For employers · Kent
Chefs and kitchen staff for Kent employers
Work shown on video before you see a CV. Trade tested in our vetted test workshop before you hire. The Certificate of Sponsorship and visa handled with you, start to finish.
1,742 organisations in Kent hold a Home Office sponsor licence, 136 of them in Hospitality. The figures
- Shortlist in days. Start in about two weeks for local hires.
- No retainer, no monthly fee. Nothing to sign until you have met people.
- Replacement cover on every placement. Nothing charged to the candidate.
Or ring +44 20 4571 2726, Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm.
Tell us what you need
Martin, Lance or another member of our team will get back to you. Who we areLooking for work? This form is for employers. Register here instead, it is free.
We work directly with employers. We do not take on other recruitment agencies, labour suppliers or sub-agents.
Who we already work with
Who is already licensed
Kent employers in Hospitality who can sponsor
Newest on the register first. Each holds a licence today; several are your competitors.
- BP
- FRFarnham Rd Fish Bar Ltd. T/As Stoby'sRochester · Kent · HospitalitySince 2023 · Take-away food shops and mobile food stands
- 2C214 Limited T/A Chai NaastoBeckenham · Kent · HospitalitySince 2013 · Licensed restaurants · Dissolved at Companies House
- 3C3D Coffee (Oadby) Limited T/A Costa CoffeeDartford · Kent · HospitalitySince 2009 · Unlicensed restaurants and cafes
AH
AAAgnieszka Acar LimitedMaidstone · Kent · HospitalitySince 2015 · Licensed restaurants · In liquidation at Companies House
AK- ASAlfie's Fish Bar And KebabMaidstone · Kent · HospitalitySince 2026 · Take-away food shops and mobile food stands
The local market
What the register says about Kent
The sponsors here are mostly in social care and care homes, then hospitality, professional and technical services, retail. Of the 1,742 licensed sponsors here, the ones who take on chefs and kitchen staff are the ones worth approaching first.
What they do
Licensed sponsors in Kent, by industry
142
Social care and care homes
136
Hospitality
128
Professional and technical services
125
Retail
Within reach
Sponsors in the towns around Kent
A driver or a fitter will travel for the right job, so these count too. The number is licensed sponsors in that town.
Two pools, one call
People already in the UK, and people we bring in
Already here
No sponsorship. Interviews in days, not months.
Drivers, mechanics, welders and fitters who are in the UK now with the right to work, and register with us because they want a change: indoors, days, nearer home, a better yard. Start date is their notice period, not a Department timeline. The quickest thing we do.
Overseas, trade tested
Work shown on video before you see a CV. Trade tested before you hire. Sponsorship handled with you.
Where the local pool is dry for your trade, or you want a bench for the year, we test people on real kit before anyone travels and handle the sponsorship paperwork with you. Longer, and the timeline is the Home Office's, but it is how the biggest yards in the country fill their rosters.
Most clients use both: the local pool for the gap now, the overseas bench for the growth. Nothing is charged to any candidate, in either pool.
How we fill it
Trade tested, paperwork handled, fixed fee
- 1
The test
Trade test in a kitchen with the employer or a partner. In Johannesburg, Manila or a partner centre, before anyone travels. You get the score sheet. How the test is run
- 2
The paperwork
Certificate of Sponsorship, visa application, right to work checks, with you at every step. No licence yet? We walk you through the application.
- 3
The landing
Flights, accommodation, NI number, bank account and phone sorted, and someone checking in with them after they start, so they stay.
- 4
The fee
A fixed fee per placement, invoiced when they start. No retainer, no startup fee, and nothing is ever charged to the candidate.
For employers in Kent
Tell us how many chefs and kitchen staff you need and when
You get candidates we already have trade tested, the sponsorship timeline as it stands, and a fixed fee. No retainer, nothing charged to the candidate, and nothing to sign until you have seen people.
Martin, Lance or another member of our team will get back to you. Who we areLooking for work? This form is for employers. Register here instead, it is free.
We work directly with employers. We do not take on other recruitment agencies, labour suppliers or sub-agents.
Other trades in Kent
By town
Sponsors in Kent by town
By sector
What Kent sponsors do
For candidates
What you need to work here
- A confirmed job offer from a UK employer that holds a Home Office sponsor licence. The employers in this directory all hold one.
- A Certificate of Sponsorship from that employer describing the role.
- A job on the Home Office list of eligible occupations, paid at least the minimum salary for that role and route.
Register with Sama
Tell us your trade and we will tell you what we have
Five fields, under a minute. We read every one. You never pay us anything, at any stage.
After they land
What we give the person you hire
Free, and not conditional on anything. A placement that fails usually fails in the first month, and it is rarely about the work.
Settling in KentThe paperwork in order, the official finders for a doctor and a National Insurance number, and the local shops, places of worship and clubs other workers there have added. Their rights at work, in writingWe tell every candidate exactly what they are owed and who enforces it. An employer with nothing to hide gains from that. Free practice testsEnglish and the rules of the road, so a driver arrives knowing which side and which limits, not learning them on your insurance.
Worth following
Who we placed, and where the market is going
Monthly figures on who is hiring overseas, what the Department published, and the trades that are getting hard to fill. No sales posts.
Source: UK Visas and Immigration, Register of licensed sponsors: workers. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Being on the register means an organisation holds a sponsor licence. It does not mean it has a vacancy or that it will sponsor you.
Is this your organisation? To request a change or removal, email us.