Once the business is registered as a licenced sponsor, it will benefit to sponsor migrants to work at the company. As a Sponsor, the licence holder must comply with its duties and it must take responsibility for each migrant it has sponsored to work. Failure to comply with the Home Office Sponsor Licence duties can result either in a Sponsor Licence Suspension or a Sponsor Licence Revocation.

Sponsor Licence Suspension

UKVI may suspend the sponsor license if they believe the organisation or key personnel are breaching their duties and pose a threat to immigration control. In these circumstances, the Home Office will suspend the licence temporarily whilst they make further enquiries and the business will have its name removed from the Home Office’s register for Sponsors.

Failure to keep all records updated and failing to report the change in circumstances to the Home Office.

Employers pay migrant workers in cash.

Employers do not pay migrant workers appropriate salaries.

The business continuously fails to comply with the requirement.

Employer sponsored a migrant who has not complied with the conditions of their permission to stay in the UK and the employer did not follow good practices set out by the Home Office.

The reason for the suspension will be notified by way of the letter. The sponsor has 20 working days to respond to the decision following which the Home Office will consider the reasons and grounds for refuting the decision.

Sponsor Licence Revocation

There are several circumstances in which the sponsorship license may be revoked, but the most common reasons are as follows.

If the Home Office found that the company provided false information for the initial application and reveals that the sponsor license would not have been granted if the correct information had been submitted.

The business has been liquidated or bankruptcy orders have been issued.

The business was sold or ceased to have an operating presence in the UK.

If a business is found to have employed illegal workers.

The business failed to undertake the right to work checks correctly in accordance with Home Office guidelines.

If the Home Office discovered that a business employed a migrant worker for a job that does not meet the required skill level for the role.

If the business supplied incorrect information on the CoS including salary, job title, and job details.

If the sponsorship license is revoked, there is no right to appeal the decision. The Home Office will immediately curtail leave to remain for the migrant workers on skilled workers or Tier 5 temporary worker visas who are found to have knowingly partaken in the circumstance listed above.

For the migrant workers who were not involved, their leave will be shortened to 60 calendar days and they will face removal from the UK if they have not departed within the given timeframe.

In these circumstances, the only remedy may be to judicially review the Home Office’s decision.

B-Rating Downgrading a Sponsor Licence

UKVI may downgrade the sponsor licence to a B-rating. When UKVI compliance officers are not satisfied that the business is using the correct procedure to comply with its sponsor duties or when a business has not complied with UKVI’s request for information within the time frame.

For example, if changes of the migrant worker must be reported within 10 working days, but the sponsor failed to do it, the sponsor rate may be downgraded to B-grade.

In general, the business will be sent a letter by UKVI in which you are informed of the action which will be taken and you will be allowed to make written submissions as to why you should maintain an A-rating or how you intend to change your processes and procedures to ensure that you will maintain an A-rating.

Maintaining A-rated sponsors and updating immigration laws are very important. A licenced sponsor needs to play their part in ensuring that the immigration system is not abused and it should have robust processes and procedures in place to comply with sponsor duties.