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 do the job being recruited for and that you retain records and copies of documentation proving this. Sponsors must retain evidence of qualifications/registration/experience, and for certain routes (e.g., Skilled Worker care roles), verify prior UK employment where applicable under the time-limited care worker recruitment requirement (for Certificates of Sponsorship assigned between 9 April 2025 and 21 July 2025).

b. Allocate Certificates of Sponsorship to foreign workers only for jobs that qualify for sponsorship. For Skilled Workers, ensure jobs meet the required skill level (generally RQF3 or above. Transitional arrangements may apply in limited cases.

c. Monitor your sponsored workers and notify the Home Office if they breach any of their visa or sponsorship conditions.

In practical terms, the duties can be expanded as follows:

a. Reporting duties: Sponsor licence holders are required to submit specific information or events to the Home Office through the SMS within specific time frames.

b. Record-keeping duties: Sponsors are responsible for maintaining records for each worker they support.

c. Complying with Immigration Rules: Respecting all requirements of the Worker and Temporary Worker Sponsor Guidance and UK immigration laws.

d. Complying with UK laws: Sponsor licence holders have a responsibility to abide by UK law generally (other than immigration law). This explicitly includes compliance with National Minimum Wage, Working Time Regulations and not employing workers in breach of conditions.

e. Acting in the public good: All sponsors must avoid behaviour or actions that are not conducive to the public good, including not providing false information and cooperating with the Home Office.

If the Home Office alleges you have breached any of these duties, you risk your licence being downgraded, suspended or revoked.

Depending on how many sponsored workers you employ, in practice, it’s likely that your licence won’t require daily attention, but similarly, your licence cannot be left to run itself. You will need to understand what it means to manage the licence correctly, and when action is needed by you to meet your duties and avoid allegations of non-compliance.

Your obligation to comply with the requirements as a licensed sponsor begin from the date your licence is issued until you relinquish it, it is made inactive, or it has been terminated. In practice, you will need to have taken certain measures in preparation for the sponsor licence application, since the eligibility requirements demand organisations to evidence certain aspects of immigration compliance.

For each sponsored worker, your responsibility starts when you assign the Certificate of Sponsorship, and it ends when one of the following occurs and you have reported it to the Home Office:

• a worker’s entry clearance or licence expires or is rendered invalid when they leave the UK, or,
• upon denial of the worker’s request for entry clearance or authorisation and following the conclusion of any administrative review or appeal procedures; or
• the worker is granted permission to enter or permission to work for a different sponsor; or
• the worker is granted permission to carry on working on a route without your continued sponsorship; or
• the worker is granted settlement; or
• you notify the Home Office that you are no longer sponsoring the foreign worker.

For offshore workers, specific sponsor duties apply, including reporting arrival/departure in UK waters.

Section B: How to Comply with your Sponsor Duties

Once your licence is granted, the focus shifts to how you meet the duties attached to it in practice. Compliance is not about one-off actions at the application stage but about embedding systems that withstand Home Office scrutiny over time. The extent of what is required will vary depending on the size of your organisation and the number of sponsored workers you employ, but the principle is the same: records must be accurate, reporting must be timely, and management oversight must be continuous. Below we set out the key areas where sponsors must demonstrate ongoing compliance.

1. Record-keeping

A large part of sponsor licence duties involves maintaining accurate records for each sponsored worker. Appendix D of the Sponsor Guidance specifies the documents to be retained and how long they must be kept for. Records must be paper or electronic, fully visible, and provided on request; include verification of qualifications/registration. For eVisas, records should reflect online status checks rather than any physical stamp. For under-16s where sponsorship is permitted, view the live eVisa and retain a screenshot as evidence of status.

The following table summarises key required documents:

You must also keep the documents used as part of your sponsor licence application.

You must retain these records for whichever is the shorter period:

• One year from the date you end your sponsorship of the worker.
• The date a compliance officer has examined and approved the documents, if this occurs less than one year after the end of sponsorship.

However, some documents may need to be held for longer periods to satisfy other legal requirements and to avoid civil penalties for illegal employment.

2. Sponsored worker monitoring & reporting

Beyond keeping records, there is a positive duty on sponsor licence holders to report to the Home Office using the SMS Portal within 10 working days if any of the following events have occurred:

• A sponsored employee does not turn up to work on their first day.
• A sponsored employee’s contract is terminated early.
• A sponsored employee is absent from work without permission for more than 10 consecutive working days. Report no later than 10 working days after the tenth consecutive day of unauthorised absence. Also report unpaid or reduced-pay absences exceeding 4 weeks in a calendar year unless an exception applies, such as protected leave.

&nbsp

There are significant changes in a sponsored worker’s contract of employment e.g. where the employee has been TUPE’d to a different sponsor. Include salary reductions (unless increases or specific exceptions like nurse registration); work location changes (e.g., new sites, remote work). A worker may start work earlier than the date stated on the CoS once their permission is granted and no report is needed for an earlier start. Delays in start dates up to 28 days generally do not need reporting; beyond 28 days, report with reasons.

Organisations are also expected to monitor the immigration status of their employees and report any changes, and to notify the Home Office of any suspicions and evidence that an individual is breaking the conditions of their stay in the UK. Report suspicions of stay breaches/terrorism/crime as soon as possible.

Following a change in sponsor guidance in November 2022, sponsors no longer have to notify the Home Office if a sponsored worker starts work before the intended date shown on their Certificate of Sponsorship, provided the new start date is after their visa was approved.

Route-specific reporting refers to additional obligations for UK sponsors under certain immigration routes, beyond general duties. For example, for the Scale up route, sponsors must report any differences in the worker’s actual start date from that on their CoS to allow for tracking of the automatic end of sponsorship after six months. In the Skilled Worker route for nurses or midwives, reports are required on the date of Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) registration or associated salary increases to meet thresholds. Other examples include reporting GMC registration withdrawals for doctors, arrival/departure dates for offshore workers, or specific actions for UK Expansion Workers, all aimed at monitoring eligibility and preventing system abuse while advising sponsors to consult full guidance for updates.

3. Reporting organisational changes

The Home Office places duties on these organisations to inform of certain organisational and employee changes to ensure their records are kept up to date, and that immigration enforcement is upheld.

Where there has been any change to the size of the organisation, or if any change impacting its charitable status, this must be reported within 20 working days.

The following changes must be reported within 20 working days:

• Change of organisation name
• Takeover or sale of all or part of the organisation
• The company has ceased to trade

Other changes that must be reported include:

a. Change of company address

If your company has moved address, the Home Office needs to know. Unannounced site visits remain common, requiring current addresses for immigration enforcement officials to attend and carry out inspections. Include all branches/head offices.

b. Change of Authorising officer

The Home Office sees the Authorising Officer as their key point of contact with your company, even if they aren’t involved in the day-to-day immigration work. It’s essential that you have an Authorising Officer in place at all times. If the current incumbent leaves the company, relocates overseas, or goes on sabbatical or maternity leave, you need to appoint someone else to fill the role, even where on a temporary basis to ensure continuity of cover.

c. Opening or closing a UK branch

Details of UK branches are not published on the SMS. This can make it difficult for employers to keep track of which addresses are on the licence. Maintaining clear, internal records and making sure these are amended every time a branch is opened or closed is the most effective way to ensure the licence is kept up to date.

d. Establishing or closing an overseas branch, subsidiary company or linked company

As with UK branches, overseas branches and subsidiaries are also not viewable on the SMS, making it challenging to know exactly which overseas companies are covered by your licence. Best practice is to update the Home Office each time a linked entity overseas is established or closed. In any event, you must have informed the Home Office before you can look to transfer an employee from that overseas company to the UK. For groups that are prolific in opening new overseas branches or companies, programming in the submission of an update to the Home Office every quarter, or yearly as appropriate, can help to ensure compliance.

e. Other significant changes to the company

Takeovers, acquisitions, mergers and TUPE transfers are all examples of significant organisational changes which are to be reported to the Home Office, usually within 20 working days of the change happening. Such changes will generally have complex implications for your sponsor licence, for example you may need to submit a new licence application within the 20-working day timeframe. Where workers transfer under TUPE to a new sponsor with the correct licence and unchanged duties, a new CoS is not required, but reporting duties within 20 working days still apply. We would strongly recommend taking expert advice on what is needed as early as possible to avoid issues with your licence.

Other reportable changes: registration/accreditation, insolvency, convictions, business nature. Most timelines are 20 working days; some are as soon as possible (for example convictions).

4. Complying with Immigration Rules & UK law

As a sponsor, it is essential to remember that one of your responsibilities will be to refrain from conduct that is not conducive to the public good. Only people who are qualified, registered, or experienced for the role in question should be employed by sponsors. If the vacancy is not genuine, you cannot allocate a CoS or sponsor the worker.

To prevent illegal working you should retain records proving that the employees are qualified for the position and keep track of each employee’s immigration status. Do not pass on or recoup CoS or licence fees from workers, which is prohibited and can be a revocation ground. Comply with HMRC cross-checks. For care roles, ensure CQC registration where required.

5. CoS applications & renewals of certificates

Once a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) is assigned, the worker must apply for their visa within 3 months of the assignment date.

Annual allocations of Undefined CoS are managed in the SMS. Your allocation end date is shown in the system; you can request increases at any time and submit renewal requests in advance via the SMS.

For Defined CoS, provide the required information for roles that require a defined certificate.

Organisations must only assign certificates for jobs that are suitable for sponsorship and must ensure that their employees have the necessary qualifications. For care workers, include any additional CoS information required by current guidance.

6. Appointing key personnel

A further requirement for sponsors is to appoint certain key personnel, who will have responsibility for administering your sponsor licence and ensuring the organisation is complying with its duties.

These roles can be assigned to a single person or multiple people, and in some cases external advisers can be appointed. In practice, for smaller companies with a small number of sponsored workers, it is usually the HR manager who will assume all of the key personnel roles, although each role must still be shown in SMS as a separate entry even if held by one person. Larger employers with many sponsored workers will generally assign different roles to different members of the HR team.

The rules in this area are complex and subject to frequent change. At least one Level 1 user always; recommend minimum numbers for accountability.

a. Authorising officer

When applying for a sponsor licence you must appoint an Authorising Officer. You must have an appointed Authorising Officer in place at all times while your licence is valid.

The authorising officer (AO) must be the most senior person responsible for migrant recruitment or HR. They do not have to be a director but must be an employee or office-holder who is ‘authorised to hire sponsored workers and meet compliance duties’.

The AO will be the first and primary point of contact for your organisation with the Home Office. They will receive e-mails concerning changes to sponsors’ duties, the need to renew Certificates of Sponsorship or the licence itself. They are also required to authorise most of the changes or updates to your licence e.g. notifying the Home Office of a new branch.

In April 2024 digital declaration in the Sponsorship Management System (SMS) has replaced the wet-ink submission sheet for most change requests. The AO must therefore approve changes in SMS; the Home Office no longer requires a printed submission sheet in most cases.

The Authorising Officer will not have automatic access to the SMS to carry out any of the practical functions relating to sponsoring migrant workers, unless they are appointed as a Level 1 User.

b. Level 1 and 2 users

Level 1 and 2 users perform the day-to-day activities required of the sponsor licence holder, through the online Sponsorship Management System.

Your Level 1 User(s) will usually be the person or people who are doing your day-to-day immigration work.

At least one Level 1 user must be a settled UK-based employee or office-holder of the sponsor; additional Level 1 users may be suitably regulated representatives.

They have full access to the SMS, from which all functions of your licence are operated:

• Undertaking routine sponsorship activities, including assigning Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS), reporting migrant activity and changes of circumstance, request CoS, apply for and assign Defined CoS where permitted
• Viewing information about your licence
• Notify the Home Office of changes to your organisation

You must always have at least one Level 1 User in place, who can access the SMS to carry out these tasks. Initially, when making the licence application, there need only be one Level 1 user. This person must be an employee. However, additional users can be added at any time and can include employees as well as certain external representatives. The Home Office recommends that you keep numbers to the minimum necessary for effective business operation while ensuring accountability.

Level 2 users can also be added and have restricted system access. They may view worker records and report some changes, but they cannot assign CoS, withdraw sponsorship or submit licence-wide updates.

You can appoint as many Level 2 Users as you need once your licence is in place.

c. Key contact

Your key contact is the Home Office’s other main point of contact for the licence. They are responsible for liaising with the Home Office. The Home Office will contact them in the event that they have queries about your sponsor licence application, the documents submitted or the payment.

When applying for a licence you must nominate a key contact and you should have one at all times whilst you hold the licence.

Your key contact can be an employee or officer of the company, or a legal representative, provided they are based in the UK.

If you require your key contact to have access to the SMS, they will need to be set up as either a Level 1 or Level 2 user. They will not otherwise have access to the SMS.

d. Key personnel guidance

Many sponsors fall foul of their compliance duties due to issues relating to the key personnel. We have highlighted some common risk factors below, but in general, it is advisable for sponsors to undertake regular checks on key personnel appointments and licence management activity.

Employers should also be aware that individuals appointed as key personnel must meet certain suitability criteria and will be subject to checks. Issues with the suitability of your proposed key personnel can expose the organisation to enforcement action.

When making a sponsorship application, the Home Office will verify that all key personnel do not pose a threat to immigration control.

They must be based in the UK. For the duration of the period that they fill one of the licence roles, key personnel must be permanently based in the UK. In other words, even if your UK company is a subsidiary or branch of an overseas company and your HR function is based outside the UK, you must still appoint UK-based personnel to fill the sponsor licence roles.

They must not have any criminal convictions or immigration breaches. The Home Office will check Authorising Officers, Key Contacts and Level 1 Users for unspent criminal convictions at the time of your licence application, and can check at any point after that during the duration of your licence. The guidance states that individuals acting as key personnel must not be legally barred from acting as company directors unless court permission has been granted. They must also not be subject to any bankruptcy or debt relief restrictions. Key personnel must also not have been issued with a civil penalty for illegal working in the last five years or been subject to immigration-related civil penalties.

Any prior failures to carry out sponsorship duties or convictions for immigration offences, fraud, money laundering, or failure to pay VAT, may put a licence at risk. If any of the key personnel have been involved with a sponsor organisation whose licence has been revoked within the last 12-24 months, the licence application can be refused.

Ordinarily a paid member of staff or an office holder, with office holders including the Company Secretary, Directors and owners of the company. Your key personnel cannot be:

• A representative not based in the UK
• A contractor or consultant contracted for a specific project
• Subject to a Bankruptcy Restriction Order or Undertaking
• Subject to a Debt Relief Restriction Order or Undertaking
• Legally prohibited from being a Company Director

e. Replacing key personnel

If one of your key personnel leaves the organisation and you fail to appoint someone else to the role, or if the individual does not meet the eligibility criteria, the Home Office can choose to downgrade your licence, charge you to upgrade it again, or even revoke your licence altogether.

f. Update contact details

You must provide contact details for all Key Personnel at the time of your licence application and if any changes occur subsequently.

The contact address given for each of your Key Personnel must be either:

• Your main address
• A branch or head office included in your licence
• Your representative’s business address

If your organisation moves location you must update the contact details for your Key Personnel, as well as updating the licence address itself.

g. Secure e-mail and passwords

All email addresses you provide for Key Personnel must be secure, personal to and only accessible by the named individual. The log-in details sent to each of your Level 1 Users are also specific for each individual and must not be used by or accessible to others.

The Home Office may suspend a licence where they identify a breach of either of these rules and we are increasingly hearing of cases where this has happened.

Section C: Prepare for Compliance Audits & Visits

Compliance is an ongoing concern. Compliance monitoring now combines on-site inspections with digital audits, giving the Home Office wider reach and shorter notice periods. The Home Office has powers to conduct announced and unannounced site inspections of sponsor licence holders, and is increasingly conducting desktop audits. Sponsors must be ready to demonstrate at any moment that their HR files, reporting logs and right to work checks meet the standards in the sponsor guidance. Failure to cooperate, such as denying access to premises, withholding records or missing digital-audit deadlines, allows the Home Office to move straight to suspension or revocation. Non-cooperation (e.g., denying access, missing deadlines) leads directly to suspension/revocation.

1. On-site inspections

Home Office officers may arrive announced or unannounced. If the Home Office attends your premises for an inspection, you are required to be cooperative.

The inspectors will expect immediate access to any location where sponsored workers are based and will request original or electronic copies of the documents listed in Appendix D. Immediate access; interviews possible.

Inspectors usually cross-check absence logs, salary payments and job duties against the information recorded on each worker’s Certificate of Sponsorship. You must make sure that the documents and files listed in Appendix D of the sponsor guidance are readily available. They can also interview staff to confirm that the daily role matches the description filed in the Sponsorship Management System. If a sponsor’s payroll data does not align with HMRC records, or if right to work documents are missing, the visit may escalate to a licence suspension.

The Home Office might also check HMRC records to verify that you are paying your employees fairly and in accordance with the information on the CoS.

2. Digital desktop audits

The Home Office is increasingly relying on remote reviews. Sponsors receive an email requiring them to upload specified evidence, typically within five or ten working days, to a secure portal. Requests often cover a sample list of sponsored workers and ask for copies of passports, visas, contracts, payslips, recruitment adverts and absence records.

Sponsors have to supply the documentation in a clear, labelled format, along with an organisational chart and screenshots of internal tracking systems. Late or incomplete submissions count as non-compliance. Requests via email; upload to portal within 5-10 days; include labeled files, org charts and tracking screenshots.

Section D: Home Office Penalties for Breaching Sponsor Licence Duties and Compliance

Where the Home Office alleges a failure to comply with sponsor licence duties, this can result in a downgrade in the organisation’s licence rating, or suspension or revocation of the licence, putting the jobs and immigration status of existing migrant workers at risk.

1. Sponsor licence downgraded

In the case of minor breaches, the Home Office may decide to downgrade the licence from an A-rating to B-rating. While your licence is downgraded, you will not be allowed to allocate any CoS to new sponsored workers. CoS allocation may be set to zero or reduced. You will also be required to follow an action plan to resolve the breach and reinstate your A-rating status. You will also have to pay a fee for this plan.

2. Sponsor licence suspended

If you are facing allegations of more substantial breaches, the Home Office has powers to suspend your licence while further investigations are made. You will be notified of the suspension in writing and will be required to respond to the letter, either accepting the allegations or challenging the grounds for suspension. The Home Office will then make a decision to end the suspension if they are satisfied that the breaches have been addressed, or to escalate the penalty to a revocation if the issues are not resolved. Respond within 20 working days; you cannot assign CoS or change key personnel roles while the licence is suspended.

3. Sponsor licence revocation

This is the most severe penalty for licence holders. If your sponsor licence is revoked, you lose your ability to sponsor migrant workers. You could also be barred from reapplying for a new licence for at least 12 months, rising to at least 24 months for repeat revocations, and potentially longer in specified circumstances.

If your licence is revoked, UKVI may cancel or shorten sponsored workers’ permission. In practice, workers must either secure permission to remain in the UK under an alternative route, for example by finding a new role with a new sponsor, or leave the UK.

4. Civil Penalties

UK sponsor licence holders may face penalties under the civil penalty regime if they fail to comply with their sponsorship duties. For a first breach, employers may be fined up to £45,000 per breach if found guilty of employing someone without the right to work. Repeat breaches can result in higher fines of up to £60,000 per illegal worker, as well as potential suspension or revocation of the sponsor licence. Publication of breaches is possible and in some cases bars on re-application can be extended, including up to five years.

Section E: Summary

Holding a sponsor licence opens valuable recruitment opportunities, but the benefit comes with ongoing responsibility. The Home Office expects licence holders to maintain robust systems for record-keeping, monitoring and reporting, alongside wider compliance with immigration and employment law. Failures are not treated lightly and enforcement action can quickly escalate from an action plan to suspension or revocation, jeopardising business continuity and the immigration status of sponsored staff. Employers who approach compliance as a continual process rather than a one-off task are best placed to manage risk, satisfy audits and protect their ability to sponsor overseas talent.

Section F: Need Assistance?

Failure to comply with your licence duties can result in Home Office enforcement action, including suspension or revocation of the licence, potentially causing operational disruption and impacting your sponsored workers’ visas.

Our advice for maintaining compliance and keeping the Home Office happy? Avoid falling into the trap of ‘out of sight out of mind’. A neglected licence may cause issues when it comes to requesting a CoS or if the Home Office attends your premises unannounced. You can avoid issues, scrutiny and penalties by keeping on top of your sponsor licence duties and compliance.

As UK business immigration specialists, we provide ongoing compliance support and guidance to sponsor licence holders. Whether you have an HR team that requires specialist support, or you have no compliance resource in your organisation, we offer a range of training, support and consultancy services to suit different licence compliance needs. Contact us if you have any queries about your sponsor licence duties.

Section G: Sponsor licence duties FAQs

What records must be kept for each sponsored worker?

Records must comply with the requirements under Appendix D. For example, a copy of the worker’s passport ID page and current immigration permission, a signed employment contract, the job description with the correct SOC code, evidence of salary payments, full absence records, a dated right to work check, and any recruitment evidence required to show a genuine vacancy. These documents must be retained for whichever is earlier: one year after sponsorship ends or the point at which a Home Office compliance officer has examined them.

Do right to work checks need repeating during employment?

For employees with time-limited permission to work, a new check must be carried out on or before the day their current permission expires. Checks for British and Irish citizens using an approved Identity Service Provider (IDSP) with identity-verification technology are one-time only.

How quickly must changes be reported to UKVI?

Changes affecting a sponsored worker, such as salary adjustments, job-title changes or moves to a new work location, must be reported through the SMS within ten working days. Significant organisational changes, including mergers or changes of ownership, must be reported within 20 working days.

What happens if a sponsored employee takes unpaid leave?

Unpaid leave exceeding four consecutive weeks must usually be reported and will normally require sponsorship to end, unless the leave falls under an exception such as statutory maternity or sickness absence.

How many Level 1 users should a sponsor maintain?

You must keep at least one Level 1 user who is a settled, UK-based employee or office-holder. Appointing a second Level 1 user provides cover for absences and ensures continuous access to the Sponsorship Management System.

Can an external adviser act as a Level 1 user?

A regulated immigration adviser can be added as an additional Level 1 user, but the sponsor must still retain at least one internal Level 1 user who is an employee or office-holder.

What is the difference between suspension and revocation of a licence?

Suspension halts new Certificates of Sponsorship while the Home Office investigates compliance concerns. Revocation cancels the licence and leads UKVI to cancel or shorten sponsored workers’ permission. A new licence application is barred for at least 12 months, longer in some cases.

How should employers prepare for digital compliance audits?

Ongoing compliance practices are the best approach, such as maintaining electronic folders for each sponsored worker containing all Appendix D documents and conducting regular mock audits. When the Home Office requests evidence, submit the files in the required format within the stated deadline. Taking professional advice can help ensure you prepare and submit the correct documentation.

Are hybrid or remote working arrangements reportable?

A change to a sponsored worker’s normal work location, including moving to a home address, must be reported within ten working days along with any change in working pattern or hours.

What penalties apply for employing someone without valid permission?

Employers face civil penalties and risk licence suspension or revocation. Details of breaches may be published, damaging the organisation’s reputation and ability to recruit.

Section H: Glossary

Section I: Additional Resources and Links