Holding a sponsor licence comes with a huge number of compliance and record keeping duties, which reflect the Home Office’s view that sponsorship is a privilege not a right. Failure to adhere to the Home Office’s numerous guidance documents could result in a sponsor licence being suspended and possibly even revoked.
The Home Office will look to suspend a licence where they believe the company are breaching their sponsor duties and/or pose a threat to immigration control, or are engaging in behaviours or actions that are not conducive to the public good. The suspension of the licence basically allows them to make enquires regarding any issues raised.
When the Home Office take the step to suspend a licence, they we formally notify the sponsor in writing. This has the effect of spending all tiers under the licence, although any sponsored workers, who have valid permission to enter or stay, will not be affected at this stage. The sponsor will not be able to assign any Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) while it is suspended. Some other functions on the Sponsor Management System (SMS) are also locked during this period.
The Home Office will give the sponsor 20 working days in order to respond to its allegations. This is the sponsor’s opportunity to seek a review of the decision and to set out any mitigating arguments. The response is made in writing and there is no opportunity to make oral representations.
If the Home Office later identify additional reasons for the suspension during the initial 20-day period, they will notify the sponsor in writing and give them a further 20 working to respond to the additional reasons.
After receiving the sponsor’s response, the Home Office then aim to make a decision on whether to revoke or not within a further 20 working days. Note that in very rare cases, the Home Office may seek to delay the deadline for making a decision.
The outcome of suspension proceedings will be one of the following:
• re-instate the licence with an A-rating – essential no further action is taken.
• re-instate the licence with a B-rating (and issuing the sponsor with an action plan)
• prevent the sponsor from assigning any new CoS
• prevent the use of any assigned, but unused, CoS
• revoke the licence
When a licence is downgraded to a B-rating, the Home Office will normally reduce or set a CoS allocation to zero. The action plan implemented is intended for the sponsor to improve their performance to be upgraded back to an A-rating.
Action plans are implemented for a period of up to 3 months and can include directives such as making improvements to record keeping and improving control over staff who assign CoSs. There is a fee for the action plan.
At the end of the action plan, the Home Office will carry out a compliance visit. They will then make a decision on whether to reinstate the licence to an A-rating or take action to revoke it. You can only be downgraded to a B-rating twice during any 4-year rolling period.
If the Home Office take the step to revoke a licence, they will inform the sponsor in writing and it will be for all routes under the licence.
When a licence is revoked, it means the sponsor will not be able to sponsor any more workers and action will be normally be taken to cancel or shorten the permission of any sponsored worker. Any CoSs assigned will automatically become invalid.
The sponsor no longer has access to the SMS and their details will be removed from the public register of Worker and Temporary Worker sponsors. There is no right of appeal against such a decision.
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Mr Maida04/2023Secured skilled worker sponsor licence
"I wanted to thank you for your amazing effort! This is a personal achievement for me as a director of a small SME. It feels great that our firm is now able to sponsor workers and we could only do it with your guidance and professional help."
Do not take any chances when dealing with a sponsor licence suspension or revocation; your business and sponsored employees may be at risk if you fail to respond properly or meet compliance requirements. Call Latitude Law now on 0300 131 6767 or fill in our enquiry form and we will get back to you. Let our expert immigration solicitors will help you break down the application process and offer sponsor licence guidance.
A: A sponsor will generally not be eligible to apply again for a sponsor licence until at least 12 months (longer in some circumstances) have passed since the date of revocation.
Yes, they can continue to work, and you can lawfully employ them until they come to the end of their 60-day visa cancellation period. In practice, the Home Office can take a considerable time to send visa cancellation emails to workers, and they are permitted to work for you during that period.
A: If an individual has an outstanding application based on a CoS assigned by the suspended sponsor, this will be put on hold until a decision on the suspension is made. If a sponsored worker has an outstanding settlement application, a decision will not be made until the outcome of the suspension is decided.
Latitude Law helps overseas workers navigate the complexities of the UK immigration system across all available working visas.
A Skilled Worker visa is available for skilled workers of all nationalities that have been offered a position from an eligible UK company who is a registered sponsor. This route can lead to settlement and applicants can be joined by dependent partners and children.
The Scale-Up Worker route is an option for UK companies that are considered to be in a sustained period of high growth. It provides an opportunity for such employers to for companies that need to quickly recruit highly skilled migrant workers, to help manage their fast-growing business.
