Student Sponsor Guidance 2026 | Duties & Compliance Rules
Section A: Overview of Student Sponsorship Guidance Educational institutions in the UK that want to enrol non-UK nationals who require immigration permission to study must first secure a student sponsor licence. The Student Sponsor Guidance, published by the Home Office, provides the rules and framework that institutions must follow to lawfully sponsor international […]
Teacher Visa Sponsorship UK: 2026 Eligibility & Process
Section A: Can a UK School Sponsor a Teacher from Overseas? Schools across the UK can sponsor qualified teachers from overseas under the Skilled Worker visa route. This is the only visa pathway currently available for recruiting non-UK teachers into long-term teaching posts. To act as a sponsor, the school or its governing […]
Umbrella Company Visa Sponsorship in the UK
Section A: Can an Umbrella Company Sponsor Workers? The Skilled Worker visa — previously the Tier 2 (General) work visa — is the primary immigration route for UK businesses to hire foreign workers. However, as any business must first be approved by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) to sponsor this category of worker, […]
Sponsored Worker on Long Term Sick Leave
Section A: Employer Sick Leave Obligations Sponsor licence holders operate under strict compliance obligations, including duties to monitor sponsored workers’ absence and report through the SMS periods of long term sickness absence. This means that when a sponsored worker is absent from work on sick leave, as the employer-sponsor you have a number […]
Sponsor Licence: Criminal Record Rules
Section A: Sponsor Licence Suitability Criteria If granted a sponsor licence, significant trust will be placed in you as a sponsor licence holder to prevent abuse of the system. With this trust comes a responsibility to act in accordance with the Immigration Rules and to meet all of the duties associated with sponsoring […]
Sponsor Licence Revoked? Next Steps for Sponsors
Section A: Has Your Sponsor Licence Been Revoked? If you’ve received formal notification from the Home Office that your company’s sponsorship licence is at risk of revocation, your next steps will be crucial in determining the resulting impact on your business. A revoked sponsor licence means your organisation has lost its permission to lawfully […]
A Rating Sponsor Licence Guide
Section A: What is a Sponsor Licence A Rating? For routes other than UK Expansion Worker, a sponsor licence will be rated either ‘A’ or ‘B’. An A rating is the Home Office’s confirmation that a sponsor is fully compliant and trusted to assign Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) without extra restrictions. Most licences […]
Mergers, Acquisitions & Sponsor Licences
Section A: Sponsors Duty to Report Organisational Changes As part of their compliance duties, sponsor licence holders are under a continuing obligation to notify the Home Office of certain organisational changes. These duties apply regardless of the size of the transaction or whether it appears to affect sponsored workers directly. Any failure to […]
Appendix D: Sponsor Licence Record Keeping
Section A: What is Appendix D? Appendix D is an appendix to the Home Office sponsor guidance that sets out the record-keeping requirements for sponsor licence holders under the wider sponsor licence duties. It specifies the documents that UK employers must retain for each individual they sponsor under various immigration routes, such as […]
Sponsor Duties and Compliance: Essential Guide
Section A: Overview of Sponsor Duties and Compliance To avail of the advantages of employment sponsorship and accessing the global talent market, sponsor licence holders by law have to comply with the following: a. Ensure that the foreign workers you intend to sponsor have the requisite skills, experience or professional qualifications to […]