Have you always intended to launch your international career? Planned to work abroad? Dreamt of the travel opportunities, higher salaries & brilliant future prospects? The 1st step forward is getting a Work Visa.
A Work Visa is an approval by a foreign government that allows the visa holder to work in their country for a specific employer. Visa sponsorship is a set of documents that guarantees your working status and job profile in the country of your professional aspirations. So, if you are looking to relocate, you would need to find a job & the employer, in turn, has to be willing to hire a non-resident employee for the particular job profile.
Work Visa Sponsorship
If you want to get married, you require a person to get married to. Similarly, if you want to get a work visa, you require a sponsor. A Visa / Employment sponsorship means that the employer in the foreign country is hiring you
- Your sponsor will submit an application on your behalf
- Your sponsor will guarantee that you will be a legal working resident
- The sponsor will state that you will work the job position they hired you for
- They will also need to justify hiring a foreign employee, prove that there are no qualified local citizens available and willing to do the job
- They must meet specific financial requirements, such as having enough money to support you while you are in the country
- Potential employers may also be asked to apply for a Labor market Impact Assessment by the host nation that allows someone to enter its country for employment purposes.
How to find Sponsorships?
Step by step approach and proper research may lend you your ideal sponsor.
Step 1:
Look for a job in the Visa Sponsors database and make a list of companies.
Step 2:
Apply for the job and get an offer. The best way would be to apply to companies that have already sponsored several visa petitions.
Several private companies offer assistance with obtaining work visas and support. You can also contact immigration lawyers in your area and ask for recommendations.
How to get a Sponsorship letter?
Employers produce a job offer for the potential employee and send supporting documents to the immigration department. This document contains several forms & other files that relate to the employee’s recruitment details and justify the company’s need to hire an immigrant. These also include statements where the company ensures that they are willingly going through this recruitment. This set of documents is called the Visa Sponsorship letters.
Following steps are followed in this process:
Step 1:
The employee gets an offer from the employer including the contract that goes into the sponsorship documents.
Step 2:
The employer has to produce a certification to prove that it could not find a suitable employee within the country.
Step 3:
The petition along with the documents like, contracts, itineraries qualifications etc are submitted in the country’s immigration department.
Step 4:
The visa sponsorship application is processed and if approved, both the employer and employee are informed. If the application is rejected, the employer and employee are informed accordingly with the reason for the rejection. This could be the lack of employee qualification or inadequate documentation.
How long is the Sponsor visa valid?
If your research & paperwork is good and all the eligibility criteria are duly matched, you get a work visa sponsorship. You are done with the difficult part of it. However, it is very important to know how long it will last. The validity of a visa will depend upon the type of visa you have. Work visa lasts anywhere from 5 to 10 years. The validity of your work permit depends on your host country and the type of work you have. Most work visas are issued for the same duration as your work contract. Once the permit expires, you will need to leave the country or apply for an extension. The employer can apply again for the sponsorship and you could get the visa again.
Work visa sponsorships are not permanent and you cannot stay in a foreign country indefinitely.
Work visa guidelines
- You can’t switch employers without notifying the immigration authorities.
- If you do switch employers, you will have to work in the same industry as when you initially applied for the work visa
- You must continue to be employed to have a valid work visa
- If unemployed, you have few months to find a new job and reapply for the work-visa
The work visa requirements vary from country to country, but some standard requirements apply in most cases. Sponsorship is the only direct way available for you to realize your abroad dream. So, plan ahead, research properly, complete your documentation and you can be on your way to explore new places and work in different countries.