Sponsorship Licence Compliance

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Sponsorship Licence Compliance

As a sponsor, your responsibilities begin on the day your license is granted and continue until you surrender your license, it becomes dormant, or it is revoked. However, actions or behaviours that occur at any time may be taken into account, including immigration abuse, criminal conduct, or behaviour not conducive to the public good.

Your responsibility for each worker you sponsor starts when you assign them a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) and ends when the CoS is withdrawn or cancelled, the worker’s permission expires or lapses, you stop sponsoring the worker, or 6 months after the worker’s entry clearance becomes effective (for Scale-up Workers).

Page Contents

  • Reporting duties

  • Revoking licence

  • Suspending licence

  • Penalties for non-compliance

  • Costs

  • Application process

  • Frequently asked questions

Suspending Your Sponsorship Licence

If the UKVI believe that you are breaching your sponsor duties, pose a threat to immigration control, or are engaging in behaviours or actions that are not conducive to the public good, they may suspend your license while they make further enquiries.

During the suspension period, you will not be able to assign any CoS and must continue to comply with all sponsor duties and requirements. If your license is due to expire during the suspension period, you must still apply to renew it.

If your license is suspended, it is suspended in all routes in which you are licensed and your entry will be removed from the public register of sponsors.

Workers you are sponsoring at the time of suspension will not be affected unless or until the UKVI decide to revoke your license. If they decide to revoke your license, the UKVI will notify you in writing and you will not be allowed to apply for a sponsor license again until at least 12 months have passed.

If the UKVI decide not to revoke your license, they will lift the suspension and reinstate your entry on the register of sponsors.

As a licensed sponsor, your duties include reporting and record-keeping, complying with immigration laws and wider UK law, and not engaging in behaviour that is not conducive to the public good. Failure to comply with these duties may result in sanctions such as reducing your CoS allocation, downgrading your license rating, suspending or revoking your license, or reporting you to the authorities.

The UK immigration rules require sponsor licence holders to meet their ongoing compliance duties. This can be a resource-intensive task for HR teams and may not always be a top priority. However, the penalties are severe, so remaining compliant is a must. 

However, it is easy for organisations to make mistakes in this area and the Home Office is becoming more vigilant in penalising employers for breaches. Home Office compliance visits are common and failure to comply with the required standards can result in penalties such as fines, licence downgrading, suspensions, and revocations.

This can damage an organisation's reputation and restrict or prevent access to the global labour market.

Reporting Duties

As a sponsor, you must report certain changes that affect your sponsored workers or your organization within specific time limits. Changes to a sponsored worker’s circumstances must be reported within 10 working days of the event occurring, while changes to your organization must be reported within 20 working days.

You must also report any suspected breaches of conditions of stay by a sponsored worker and provide the police with any information that suggests a worker may be engaged in terrorism or criminal activity.

Changes to a sponsored worker’s circumstances that must be reported within 10 working days include: if the worker does not start their role within 28 days; if they are absent from work without permission for more than 10 consecutive working days; if they are absent from work without pay or on reduced pay for more than 4 weeks in a calendar year; if their salary is reduced; if there are significant changes to their employment details; if their work location changes; if you stop sponsoring them; and any additional route-specific changes.

These changes must be reported using the ‘Report migrant activity’ function in the SMS. If you are reporting that you are no longer sponsoring a worker or that they have been absent without permission, you must also provide their last recorded residential address and contact information. Any information you report about a worker’s non-attendance, non-compliance, or disappearance may be used to cancel their permission or take enforcement action against them.

Record Keeping Duties

As a sponsor, you must keep certain documents for each worker you sponsor, as listed in Appendix D of the sponsor guidance. These documents can be kept in paper or electronic form and must be provided to the UKVI when requested. Failure to provide the requested documents within the specified timeframe may result in action being taken against you.

If you sponsor a child under the age of 18, you must also keep a copy of a consent letter from their parents or legal guardian. This letter should contain consent for the child’s application, travel, reception, and care arrangements in the UK.

You must also comply with any legal requirements for record-keeping set by the UKVI or another government department and be aware of your responsibilities under the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation.

Complying with Immigration Rules

As a sponsor, you must comply with immigration laws and all parts of the Worker and Temporary Worker sponsor guidance. This includes only employing workers who are appropriately qualified, registered, or experienced to do the job and keeping a copy of any relevant documents.

You must not employ workers who do not have the necessary experience, qualifications, or immigration permission and must stop employing any workers who are no longer entitled to do the job.

Genuine Vacancy and Assigning a CoS to Family Members

You must not assign a CoS where there is no genuine vacancy or role and must only allow the worker to undertake roles permitted by the conditions of their stay. You must only assign a CoS to workers who you believe will meet the immigration requirements and are likely to comply with the conditions of their permission. You must disclose if you assign a CoS to a family member of anyone within the sponsor organization.

ATAS Requirement for Skilled Workers

If you are sponsoring a person on certain routes, you must check whether they require an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate. If they do, you should advise them to apply for one and retain a copy of their certificate. You must not continue to sponsor a worker if they refuse to apply for an ATAS certificate or if their application is refused.

Complying with Wider UK Law

As a sponsor, you have a duty to comply with wider UK law, including but not limited to: complying with UK employment law, illegal working and right-to-rent legislation, holding suitable planning permission or any legally required license or approval to run your business, registering with the relevant food authority if you are a food business, and registering with the appropriate statutory body if required.

You may also need to employ workers who have had a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) (for certain roles), check if it is a requirement for the role and comply with the UKVI’s requirements on safeguarding children. You must not engage in any criminal activity or be subject to UK or UN imposed sanctions and must pay any VAT or other duty penalties.

Changes You Must Report via the SMS

As a sponsor, your Level 1 User must access your SMS account and use the ‘request changes to sponsor details’ function to report changes such as replacing your Authorising Officer or Key Contact, amending their details or your organization’s details, changes to your organization’s structure or status of any required registration or accreditation, if you stop trading or go into insolvency, if your organization is subject to a merger or takeover, if anyone is convicted of a relevant offense, or if there are any other changes to your circumstances.

Some changes will automatically update in your SMS account once reported. If you’re replacing your Authorising Officer or Key Contact, you will still need to send a signed submission sheet and any required supporting documents with your request. The UKVI may also carry out standard checks on your new Key Personnel and will contact you if they have any concerns.

When You Cannot Report via the SMS

If you no longer have a Level 1 User in place with SMS access, you cannot use the SMS to report changes. In such circumstances, you must fill in a change of circumstances form to add a Level 1 User, replace an Authorising Officer, request surrender of your license, or request that your license is made dormant. Unless you are surrendering your license, you must have at least one Level 1 User in place at all times.

What to do if there is a Merger, Takeover, or other Change of Ownership

Your sponsor license is not transferable and what happens to you and your sponsored workers will depend on whether there is a change in direct ownership, you sell all or part of your organization or controlling shares, you are taken over by another organization, or you are splitting out to form new organizations.

Your Level 1 User must report any of these changes via your SMS account within 20 working days of the change taking place. Failure to do so may result in your license being downgraded or revoked. If your license is revoked, any workers sponsored by you may have their permission cancelled.

If your Level 1 User is not available due to a takeover or merger, the UKVI will accept the report from the Level 1 User at the new sponsor organization.

Once the change has been reported, the UKVI will ask for and verify supporting documents. If there is a change in direct ownership of your organization or business, your sponsor license will be either revoked or made dormant and the new owners must apply for a new sponsor license if they wish to continue employing any workers you were sponsoring.

Revoking Your Sponsorship Licence

Certain circumstances can lead to your sponsor license being revoked, including if you cease to have a trading presence or meet the requirements of the routes in which you are licensed, if there is a serious or systematic breach of your sponsor duties, if you pose a threat to immigration control, if you have been convicted of a relevant criminal offence or issued with a specified civil penalty, or if you engage in behavior that is not conducive to the public good.

If your license is revoked, it will be revoked in all routes in which you are licensed and you will not be able to sponsor any more workers. The permission of any workers you are sponsoring will normally be canceled and your organization’s details will be removed from the public register of sponsors. the UKVI will notify you in writing if your license has been revoked and there is no right of appeal against the decision. You will not be eligible to apply for a sponsor license again until at least 12 months have passed since the date of revocation.

How Revoking Your Licence Affects Your Sponsored Workers

If the UKVI revoke your license, they may cancel or shorten the permission of any workers you are currently sponsoring on the Worker and Temporary Worker routes. If they believe that the worker was actively and knowingly involved in the reasons for the revocation of your license, they will normally cancel all of their remaining permission and they will have to leave the UK immediately or face enforced removal.

If the worker was not actively or knowingly involved in the reasons for revocation, the UKVI will normally cancel their permission so they have only 60 calendar days left. If they have not made an application for permission to stay on a route for which they qualify by the end of this period, they will have to leave the UK or face enforced removal.

Compliance Checks by the UKVI

The ability to sponsor workers to work in the UK is a privilege that must be earned and comes with a responsibility to act in accordance with UK immigration law, all parts of the Worker and Temporary Worker sponsor guidance, wider UK law, and the wider public good. UKVI has a duty to ensure that sponsors discharge these responsibilities and do not create a risk to immigration control or act in a way that is not conducive to the public good.

The UKVI will continually monitor sponsors’ compliance and take action against those who pose a threat to immigration control, breach their sponsorship duties, are convicted of criminal offences or issued with certain civil penalties, or engage in behaviour that is not conducive to the public good. Compliance checks may be taken on the basis of reasonable suspicion that a sponsor has breached their duties or is no longer suitable to hold a license.

The UKVI has a range of measures to enforce sponsors’ duties and identify dishonest or inappropriate sponsors. The action they may take includes reducing your CoS allocation, downgrading your license, suspending or revoking your license, cancelling the permission of your sponsored workers to remain in the UK, or reporting any suspected criminal or civil offences to the authorities.

How the UKVI Checks if Sponsors are Complying with their Duties

To ensure that you are complying with the duties and responsibilities of being a licensed sponsor, the UKVI may conduct a compliance check. This can involve asking for additional documents or information, verifying the information you have provided, visiting you on-site or conducting a digital compliance inspection, making checks with other government departments or agencies, or considering any other information or evidence that comes to light.

The UKVI will also make regular checks with HMRC to ensure that you are paying your workers appropriately. The purpose of these checks is to ensure that the information you have provided is accurate and complete, that you are able to offer genuine employment and are operating lawfully in the UK, and that there are no reasons to believe you represent a threat to immigration control or are engaging in behaviour that is not conducive to the public good, and that you are complying with all the duties of sponsorship.

The UKVI may check sponsors at any time, including before or after your license has been granted. Compliance checks may be conducted on an announced or unannounced basis.

What Happens During a UKVI Compliance Check?

Compliance officers will carry out relevant checks and may interview you and any of your sponsored workers either via an on-site compliance visit or a digital compliance inspection.

During the compliance check, the compliance officer may verify any information you provided in your sponsor license application or in support of a worker’s application, check that you are complying with all of your sponsor duties, speak to any sponsored workers or employees involved in their recruitment, inspect records and systems to ensure compliance with your obligations, conduct checks on other workers to ensure compliance with illegal working prevention obligations and conduct checks on anyone associated with you.

They may also carry out checks by telephone, video conferencing, or letter and may make checks with other government departments. The compliance officer will not give an indication of their assessment during the compliance check. Any official visiting your premises will have official Home Office identification and if you doubt their authenticity.

Discrepancies or Problems Discovered During the Checks

If the UKVI find discrepancies in your application after a decision has already been made or if they find evidence that you have knowingly deceived the UKVI, they will investigate and take appropriate action against you.

If you use deception to obtain a license, you may be committing a criminal offence and the UKVI may inform the relevant authorities and prosecute you.

The Outcome of Compliance Checks

After completing our checks, the UKVI will consider what action to take against you and notify you of their decision in writing. If there has been a breach of your sponsorship duties or if they consider that you pose a threat to immigration control or are not conducive to the public good, the UKVI will assess the issue and decide on the most appropriate course of action.

If the breach is relatively minor and you are willing and able to correct it, the UKVI will support you in making improvements by downgrading your license to a B-rating and issuing an action plan.

If there is a more serious breach indicating significant or systematic failing, that you no longer meet the eligibility or suitability requirements for holding a license, that you pose a serious threat to immigration control, or that you are engaging in behavior that is not conducive to the public good, the UKVI may decide to suspend or revoke your license.

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