Sold Your Startup? What Happens to Your Sponsor Licence and Your Team's Visas
Selling a business takes months of negotiation, due diligence and legal work. When the deal finally completes, most founders want to celebrate. But if the business employs anyone on a sponsored visa, completion also starts a deadline that is easy to miss.
As featured in TechRound
Foreign buyers are active in the UK. The Office for National Statistics estimates that overseas companies made 244 acquisitions of UK businesses in the last quarter of 2025, worth £33 billion. Many of those businesses rely on skilled staff from overseas, and every one of those staff members is linked to the employer's sponsor licence.
The short answer
- A sponsor licence cannot be transferred to a new owner.
- A change of ownership must be reported to the Home Office within 20 working days.
- If sponsored staff move to a different company, that company must hold or apply for a licence within 20 working days.
- If this is missed, the workers who moved can lose their permission to stay in the UK.
- Once part of an international group, the business may be able to bring in staff from the buyer using Global Business Mobility routes.
Why the licence does not move with the business
Home Office guidance for sponsors states that a sponsor licence belongs to the organisation that applied for it. It is not an asset that can be sold or handed over. What you need to do depends on how the deal is structured.
| Type of deal | What usually happens | What you need to do |
|---|---|---|
| Share sale (the same company continues, only its owners change) | The licence stays with the company | Report the change of ownership on the Sponsor Management System within 20 working days, and update key personnel if they change |
| Asset sale or business transfer (staff move to a new company under TUPE) | The licence does not go with the staff | The new employer must already hold a suitable licence, or apply for one within 20 working days of the transfer |
| Group restructure (staff move to another company in the buyer's group) | Treated like a transfer to a new employer | Check whether the receiving company has a licence that covers the right visa routes |
If the transfer is handled correctly, sponsored employees do not normally need to make new visa applications, as long as their job stays the same. The new employer takes over the sponsor duties.
The 20-working-day window
Twenty working days is roughly four weeks. In the first month after a deal, teams are busy merging payroll, IT systems and reporting lines, and sponsor duties are easily forgotten.
- Deal completes. The 20-working-day clock starts.
- Week 1. Confirm who is responsible for the Sponsor Management System and which workers are affected.
- Weeks 2 to 3. Report the change of ownership, or prepare the new company's licence application if staff are moving.
- By day 20. The report or application must be submitted.
Ikra Ahmed, Immigration Associate at AY&J Solicitors, says the most common problem is not the law but ownership of the task. “HR expects the deal lawyers to report it, the deal lawyers expect HR to do it, and the deadline passes.”
What happens if the deadline is missed
- Workers who moved can lose their visas. If the new employer does not apply in time, or its application is refused, the Home Office guidance says their permission to stay is cancelled.
- The licence can be downgraded or revoked. Failing to report a change of ownership is a breach of sponsor duties. The Home Office revoked about 3,100 sponsor licences in 2025, the highest number since records began in 2012, according to Home Office figures reported by the Work Rights Centre.
- Everyone sponsored is affected. A revocation hits every sponsored worker in the business, not only those involved in the deal.
A revoked licence can sometimes be reinstated, but it is slow and expensive. In one recent case handled by our team, a care provider with more than 130 sponsored workers had its licence restored only after a formal legal challenge, followed by a full compliance audit while the Home Office reconsidered.
The upside: bringing in the buyer's people
Joining an international group also opens new options. The UK's Global Business Mobility routes let multinational groups move existing staff between their companies.
The most useful is the Senior or Specialist Worker route. It allows the new parent company to send its own employees to the UK business on a temporary assignment, for example an engineer who knows the buyer's systems or a manager leading the integration. The main conditions, according to GOV.UK, are:
- A salary of at least £52,500 a year, or the going rate for the job if higher
- At least 12 months working for the group outside the UK, unless the salary is £73,900 or more
- A UK sponsor licence that covers the Senior or Specialist Worker route
Checklist before you sign
Treat the sponsor licence as part of due diligence. Before completion, make sure you can answer these questions:
- Which company holds the sponsor licence, and which routes does it cover?
- How many staff are sponsored, and when do their visas expire?
- Will any sponsored staff move to a different company?
- Does that company already hold a suitable licence?
- Who will report the change on the Sponsor Management System, and by what date?
- Does the buyer plan to send its own staff to the UK, and is the licence ready for that?
How AY&J Solicitors can help
Our business immigration team supports founders, buyers and in-house teams before and after a deal:
- Pre-deal licence review. We check the licence, the routes it covers and the status of every sponsored worker.
- Reporting the change. We report the change of ownership on the Sponsor Management System within the deadline.
- New licence applications. If staff move to another company, we prepare the licence application within the 20-working-day window.
- Adding Global Business Mobility routes. We add the Senior or Specialist Worker route and handle the first transfer applications.
- Compliance audits. We review records and processes so the merged business stays compliant.
Selling or buying a business with sponsored staff? Speak to our sponsor licence team before completion.
Frequently asked questions
Can a sponsor licence be transferred to a new owner?
No, sponsor licences are not transferable. The change must be reported, and a new employer may need its own licence.
How long do I have to report a change of ownership?
20 working days from the change, through the Sponsor Management System.
Do sponsored workers need new visas after a TUPE transfer?
Not normally, if the new employer has a valid licence or applies within 20 working days, and the workers' jobs stay the same.
What happens if the new employer does not apply in time?
The Home Office guidance says the transferred workers' permission to stay is cancelled.
Can the buyer send its own staff to the UK business?
Yes, often through the Senior or Specialist Worker route, if the UK company's licence covers it and the worker meets the salary and experience rules.
Does a share sale affect the sponsor licence?
The licence stays with the company, but the change in ownership must still be reported within 20 working days.
Written by Ikra Ahmed, Immigration Associate, AY&J Solicitors. Legally reviewed by Sunny Sandhu, Head of Legal Operations, AY&J Solicitors. SRA regulated, Legal 500, Chambers and Partners. Last reviewed: October 2026.
About our Expert
Ikra Ahmed is an Immigration Associate at A Y & J Solicitors, specialising in UK immigration and compliance. She has supported a wide range of clients with family and corporate immigration, consistently helping them achieve positive outcomes. Known for her clarity and client-first approach, Ikra is committed to making complex immigration processes straightforward and stress-free.
Ikra is multilingual in Urdu and Pahari, and she brings strong cultural understanding to her work.
Outside the office, she enjoys sports, travel, and gaming, and is an enthusiastic Manchester United supporter.
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