Holding a Sponsor Licence is a significant responsibility and a strategic advantage for UK organisations, as it enables them to recruit skilled foreign nationals for essential roles that cannot be filled by the resident labour market or individuals with settled status. It enables organisations to access global talent. However, UK organisations must have a deep understanding of the requirements and responsibilities of maintaining a Sponsor Licence. After securing the UK Sponsor Licence, it is the company’s responsibility to deal with strict Sponsor Licence duties formulated by the Home Office.
The Home Office places significant trust in licenced sponsors to uphold all the UK immigration laws. So, upholding the Sponsor Licence duties is crucial in order to maintain your Sponsor Licence. If you fail to fulfil your sponsor duties and obligations, then you could face serious consequences, including licence downgrades, suspensions, revocations, or civil penalties. This article provides a clear overview of the key compliance duties that you have to follow to align with Home Office regulations.
What are the Sponsor Licence Duties?
The Home Office clearly conveys that having a Sponsor Licence is a not a right, but a privilege. When there is significant trust placed in sponsors to comply with the immigration law and wider UK law, the Sponsor Licence duties become legally binding responsibilities. These are a set of core sponsor duties and compliance which every sponsor should adhere to. So for every licenced sponsor, following their sponsorship duties will become an ongoing diligence.
The Home Office will expect every sponsor to meet and maintain compliance standards through monitoring, reporting, and record-keeping duties. So, after the Home Office grants your Sponsor Licence, it is time to note down all of your Sponsor Licence duties and ensure that you are truly complying. Check the four core Sponsor Licence duties below.
1. Record Keeping Duties
To remain compliant with their duties, sponsors must maintain accurate and updated records for any migrant worker they sponsor. These include:
- Contact details
- UK residential address
- ID documents i.e., passports
- Biometric residence permits
- Employment contracts and job descriptions
- Evidence of skills and experience
- NI number
- Right to work checks
- Start dates
- Visa expiry dates – and regular calander reminders
The sponsor must maintain this range of documents relating to each sponsored worker. There is no specified method for storing the documents. You can keep paper copies or an electronic format of any documents to prove your employees’ entitlement to work in the UK.
2. Monitoring and Reporting Duties
The sponsor reporting duties are another key element of a sponsor’s compliance obligations. The Home Office will give all licence holders access to the Sponsor Management System (SMS). You must report any specific changes to a sponsored worker’s circumstances or employment through this system. Report the following changes relating to sponsored workers:
- Changes in employment, such as their job title, core duties or the main work location
- If the end of their employment contract came earlier than expected
- Reporting non-compliance of a sponsored worker with their visa conditions
- If a worker is absent for more than 10 consecutive working days.
- Change in pay
The sponsor must send the reports through the SMS within specified timeframes. The Home Office will rely on these reports from SMS to monitor and communicate with all Sponsor Licence holders. In case you fail to update the changes on the sponsored worker’s status, the Home Office can downgrade, suspend or even revoke your licence. For this reason, many companies prefer to opt for Sponsor Licence guidance from experienced solicitors like A Y & J Solicitors. This is important because this will directly impact the status of your sponsored employee and your ability to sponsor foreign skilled workers in the future.
3. Notifying the Home Office of Organisational Changes
Along with reporting the changes related to your sponsored workers, you must report any significant changes to your organisation. The types of organisation changes to report include:
- Changing the business structure, such as company ownership, new mergers, or acquisitions
- Replacing the roles of Authorising Officer, Key Contact, or Level 1 User
- Any change to the registered business address or additional work locations
- Ceasing to trade when the company is insolvent
However, please make a note to report all changes within 20 working days. In case you fail on your sponsor reporting duties on any of the changes, again, the Home Office can take enforcement action, such as suspending or revoking your licence.
4. Complying with Immigration & UK Laws
Another important part of Sponsor Licence duties is that you must comply with the Home Office’s immigration laws. Sponsors must ensure every sponsored role is a genuine vacancy and that the worker is qualified, registered, or experienced to perform in that role. A sponsor must adhere to the following guidelines:
- Assign a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) only to eligible roles and candidates, and avoid hiring under-qualified workers
- All sponsored workers should comply with the visa conditions and not breach any of their work restrictions
- Implement HR practices such as regular audits and training the staff to ensure consistent compliance with UK immigration laws
- Keep records of registration documents, certificates or references that confirm your sponsored worker meets the requirements of the specific job
- Conduct regular right-to-work checks to prevent illegal working.
How to be Ready for a Home Office Compliance Visit
Usually, when you apply for a Sponsor Licence or throughout the course of holding a licence, the Home Office can visit your organisation to perform a compliance inspection. However, this can happen at any stage during the entire period of your company holding the Sponsor Licence. During the inspection, the Home Office will review whether you are conducting right-to-work checks, monitoring visa expiry dates, paid and unpaid absences, and more.
Moreover, the Home Office can do the compliance inspection visit unannounced, announced or even remotely. It is extremely important for Sponsor Licence holders to cooperate with the Home Office officers during the visit.
What Happens if a Sponsor’s Duties and Obligations Are Not Met?
When you fail to meet your Sponsor Licence duties and obligations, the Home Office has the authority to take enforcement action. The Home Office may take the following actions:
Downgrade:
They can downgrade the Sponsor Licence from an A-rating to a B-rating, which restricts your ability to assign new Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS).
Suspension:
In cases of unresolved breaches, the Home Office will suspend your licence while it conducts an investigation. You have the option to respond to the suspension notice within the required timeframe.
Revocation:
For a serious breach of Sponsor Licence obligations, the Home Office can permanently revoke the licence. The sponsor will lose the sponsorship privileges, and the workers will have their visas curtailed to 60 days.
Civil Penalties:
They can fine you up to £60,000 per illegal worker if they find out that you are employing someone without the right to work.
Get Comprehensive Sponsor Licence Guidance
Maintaining a Sponsor Licence is a critical ongoing practice for UK businesses that want access to a global pool of workers. In the case your company fails to comply with its Sponsor Licence duties, the Home Office will take enforcement action. This kind of action will potentially disrupt your recruitment abilities and also impact the status of your sponsored workers’ visas. Maintaining constant compliance with the Home Office is not easy. One small mistake in your sponsor duties and compliance could have very costly consequences.
The experienced immigration specialists at A Y & J Solicitors can support UK employers with complete Sponsor Licence compliance solutions. Our solicitors will provide you with ongoing compliance support and end-to-end assistance to Sponsor Licence holders. If you opt for Sponsor Licence guidance, we offer a range of consultancy, staff training, and continued legal support that will address different compliance needs. Book a call with one of our immigration experts to talk about your Sponsor Licence compliance.
At A Y & J Solicitors, we have handled over 100s of successful Sponsor Licence applications. With a 95% success rate, we have achieved an overall track record of 5,000+ successful immigration and visa cases through our result-driven approach to every application. We take on each client with the genuine intention to provide our undivided care and attention to their case. We guide you through every step of your Sponsor Licence process, so you can trust the experts to manage your application and work toward your success.
Why A Y & J Solicitors?
With over thousands of successful immigration cases to our name, A Y & J Solicitors has built its reputation on trust, care, and real results. Over the 15+ years of working in UK immigration law, we’ve helped individuals and businesses confidently navigate sponsor licences, visas, and ILR applications. We’re proud to be recognised by The Legal 500, but it’s our clients’ peace of mind that matters most. When you work with us, you get clear advice, honest support, and a team that’s truly on your side.
