Employer Sponsor Duties and Compliance

Licensed sponsors have three categories of duty under the Home Office's sponsor guidance:

1. Reporting duties — Sponsors must report certain changes about sponsored workers to UKVI via the Sponsor Management System (SMS) within set timescales. Reportable events include: the worker does not start on the agreed start date; the worker's employment ends or changes significantly; the worker is absent without permission for more than 10 consecutive working days; and significant changes to the role, salary, or working location.
2. Record-keeping duties — Sponsors must keep certain documents and records for each sponsored worker, including: a copy of the worker's passport and visa; their National Insurance number; their current contact details; and records of attendance and absence. Records must be kept in a format that can be produced quickly to UKVI if requested.
3. Monitoring duties — Sponsors must have HR systems that allow them to monitor sponsored workers' immigration status, attendance, and compliance with visa conditions. They must take reasonable steps to ensure sponsored workers are not working in breach of their visa conditions.

UKVI conducts both announced and unannounced compliance visits to licensed sponsors. The purpose is to check that the sponsor is meeting its duties. Visitors may be UKVI staff or immigration enforcement officers. During a visit, they may:

• Ask to see records for specific sponsored workers;
• Interview HR staff about processes and procedures;
• Check payroll records, contracts of employment, and timesheet records;
• Speak to sponsored workers directly.

Cooperating with a compliance visit is not optional — obstruction or failure to provide requested documents can itself lead to licence downgrade or revocation. Sponsors should prepare for potential compliance visits by maintaining their records in good order at all times, not just when a visit is expected.

UKVI can take several actions against non-compliant sponsors:

• Downgrade from A-rating to B-rating — Sponsors on a B-rating cannot assign new Certificates of Sponsorship and must pay for a compliance action plan. Most sponsors are downgraded rather than immediately revoked for first-time issues;
• Suspension — The licence is suspended pending a fuller investigation. No new CoS can be assigned during suspension;
• Revocation — The most serious outcome. All sponsored workers' visas may be curtailed, giving them 60 days to find a new sponsor or leave the UK. The revoked sponsor faces a cooling-off period before reapplying for a licence.

Sponsors should also be aware of their obligations under the Right to Work regime — the separate (but related) requirement to check that all employees (not just sponsored workers) have the right to work in the UK before starting employment. A failure in right to work checks can lead to civil penalties of up to £60,000 per illegal worker.