Checker › Sponsor

Merck Life Science UK Limited

Gillingham, Dorset · Currently licensed

Merck Life Science UK Limited holds a Home Office sponsor licence and appears on the register of licensed sponsors published 28 Oct 2026. It can sponsor overseas nationals for 3 visa routes, and its A rating means it can assign Certificates of Sponsorship normally.

First seen on register: 13 Dec 2021
Last confirmed: 28 Oct 2026 (latest edition)

Visa routes this sponsor is licensed for

Route	Visa it allows the sponsor to support	Rating	Since
Skilled Worker Worker	Skilled Worker visa (including the Health and Care Worker visa) The main UK work visa. Lets the sponsor employ overseas nationals in eligible skilled jobs, from nurses and care workers to engineers, chefs and software developers, for up to 5 years at a time, with a route to settlement.	A rating	24 Jun 2026
Global Business Mobility: Graduate Trainee Worker	Graduate Trainee visa For multinationals moving recent graduates on a structured training programme to the UK for up to a year.	A rating	11 Apr 2022
Global Business Mobility: Senior or Specialist Worker Worker	Senior or Specialist Worker visa For multinational companies transferring senior managers or specialists from an overseas branch to the UK business. Replaced the Intra-company Transfer route in April 2022.	A rating	13 Dec 2021

Previous route spans

Route	Visa	Rating	From	To
Skilled Worker Worker	Skilled Worker visa (including the Health and Care Worker visa)	A rating	21 Apr 2026	29 May 2026

Ratings: Full compliance. The sponsor can assign Certificates of Sponsorship and recruit from overseas normally. Downgraded after compliance concerns. The sponsor is on a time-limited action plan with the Home Office and cannot sponsor new workers until it is restored to an A rating. Failure to complete the plan leads to revocation. More.

Licence history

24 Jun 2026
Route added
Licensed for the Skilled Worker route with A rating: Skilled Worker visa (including the Health and Care Worker visa).
1 Jun 2026
Route removed
No longer licensed for the Skilled Worker route (Skilled Worker visa (including the Health and Care Worker visa)).
21 Apr 2026
Route added
Licensed for the Skilled Worker route with A rating: Skilled Worker visa (including the Health and Care Worker visa).
11 Apr 2022
Route added
Licensed for the Global Business Mobility: Graduate Trainee route with A rating: Graduate Trainee visa.
13 Dec 2021
Added to register
First appeared on the register of licensed sponsors.

Companies House

Company: MERCK LIFE SCIENCE UK LIMITED 00660457 matched
Status: Active
Type: Private Limited Company
Incorporated: 25 May 1960
Registered office: THE OLD BRICKYARD, NEW ROAD, GILLINGHAM, SP8 4XT
Nature of business: 46750 - Wholesale of chemical products

Matched from the Companies House monthly bulk data by company name and registered town. The sponsor register itself carries no company number.

Be told when this licence changes

Watch Merck Life Science UK Limited and get an email the day it is removed from the register, re-listed, downgraded to a B rating or renamed. Free for up to 3 sponsors, emailed the day it happens.

Other register entries with this name

Merck Life Science UK Limited, Southampton (removed)

Entries are matched by organisation name and town as the Home Office publishes them. A sponsor that changes town, or is published with a different spelling, appears as a separate entry; confirmed renames are linked above. The register carries no licence number or company number. Verify against the official register before relying on this for a decision.