Any company hiring from overseas needs to get to grips with their visa sponsor duties and compliance obligations in full
Updated: 5 May 2026
A UK visa sponsor licence grants any company a huge advantage – the ability to hire skilled workers worldwide. However, with great power comes great responsibility. To hire from abroad, you must conform to the core sponsor duties and compliance requirements set out by the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) agency.
Compliance isn’t just crucial for the integrity of the country’s immigration system. It will also spare your company some very unpleasant consequences. Non-compliance opens up a spectrum of costs for employers, from civil penalties to criminal prosecution and the revocation of your sponsor licence.
Even if you have the best intentions, it’s easier than you think to accidentally violate the rules of your sponsor licence. To avoid any unpleasant surprises, let’s review your duties as a sponsor and how you can comply with the UKVI rules in spirit and letter.
Understanding UK Sponsor Licence Duties
When your company decides to sponsor a skilled worker from overseas for a UK visa, you agree to several important responsibilities known as sponsor duties.
These duties are not random; they are set and monitored by the UK Home Office. The rules are designed to protect foreign workers’ rights and the public interest. The sponsorship system prevents abuse by ensuring that only those who meet specific requirements can enter or stay in the UK for work.
To acquire and maintain a sponsor licence, you must be able to prove the following:
Your eligibility and suitability
Your company must show that it’s a legitimate organisation authorised to trade under UK law. This involves registering with Companies House as a public limited company (PLC), a limited company (Ltd), a limited liability partnership (LLP) or a sole trader.
If you’ve been operating in the UK for under 18 months, you must provide evidence of a current bank account with a registered UK bank.
Your genuine vacancy requirements
Visa sponsors must provide real, needed jobs that meet the skills and pay needed for the visa type. The job should not be concocted for the sole purpose of bringing a foreign national into the UK.
Proactive record-keeping
UK employers hiring foreign workers must keep thorough records for each worker, including their passport and right-to-work documents, contact information, attendance records, and job details. Records must be available for inspection by UKVI officials.
Consistent reporting
Sponsors are required to report specific events to the Home Office through the Sponsor Management System (SMS). These events include changes in a worker’s employment status, significant business alterations (such as a merger or acquisition), or if a sponsored worker fails to attend their first day of work. These events must be reported within the designated timeframes.
Employees’ right to work in the UK
You must carry out right-to-work checks on anyone you hire and track the immigration status of all your foreign workers.
Action in the public good
As a sponsoring company, you must prove that you do business in a way that poses no harm to the public interest.
Full cooperation with UKVI
Sponsors must provide UKVI access to their premises and the requested documentation for compliance checks. These checks may be unannounced.
Modern employment best practices
Your company needs to demonstrate that it adheres to modern workplace standards. For example, you must be able to show you have HR systems in place.
Strategies for staying compliant with your sponsor duties and compliance needs
Keeping on top of all your sponsor duties takes diligence and proactivity. A properly fleshed-out compliance strategy must be developed to avoid costly regulatory failures.
Here are some tactics to keep your company on the right side of the law when sponsoring skilled workers.
1. Appoint dedicated staff
Immigration compliance is a full-time job. To meet your sponsor duties, it’s best to appoint key personnel to oversee the compliance process. At a bare minimum, this team should include an Authorising Officer, Key Contact, and a Level 1 user responsible for day-to-day SMS management.
Remember – the Home Office will vet anyone you place in this role. Hire wisely.
2. Implement robust HR systems
You must be able to point to rigorous HR systems and policies for managing sponsored employees. These should include systems for monitoring employee performance and, of course, record-keeping.
3. Get to know the Sponsor Management System (SMS)
The SMS is your most important tool for meeting your visa sponsor duties and compliance obligations. Ensure that you, your relevant team, and, in particular, your Level 1 user all know it inside and out. You must use it to report any changes to your workers’ employment status as soon as they happen.
4. Conduct mock audits
The Home Office is currently cracking down on employer compliance. This means that sponsoring businesses should expect an audit at some point.
To get ready, it’s a good idea to conduct regular mock audits of your systems for meeting your sponsor duties and compliance obligations. This will help you spot any chinks in your armour before they become a problem for you.
Our team will be happy to arrange a professional mock audit for you.
5. Train your staff
You should ensure all your HR staff are well-versed in the company’s sponsor duties and compliance requirements. This knowledge can help prevent unintentional breaches of sponsor duties.
The real costs of sponsor licence non-compliance
The consequences of not implementing a compliance strategy can be very stark.
Financial penalties now reach up to £60,000 per illegal worker. Civil penalties could involve suspensions and the cancellation of your sponsor licence. This will prevent your organisation from ever hiring foreign workers again.
In more severe cases, the sponsor licence may be revoked entirely, which means the organisation loses its privilege to sponsor overseas employees. The employees may have their visas curtailed and be required to leave the UK.
The Home Office has commenced a crackdown on ‘rogue employers’ hiring workers without the right to work in the UK. In one day in June 2023, police arrested over 100 illegal employees and employers. Criminal prosecution may result in imprisonment for up to 5 years and an unlimited fine.
It’s essential to note that penalties are not only reserved for cases of deliberate non-compliance. They can also be imposed for accidental breaches if UKVI deems that the sponsor has not taken sufficient steps to prevent them.
What happens if my licence is downgraded?
All new licences are automatically granted an A rating. However, small slip-ups can lead to UKVI downgrading your rating to a B. If this happens, you will be placed under supervision by the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), typically for six months.
UKVI will create an action plan to help you reach the standards needed to regain your previous licence status. You must pay £1,476 within ten days of receiving notification of your downgrade.
During the downgrade period, you cannot issue new Certificates of Sponsorship to hire new employees from abroad. However, you can maintain your existing foreign workforce as normal.
It’s crucial to take this downgrade period seriously, as failure to improve could lead to further sanctions, including revocation of the licence.
You are allowed two B downgrades per licence. If compliance issues are not resolved after this point, you will face the suspension of your sponsor licence.
What happens if my licence is suspended?
When your licence is suspended, your company will be temporarily barred from issuing any new Certificates of Sponsorship or extending those already in place. You will also be removed from the public register of sponsors.
This will not affect the sponsored employees who are currently working for you, who can continue their work as normal. Any sponsored prospective hires still awaiting their visa decisions will have their applications paused.
A suspension is not necessarily permanent. Nonetheless, it is a serious situation that demands immediate attention. What happens next is entirely in the hands of UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). Based on their assessment, they can either reinstate or revoke your licence.
You’ll receive a notice of suspension from UKVI outlining why they made this decision. You’ll then have 20 working days to respond with a letter addressing each point raised. You will be expected to offer evidence of constructive actions you will take.
UKVI will then start a formal investigation into your company, possibly including a compliance visit. This will assess whether you are working in good faith to remedy the shortcomings that prompted the suspension.
At the end of this process, UKVI will decide whether to reinstate your skilled worker sponsor licence, keep it suspended or even revoke it.
If they choose to reinstate your licence, they will likely downgrade its rating to a B. This signifies that you are under probation and must step up your compliance efforts.
What happens if my licence is revoked?
If your licence is revoked, the consequences are more severe.
You will immediately lose the ability to issue any new CoS or extend current licences.
All migrant workers you currently sponsor will have 60 days from the point of revocation to find alternative sponsors, switch visa types, or leave the UK.
You do not have the right to appeal a revocation.
A ‘cooling-off’ period then ensues, typically 12 months but potentially up to five years in the most severe cases. Once this has elapsed, you can apply for a licence again. However, you are only likely to be granted one if you can prove that you have resolved all the issues that caused it to be revoked in the first place.
If UKVI finds that your business employs illegal workers, you will be liable for civil and criminal penalties. The government has recently tripled fines on rogue employers, and firms can expect to pay up to £60,000 per breach.
To avoid such grim consequences, we recommend being very proactive about your compliance. Follow the three Rs: recruiting compliance officers, reporting all changes in your workforce to UKVI, and keeping strict records.
For more advice, consult our employers’ guide to sponsor duties and compliance.
If you’re worried about hidden weaknesses, you can also arrange a mock audit of your organisation.
Your strategic compliance partner
By following these best practices, you can ensure your company remains compliant with its sponsor duties. Meet these simple requirements, and you can continue harnessing the talent of an international workforce without fear.
If you need help meeting UKVI regulations, our team of immigration professionals is ready and waiting to help.
Find out more about your options for sponsoring skilled workers in full compliance with UK law.
