs to.

  2. If the business is not listed, click Create a new business and add it.

  3. Click Submit, then Continue.

💡 The sponsor licence must be linked to the correct business. This controls which sites and users are attached later.

Step 4: Add Borderless as a Representative

You will see a task list. The first task is to add Borderless as a representative on your Sponsor Management System (SMS).

  1. Click the task to open instructions.

  2. Log into the Sponsor Management System (SMS).

  3. Open your Licence summary.

Enter the following into Borderless:

  • Organisation name

  • Organisation address

  • Sponsor licence number

Then enter details of your Authorising Officer.

This must match the Authorising Officer currently listed on your sponsor licence.

Step 5: Submit the Change in SMS

In SMS:

  1. Go to Licence summary

  2. Click Request changes to licence details

  3. Click Request any other change to your licence details

  4. Select Appoint a representative

  5. Copy the text provided in Borderless into the SMS text box

  6. Click Next and submit

After submission, SMS will generate a Change request number.

⚠️ SMS may ask you to sign a submission sheet at this stage. Ignore this in SMS. You will sign it inside Borderless in the next step.

Step 6: Enter the Change Request Number

  1. Return to Borderless.

  2. Paste the Change request number into the form.

  3. Click Submit.

Step 7: Sign the Submission Sheet in Borderless

  1. Click Sign document.

  2. Review the Sponsor submission sheet.

  3. Add your signature.

  4. Click Sign.

  5. Click Submit for review.

Borderless will:

  • Review your submission

  • Request priority from the Home Office to be added as your representative

Step 8: Add Borderless as a Level 1 User

Once Borderless is added as a representative, a second task will appear.

In SMS:

  1. Go to Licence summary

  2. Click Manage Level 1 and 2 users

  3. Click Request a Level 1 user

  4. Complete the form using the details provided in Borderless

You will need the Representative reference number, which is sent once Borderless is added as a representative.

  1. Enter the reference number.

  2. Submit the request in SMS.

  3. Return to Borderless and click Submit for review.

Borderless will request priority again for Level 1 access.

Once approved, your sponsor licence integration is complete.

Track Applications

To check progress:

  1. Go to Sponsor licences

  2. Click View applications

You can see:

  • Ongoing integrations

  • New sponsor licence applications

  • Current status updates

Apply for a New Sponsor Licence

Step 1: Start a New Application

  1. Click Add licence

  2. Select Applying for a new sponsor licence

  3. Choose a business or create a new one

  4. Click Submit, then Continue

Step 2: Complete the 7 Required Sections

You will see a checklist of seven sections.

💡 If Iris is enabled on your account, you can get help on these sections as you go. Use the "Ask Iris about this form" bar at the top of a section to see what a field means, what the Home Office expects, and to accept suggested answers that you confirm. Read more in Iris, your form assistant for sponsor licence applications.

1. Company Background

Provide:

  • Company information

  • Details of any current or past sponsor licences

2. Registered Details and Supporting Documents

Enter:

  • Registered name

  • Registered address

Upload supporting documents such as:

  • Registration documents

  • Proof of ownership

  • HMRC documents

  • Accounts

  • Office confirmation

3. Prospective Roles

Add the roles you intend to sponsor.

  1. Select a SOC code or use smart search

  2. Name the role

  3. Confirm regulatory registration if required

  4. Review and edit the job title and description

  5. Enter:

    • Typical years of sponsorship

    • Typical salary

💡 These roles act as templates for future sponsorships.

4. Employee Activity

Provide:

  • Number of UK employees

  • Examples of workers (including sponsored workers)

  • Organisation chart

  • Named individuals you intend to hire

Adding named individuals strengthens your application and stores them in Borderless for future use.

5. Authorising Officer

Provide details of the Authorising Officer.

Best practice:

  • Senior person in the company

  • Based in the UK

  • Ideally a UK citizen or settled worker

If not, at least one Level 1 user must be a UK citizen or settled worker.

6. Additional Information

Upload any extra documents that may support your application.

7. Declarations

Tick all three declaration boxes and submit your application.

Track Progress During Application

At any time, you can:

  • View the sponsor licence timeline

  • Upload additional documents

  • See what has been submitted to the Home Office

  • Click into the licence to manage it

Manage Your Sponsor Licence After Setup

Once your sponsor licence is active, you can manage:

Documents

View all documents uploaded as part of your application or integration. These documents can be reused in an additional Sponsor Licence application or in a COS request, and can also be managed from here, including:

  • Upload new documents

  • Replace expired or expiring documents

  • Upload documents visible only to you

Businesses

  • View existing businesses

  • Add additional businesses if needed

Sites (Work Locations)

Before adding sponsored workers or users, you must add at least one site. Sites are your work locations where employees will work. If you only have one location, it can match your business address.

Users

  1. Click Add a new user

  2. Choose a permission level:

    • Owner

    • Editor

    • Viewer

  3. Assign access to specific businesses and sites

⚠️ If no sites appear when adding a user, return to the sponsor licence page and add a site first.

Understanding User Permission Levels

When you add a user you assign one of three permission levels. This controls what that person can see and do across your businesses and sites.

Owner (full access)

Owners have the highest level of access and can do everything in Borderless. In addition to everything an Editor can do, only an Owner can:

  • Manage staff, meaning create, edit and delete other users

  • Create sponsorships, which starts the offer and hiring flow

  • Submit offer drafts

  • Move individuals between sites, including bulk moves

  • Create invoices and process CoS request payments

  • Create and delete sponsorship roles within CoS requests

  • Manage integration connections and settings

Editor (create and edit)

Editors can manage most day to day setup and casework, but cannot manage users, payments or sponsorships. Editors can:

  • Create and edit businesses and sites

  • Create and edit employment records

  • Manage all sponsor licence sections, namely About Company, Getting Started, Additional Info, Prospective Roles, Authorising Officer, Employee Activity and Integration

  • Create, submit and delete prospective roles

  • Submit a sponsor licence for Borderless review

  • Upload documents through DocuSeal

  • Initiate CoS workflow runs

  • Carry out all read operations

Editors cannot manage staff, create sponsorships, submit offer drafts, move individuals between sites, create invoices or process payments, or create and delete sponsorship roles.

Viewer (read only)

Viewers have read only access and cannot create, edit or delete anything. Viewers can:

  • View all sponsor licence sections

  • View employment record counts

  • View identity verification extracted data

  • Read across the platform generally

Viewers cannot make any changes, manage staff, modify sponsorships, employment records or sponsor licences, or take any payment or invoice action.

Quick reference

  • Manage staff: Owner only

  • Create sponsorships: Owner only

  • Submit offer drafts: Owner only

  • Create invoices and process payments: Owner only

  • Move individuals between sites: Owner only

  • Create and delete sponsorship roles: Owner only

  • Create and edit businesses and sites: Owner and Editor

  • Create and edit employment records: Owner and Editor

  • Manage sponsor licence sections: Owner and Editor

  • Create, submit and delete prospective roles: Owner and Editor

  • View sponsor licence sections: all three levels

  • View employment counts: all three levels

  • View identity verification data: all three levels

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