ENTITY Sponsor Licence GH

Section G. Sponsor Licence Duties

Holding a sponsor licence places ongoing duties on the sponsoring organisation. These duties apply throughout the period in which the organisation holds and uses its licence and are central to the Home Office sponsorship regime.

The purpose of the sponsor duties is to ensure that licensed organisations maintain appropriate oversight of the workers they sponsor, keep specified records, report relevant changes and use the sponsorship system in accordance with the Immigration Rules and sponsor guidance.

Sponsor duties should therefore be incorporated into the organisation’s HR and management processes rather than treated as a one-off requirement associated with obtaining the licence.

1. What are the main sponsor duties?

The principal sponsor duties can broadly be grouped into:

• record keeping;
• monitoring sponsored workers;
• reporting specified changes;
• complying with UK immigration law;
• complying with wider UK law;
• not engaging in behaviour or actions that are not conducive to the public good; and
• cooperating with the Home Office.

The precise requirements depend on the sponsored route and circumstances.

2. Record keeping

Sponsors must retain specified records relating to the workers they sponsor.

The Home Office’s document retention requirements are principally set out in Appendix D to the sponsor guidance.

Required records can include, depending on the worker and circumstances:

• evidence of the worker’s immigration status and right to work;
• contact details;
• employment information;
• salary and payment records;
• evidence relating to the sponsored role;
• recruitment evidence where required; and
• other documents specified by the sponsor guidance.

The sponsor should ensure records are retained for the required period and can be produced if requested by the Home Office.

3. Monitoring sponsored workers

Sponsors are expected to maintain systems that allow them to monitor relevant aspects of sponsored workers’ employment.

This includes maintaining appropriate oversight of matters such as:

• attendance;
• absence;
• contact details;
• employment status;
• job duties;
• salary;
• working hours; and
• work location.

The Home Office does not prescribe one universal HR system that every sponsor must use.

The organisation must, however, have systems capable of enabling it to meet its sponsor duties in practice.

4. Reporting duties

Sponsors must report specified changes and events to the Home Office within the applicable reporting periods.

Reportable events can relate both to individual sponsored workers and to the sponsoring organisation.

Worker-related matters can include specified changes concerning:

• employment;
• salary;
• duties;
• work location;
• absence; and
• termination of employment.

Organisational matters can include specified changes to the sponsor’s:

• address;
• key personnel;
• ownership or structure;
• business circumstances; and
• other licence information.

The precise reporting requirement and deadline depend on the particular event.

5. Identifying reportable events

One of the main practical difficulties for sponsors is ensuring that the people operating the Sponsor Management System are told when a relevant change occurs.

For example:

Line manager changes a worker’s duties

↓

HR is informed

↓

Sponsor team identifies immigration implications

↓

Required action is determined

↓

SMS report made within the applicable timeframe

The sponsor therefore needs internal escalation processes as well as technically competent SMS users.

6. Sponsored worker contact details

Sponsors should maintain the contact information required under the sponsor guidance for sponsored workers.

Where relevant details change, the organisation should update its internal records.

A practical system should allow the sponsor to maintain appropriate current information for the worker rather than relying solely on details collected when employment began.

7. Attendance and absence monitoring

Sponsors need systems capable of monitoring sponsored workers’ attendance and identifying relevant absences.

The organisation should be able to establish whether a sponsored worker is attending work as expected and investigate circumstances where they are not.

Where an absence or other event falls within a Home Office reporting requirement, the sponsor should take the required action within the applicable timeframe.

8. Changes to a sponsored worker’s role

Changes to a sponsored worker’s employment should be assessed for immigration implications before implementation wherever possible.

Relevant changes can include:

• promotion;
• change of duties;
• change of occupation;
• salary change;
• change in working hours;
• change of work location; and
• other material changes to employment.

Some changes can be dealt with through sponsor reporting.

Others can require a new Certificate of Sponsorship and a new immigration application before the worker can undertake the changed role.

The employer should therefore not assume that every employment change can be regularised simply by updating the SMS.

9. Salary changes

The sponsor should monitor the salary paid to sponsored workers and ensure that applicable immigration requirements continue to be met.

Where salary changes, the organisation should consider:

Does the new salary continue to satisfy the applicable route requirements?

Is the change permitted under the worker’s existing sponsorship?

Does the change need to be reported?

Is further immigration action required?

Payroll and HR processes should therefore be connected with sponsor compliance.

10. Unpaid and reduced-pay absence

Periods of unpaid or reduced-pay absence can have sponsorship implications.

The sponsor guidance contains requirements dealing with sponsored workers who are absent from work without pay or on reduced pay, including specified exceptions.

The correct treatment depends on the reason for the absence, its duration and the applicable sponsorship provisions.

Sponsors should assess extended unpaid or reduced-pay absence rather than treating it solely as an employment or payroll issue.

11. Changes to work location

Changes to where a sponsored worker performs their role can create reporting obligations.

This is particularly relevant for organisations operating:

• multiple sites;
• client locations;
• hybrid working;
• remote working; or
• relocations between offices.

The sponsor should ensure that the worker’s actual working arrangements remain appropriately reflected in its sponsorship records and that required reports are made.

12. Termination of sponsored employment

Where a sponsored worker leaves the organisation or sponsorship otherwise ends, the sponsor can be required to report this to the Home Office.

This can include circumstances such as:

• resignation;
• dismissal;
• redundancy;
• termination during probation; or
• other early cessation of sponsored employment.

The sponsor should have a process linking employee termination with sponsorship reporting.

Ending the employment relationship and ending sponsorship are related but distinct processes.

13. Right to work compliance

Sponsor licence holders remain subject to the UK’s separate prevention of illegal working regime.

Sponsorship does not replace the employer’s obligation to undertake the prescribed right to work check.

The organisation should therefore ensure that sponsored workers have the required permission to undertake the work and that the prescribed evidence is obtained and retained.

Where follow-up checks are required, these should be carried out at the appropriate time.

14. Compliance with wider UK law

Sponsors are expected to comply with wider UK law.

Depending on the organisation and circumstances, this can include legal obligations relating to areas such as:

• employment;
• tax;
• National Minimum Wage;
• working time;
• health and safety; and
• any regulatory requirements applying to the business.

Sponsor compliance is therefore not isolated from the organisation’s wider legal obligations.

15. Cooperating with the Home Office

Licensed sponsors must cooperate with Home Office compliance activity.

UKVI can request information or documents and can conduct compliance checks in connection with the sponsor licence.

The organisation should be able to provide relevant records and explain how its sponsorship systems operate.

Failure to cooperate with the Home Office can itself create sponsor compliance problems.

16. Sponsor duties and third parties

Using an external immigration adviser, payroll provider, HR consultant or other third party does not transfer the sponsor’s regulatory responsibility to that provider.

The licensed organisation remains responsible for meeting its sponsor duties.

Where functions are outsourced, the sponsor should ensure that:

• responsibilities are clearly allocated;
• relevant information is shared;
• reporting deadlines can still be met; and
• the organisation retains appropriate oversight.

17. Sponsor duties and line managers

Line managers can play an important role because they may be the first people to know that a sponsored worker’s circumstances have changed.

Managers should know which events need to be escalated.

A practical internal rule is:

If a sponsored worker’s role, duties, pay, hours, location, attendance or employment status changes, notify the sponsor team before the change is implemented wherever possible.

The sponsor team can then determine whether Home Office action is required.

18. Maintaining compliance throughout the worker lifecycle

Sponsor duties should operate throughout the employment relationship:

Recruitment

Sponsorship requirements identified.

↓

Onboarding

Immigration status and right to work established; required records obtained.

↓

Employment

Attendance, contact information and sponsored employment monitored.

↓

Changes

Immigration implications assessed and required reports made.

↓

Immigration expiry

Continued permission and any further sponsorship addressed.

↓

Termination

Required sponsor reporting completed.

This lifecycle approach reduces the risk that sponsorship is treated as an issue only at recruitment.

19. Consequences of breaching sponsor duties

Failure to comply with sponsor duties can result in Home Office enforcement action.

Depending on the nature of the breach and the applicable sponsor guidance, consequences can include:

• compliance investigation;
• downgrading of the licence;
• an action plan;
• suspension; or
• revocation.

Certain breaches can have more serious consequences than others, and the sponsor guidance distinguishes between different enforcement circumstances.

20. Sponsor duties checklist

A practical sponsor compliance framework can be summarised as:

Records

Do we hold the required documents?

↓

Workers

Do we know where and how our sponsored workers are working?

↓

Changes

Can HR and managers identify immigration-relevant events?

↓

Reporting

Are required reports made within the applicable timeframe?

↓

Right to work

Do workers have the required permission and have prescribed checks been completed?

↓

Organisation

Are relevant business and licence details current?

↓

Home Office

Can we produce records and explain our systems if UKVI checks compliance?

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Section H. Compliance & Home Office Audits

The Home Office can check whether a licensed sponsor is complying with its sponsor duties both before and after a sponsor licence is granted.

For existing sponsors, compliance activity can involve reviewing the organisation’s systems, records and sponsored workers to establish whether the sponsor continues to meet the requirements of the sponsorship regime.

A compliance check can be announced or unannounced. Sponsors should therefore maintain their systems on the basis that they need to be compliant throughout the life of the licence, rather than preparing only when a Home Office visit is expected.

1. What is a Home Office sponsor compliance check?

A sponsor compliance check is an assessment by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) of an organisation’s compliance with its sponsorship obligations.

The Home Office can use compliance activity to examine whether the organisation:

• continues to meet its sponsor duties;
• has appropriate HR and monitoring systems;
• maintains the required records;
• makes required reports;
• is sponsoring genuine workers in genuine roles;
• is paying sponsored workers correctly;
• is complying with the conditions of its sponsor licence; and
• remains suitable to hold a sponsor licence.

Compliance checks can take place at different points in the sponsorship lifecycle.

2. Pre-licence compliance checks

UKVI can carry out a compliance check while considering a sponsor licence application.

The purpose can include testing whether the organisation is genuinely operating as described in its application and whether it is capable of carrying out its sponsor duties.

The Home Office can examine matters such as:

• the organisation’s activities;
• proposed sponsored roles;
• HR systems;
• recruitment;
• right to work processes;
• record keeping;
• worker monitoring; and
• reporting procedures.

A sponsor licence applicant should therefore have appropriate systems in place when it applies.

3. Post-licence compliance checks

The Home Office can also investigate compliance after a sponsor licence has been granted.

This can happen while the organisation is actively sponsoring workers and does not depend on the historic four-year sponsor licence renewal process.

UKVI can assess whether the sponsor’s actual practices continue to correspond with the requirements of the sponsorship regime.

4. Announced and unannounced visits

Home Office compliance visits can be announced or unannounced.

Where advance notice is provided, the organisation should use the available time to organise the practical management of the visit and ensure that relevant personnel and records can be accessed.

An announced visit should not be treated as an opportunity to construct compliance retrospectively.

An unannounced visit can provide the Home Office with a more immediate view of how sponsorship systems operate in practice.

Sponsors should therefore maintain continuous audit readiness.

5. What can UKVI examine during a compliance audit?

The scope of a compliance check depends on the circumstances, but UKVI can examine areas including:

• sponsor licence details;
• key personnel;
• SMS users and activity;
• Certificates of Sponsorship;
• sponsored worker files;
• right to work records;
• employment contracts;
• job descriptions;
• salaries;
• payroll information;
• working hours;
• work locations;
• attendance and absence;
• recruitment records;
• reporting history; and
• organisational changes.

The Home Office can compare information from different sources to determine whether the sponsor’s records are consistent.

6. Sponsored worker files

Worker files are a central part of sponsor compliance.

For each sponsored worker, the organisation should be able to establish matters such as:

Who is the worker?

↓

What immigration permission do they hold?

↓

What CoS was assigned?

↓

What role were they sponsored to perform?

↓

What work are they actually performing?

↓

What are they being paid?

↓

Where are they working?

↓

Have relevant changes been reported?

The required documentary records should be maintained in accordance with Appendix D to the sponsor guidance.

7. Checking the sponsored role

UKVI can assess whether the role being performed corresponds with the role for which the worker was sponsored.

This can involve comparing:

Certificate of Sponsorship

with

Job description

with

Employment contract

with

Actual duties

The Home Office is not limited to considering the job title.

The substance of the work can be important when determining whether the sponsored role is genuine and whether the appropriate occupation code has been used.

8. Salary and payroll

Salary compliance can also be examined.

UKVI can compare the salary stated in the sponsorship records against:

• employment documentation;
• payroll;
• working hours;
• actual payments; and
• changes made during employment.

The sponsor should be able to explain relevant differences and demonstrate that the worker continues to satisfy applicable sponsorship requirements.

9. Attendance and absence

Sponsors are required to maintain appropriate systems for monitoring sponsored workers.

During compliance activity, the Home Office can examine how the organisation identifies and records attendance and relevant absence.

The sponsor should be able to explain:

• how attendance is monitored;
• who identifies absence;
• how HR is informed;
• how immigration-relevant absence is escalated; and
• how required Home Office reports are made.

The appropriate system will depend on the organisation and working arrangements.

10. Work locations

UKVI can examine whether sponsored workers are working at the locations recorded or otherwise notified through the sponsorship system.

This can be particularly relevant where workers:

• work remotely;
• work on a hybrid basis;
• move between offices;
• work at client sites; or
• have relocated during employment.

The sponsor should ensure that actual working arrangements are assessed against applicable reporting requirements.

11. Interviews with sponsored workers

As part of compliance activity, Home Office officers can speak to sponsored workers and relevant employees.

Workers may be asked about matters such as:

• their role;
• duties;
• salary;
• hours;
• reporting line;
• work location;
• recruitment; and
• day-to-day employment.

The purpose is not to train workers to provide predetermined answers.

The organisation should instead ensure that the sponsored role genuinely operates in the manner represented to the Home Office.

12. Interviews with managers and key personnel

UKVI can also examine whether the people responsible for sponsorship understand how the organisation manages its duties.

Relevant personnel may need to explain matters such as:

• who manages the sponsor licence;
• how CoS assignments are approved;
• how right to work is checked;
• how sponsored workers are monitored;
• how changes reach the sponsor team;
• how reporting deadlines are managed; and
• how records are maintained.

This can reveal whether compliance exists in practice rather than merely within written policies.

13. Written policies and actual practice

Written sponsor compliance policies can be useful, but they are not sufficient by themselves.

The Home Office can examine whether the organisation actually follows its stated procedures.

For example:

Policy says managers report sponsored worker changes to HR

↓

UKVI checks actual worker changes

↓

UKVI checks whether HR was notified

↓

UKVI checks whether required SMS reports were made

A sophisticated written policy can therefore create difficulties if the organisation cannot demonstrate that it operates the policy in practice.

14. Preparing for a Home Office audit

Sponsors should maintain audit readiness through ongoing compliance rather than waiting for a visit.

A practical internal review can cover:

Licence

Rating → Routes → Key personnel → SMS users

Workers

CoS → Immigration status → Right to work → Employment

Roles

Occupation code → Duties → Salary → Hours → Location

Records

Appendix D documents → Contact details → Attendance

Reporting

Worker changes → Organisational changes → SMS history

Systems

Recruitment → HR → Payroll → Management escalation

Any discrepancies should be investigated.

15. Internal sponsor licence audits

Periodic internal audits can help identify weaknesses before they become Home Office enforcement issues.

An audit can test whether:

• required records are present;
• CoS information remains consistent with actual employment;
• salary requirements are being met;
• relevant changes have been reported;
• immigration expiry dates are monitored;
• SMS users remain appropriate;
• key personnel are current; and
• HR processes operate as intended.

The frequency and scope of internal audits can be proportionate to the organisation’s size, sponsorship activity and risk profile.

16. What happens if UKVI identifies compliance problems?

The outcome depends on the nature and seriousness of the findings and the applicable sponsor guidance.

Potential outcomes can include:

• no further action;
• further enquiries or compliance activity;
• downgrading of the sponsor licence;
• an action plan;
• suspension; or
• revocation.

The sponsor guidance distinguishes between different types of breach and enforcement consequences.

The Home Office does not necessarily respond to every compliance failure in the same way.

17. Responding to compliance concerns

Where UKVI identifies potential problems, the organisation should establish the factual position before responding.

A useful approach is:

Home Office concern

↓

Applicable sponsor requirement

↓

Relevant worker or organisational records

↓

Facts established

↓

Breach confirmed or disputed

↓

Remedial action where required

↓

Home Office response

This helps distinguish genuine compliance failures from factual misunderstandings or incorrect assumptions.

18. Remediation

Where an internal or Home Office audit identifies a genuine weakness, the organisation should consider both the immediate issue and its underlying cause.

For example:

Problem A worker’s change of work location was not reported.

Immediate action Assess and take the appropriate sponsor action.

Root cause The line manager did not notify HR.

System correction Introduce an immigration escalation requirement for sponsored worker location changes.

Remediation does not necessarily erase an historic breach, but correcting the underlying system can reduce the risk of recurrence.

19. Home Office audit readiness

A sponsor should be capable of answering six basic questions about each sponsored worker:

Who are they?

Why were they sponsored?

What role are they sponsored to perform?

What are they actually doing?

What are they being paid?

Have relevant changes been identified and reported?

The organisation should be able to answer these questions from its existing records and systems.

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