Do you need one and how do you get it?

If you run an NHS or mixed practice, you already know how hard it has become to recruit associate dentists. You may also have heard about Skilled Worker visas and sponsor licences and felt that it all sounds complicated, expensive and legal.

A lot of owners and practice managers still remember the pre Brexit world. EEA and Swiss dentists could usually work in the United Kingdom without a visa. Only dentists from outside Europe needed what was then called a Tier 2 visa. Many clinics still assume they can simply hire from Europe as before.

Today that picture has changed. Almost all overseas dentists now need a Skilled Worker visa for dentists. If you want to bring them into your practice and keep them long term, you usually need a sponsor licence for dental practices.

This article explains, in plain language, what Skilled Worker sponsorship is, whether you need a sponsor licence to hire an overseas dentist, how to get a sponsor licence for your practice and how Dentello supports clinics that are hiring dentists through the platform. It is general information, not legal advice. For complex situations you should always check the latest UKVI guidance or speak to an immigration specialist.

1.What is a Skilled Worker visa for dentists and do you need a sponsor licence?

The Skilled Worker visa (previously Tier 2) for overseas dentists is now the main route for non UK dentists who want to work here on a long term basis.

For your practice, it means three simple things.

Your practice holds a sponsor licence with the Home Office.
You assign a Certificate of Sponsorship to the dentist.
The dentist uses that certificate to apply for their Skilled Worker visa for dentists and then works in your practice under agreed hours, salary and role.

You do not own the dentist and they are not tied to you forever. However, you do have responsibilities. You must pay them correctly, keep proper records and tell UKVI about certain changes, for example if they stop attending or leave.

In simple terms, if you want to employ most overseas dentists on a long term basis, the answer to the question “do I need a sponsor licence to hire an overseas dentist” is usually yes.

2.Why many practices still do not have a sponsor licence

A sponsor licence is official permission from the Home Office that allows your practice to provide UK visa sponsorship for employers who want to hire Skilled Worker migrants.

To get one you have to show that you are a genuine trading organisation, that you have appropriate registrations such as CQC and NHS contracts, that you have basic HR systems to record attendance and contact details and that you understand your main duties as a sponsor.

Many practices have not applied yet for three common reasons.

They remember the time before Brexit and still assume they can easily recruit from Europe without a visa.
The language on UKVI pages feels technical and off putting.
They worry they will spend thousands on legal fees for something they may only use once.

In reality, for most established NHS or mixed practices it is achievable with clear guidance and some organised preparation.

3.How to get a sponsor licence for your dental practice

The official process has a lot of detail, but in practical terms it can be viewed in four steps. This is the bit that directly answers how to get a sponsor licence for your dental practice and how do I get a sponsorship licence in the UK.

First, you confirm that you are eligible. The practice is trading, has the right registrations and does not have serious immigration or criminal issues in its history.

Second, you gather documents. You collect items such as accounts, insurance, bank statements, proof of premises and details of directors or partners. This is often where clinics stall, not because it is difficult but because no one has time to pull everything together.

Third, you submit the application online and send your documents within the required timeframe. You pay the Home Office sponsor licence fee directly to the government. If you use lawyers, you usually also pay a professional fee for them to prepare and submit the application.

Fourth, you respond to any checks. UKVI may ask questions or in some cases visit you to confirm that your systems exist in real life. If you have been properly prepared and have basic HR processes in place, this stage is usually straightforward.

Once approved, you become an A rated sponsor and can assign Certificates of Sponsorship to specific dentists. They then use those certificates to apply for their Skilled Worker visa for dentists. There are further government fees at this stage, such as the certificate fee and the Immigration Skills Charge.

4.What you must do once you have a licence

After approval, your main duties as a sponsor are simple but important.

You keep accurate records for your sponsored dentists.
You update UKVI when required, for example if a dentist leaves, moves to a different site or their role changes in a significant way.
You renew the licence at the required time.

In many clinics, these duties can be built into existing HR or admin processes, as long as someone creates a clear checklist and assigns responsibility.

5.Why clinics often go straight to law firms

Because sponsorship and visas sit in a legal and regulatory world, many practices feel they have no choice but to pay an immigration law firm to handle the sponsor licence and then pay a recruitment agency separately to find a dentist.

That can leave you with three moving parts. A law firm handles the licence. An agency charges a one off placement fee. The practice carries the risk if the dentist underperforms or leaves.

Legal work has value, but it does not solve the wider workforce problem and it often makes the total cost of hiring an overseas dentist higher than it needs to be.

This is the gap Dentello is designed to close.

6.How Dentello supports sponsorship for partner clinics

Dentello is a clinical workforce platform rather than a traditional agency. The model combines recruitment, performance linked contracts and safeguards, and support with UKVI, visas and onboarding.

For clinics that hire a dentist through Dentello, we work with our legal partners to manage sponsorship and visa steps as part of one joined up service rather than as a separate legal project.

The key points are clear.

For the sponsor licence application, you pay the Home Office fee and the legal work at cost price. Dentello does not add a margin on top of what our legal partners charge us. This makes it easier for clinics that are asking how to get a sponsor licence but are worried about legal costs.

For the Skilled Worker visa for dentists application itself, Dentello absorbs the legal or professional fee for preparing and submitting the visa application. You or the dentist still pay the mandatory government fees, but you do not pay an additional law firm fee for the application work.

In practice, this gives you a realistic workforce plan built around your UDA demand, pre vetted dentists who are matched to your clinic and sponsorship and visa support rolled into the same relationship. You avoid paying large one off agency placement fees and separate legal retainers just to unlock access to overseas dentists.

7.When sponsorship is worth considering

Sponsorship is not the right answer for every clinic. It is most useful when you have ongoing UDA demand and long term vacancies, you are willing to support and integrate overseas dentists properly, you want a stable workforce rather than constant locum spend and you are no longer getting results from local recruitment alone.

If that sounds like your situation, a sponsor licence is less about bureaucracy and more about opening a serious pipeline of talent, especially when most of the heavy lifting is done for you.

Final note and next steps

This guide is general information only and not legal advice. Immigration rules change and each practice has its own details to consider.

If you would like to understand what sponsorship and a Dentello workforce partnership would look like for your clinic, the simplest next step is to book a short call with the team. Together you can look at whether you are a good candidate for a sponsor licence, how many dentists you might realistically support and what the costs look like, including where Dentello passes fees on at cost and where Dentello absorbs the legal work.