Corporate compliance · IAA-regulated advice
Sponsor Compliance Advice for Employers in Birmingham & London
A sponsor licence comes with duties to UKVI, on top of employment law and right to work rules. We map every duty that applies to your business, check where you stand and help you set up the systems to stay compliant, for a fixed fee agreed in writing.
Last checked 11 October 2026 · Reviewed by Vishal Gautam, IAA-regulated adviser
Overview
What are a sponsor’s compliance duties?
When you’re granted a sponsor licence, UKVI trusts you to help stop the sponsorship system being abused. Part 3 of the sponsor guidance groups your duties into five areas: reporting, keeping records, complying with immigration law, complying with wider UK law, and not behaving in a way that isn’t conducive to the public good.
Alongside these, every employer, sponsor or not, must prevent illegal working with right to work checks. UKVI monitors sponsors continually and can cut your certificate allocation, downgrade, suspend or revoke your licence if you fall short.
✓This page is for you if…
- You’ve just been granted a sponsor licence and want to set up properly
- You sponsor workers and aren’t sure every duty is covered
- You’re changing ownership, structure, sites or HR systems
- You want one adviser to look across sponsorship and right to work
Quick check
Are you meeting your sponsor duties? Six questions, one minute
Answer honestly. Nothing is saved or sent: this is a general guide, not advice on your case.
Does every sponsored worker do the job, and get the pay, shown on their certificate?Changes within the same occupation code must be reported.
Do you report changes within 10 working days for workers and 20 working days for your organisation?
Do you check every worker’s right to work before they start?Sponsored or not, whatever their nationality.
Do you pay the licence fee, certificate fees and Immigration Skills Charge yourself?Recovering them from a worker by any means isn’t allowed.
Do you meet employment law for sponsored workers, such as minimum wage and working time?Pay them into their own bank account, never in cash.
Is your Authorising Officer in place and overseeing your SMS users?UKVI recommends they check the certificates assigned at least monthly.
Eligibility
Sponsor compliance requirements
These are the duties in Part 3 of the Workers and Temporary Workers sponsor guidance, plus the right to work rules that apply to every employer.
Complying with immigration law
- Only sponsor workers who are qualified, registered or experienced for the job, and keep proof
- Only assign a certificate for an eligible, genuine role that matches what the worker will actually do
- Only let workers do work their conditions allow, and stop employing anyone no longer entitled to do the job
- Never let an SMS user assign a certificate to themselves, a close relative or partner
A role that doesn’t exist, is a sham or exaggerated, or was created mainly to get someone a visa, is a ground on which UKVI will revoke a licence.
Reporting and record keeping
- Report late starts, absence without permission, pay cuts, changes of role or location, and leavers
- Report changes to your organisation, such as your address, sites, ownership, size or Key Personnel
- Keep the Appendix D documents for every sponsored worker, and produce them when asked
- Tell UKVI as soon as reasonably practicable if you suspect a worker has breached their conditions
Our reporting duties and records page sets out each change and deadline.
Preventing illegal working
- Check every worker’s right to work before they start, and again before time-limited permission ends
- As a sponsor, check every worker you sponsor, even if another organisation employs them
- From 1 October 2026 the scheme also covers many worker’s contracts, sub-contractors and platforms
- A civil penalty is likely to lead to revocation, with no new licence until 12 months after it’s paid in full
Knowingly employing an illegal worker is a crime, with up to 5 years in prison.
Pay, employment law and sponsor costs
- Comply with UK employment law, including National Minimum Wage, working time and workplace pensions
- Pay sponsored workers into their own bank account, never in cash
- Pay the licence fee, certificate fees and Immigration Skills Charge yourself, and don’t recover them from workers
- Hold any registration, licence or planning permission your business needs to operate
Tell UKVI within 20 working days if your size or charitable status changes: it affects what you pay.
Key Personnel, co-operation and conduct
- Keep an eligible Authorising Officer and at least one eligible Level 1 User in place at all times
- Co-operate with compliance checks and give officers full access, including at client sites
- Follow any action plan UKVI sets
- Don’t behave in ways UKVI treats as not conducive to the public good, such as discrimination or fostering hatred
Your duties start the day your licence is granted, and UKVI can take earlier conduct into account.
Documents
Sponsor compliance documents: the easy part
Most of these already exist. Compliance problems come from documents that don’t match each other, or the SMS.
What everyone needs
- Your licence details, routes and Key Personnel
- Certificates and job descriptions for each sponsored role
- £Payroll and bank records for sponsored workers
- Right to work checks for all staff
- Absence, attendance and leaver records
- Details of your sites, branches and client locations
Plus any registrations, licences or permissions your business needs to operate, and your HR policies on recruitment and reporting.
Costs & timeline
Sponsor compliance costs
As a sponsor, you must pay the licence fee, certificate fees and Immigration Skills Charge yourself. For a small sponsor’s first Skilled Worker on a 12-month certificate, that’s £1,616 in Home Office costs, none of which you can recover from the worker.
Paid by you, not the worker
| Worker sponsor licence, small or charitable sponsor£1,682 for a large sponsor | £611 |
| Certificate of sponsorship£55 on Temporary Worker routes | £525 |
| Immigration Skills Charge, first 12 monthssmall or charitable sponsor; £1,320 if not | £480 |
| Home Office costs for one Skilled Workersmall sponsor, 12-month certificate | £1,616 |
Home Office fees from the fees table in force from 8 October 2026 and the Immigration Skills Charge from GOV.UK, checked 11 October 2026. The charge rises by £240 (small or charitable) or £660 (other sponsors) for each extra 6 months on the certificate, and some jobs are exempt. If UKVI downgrades you, an action plan costs £1,579. Recovering any of these costs from a worker is a ground on which UKVI will normally revoke a licence. Our consultation fees →
Licence granted
Day 1Your duties start. Set up users, reporting routines and record keeping straight away.
Each new hire
Before they startA right to work check for everyone; for sponsored workers, the right certificate for the real job.
Day to day
Within 10 or 20 working daysReport worker and organisation changes in the SMS, and keep records up to date.
Compliance checks
Any timeUKVI can visit or check by video, with or without notice, and checks pay with HMRC.
Every year
Certificate allocationRenew or adjust your certificate allocation, and review your systems at the same time.
Protect your licence
Common sponsor compliance failures
UKVI says most sponsors are honest and willing to comply. Problems usually come from gaps in systems, not intent. These are the issues we check first.
Passing costs to workers
Asking a worker to pay the licence fee, certificate fee or Immigration Skills Charge, or recovering them later, is a ground on which UKVI will normally revoke a licence.
We check: contracts, deductions and repayment clauses.
Roles that drift from the certificate
If a worker’s real job no longer matches the occupation code or job description on their certificate, UKVI will revoke the licence.
We check: each role against its certificate.
An illegal worker on the payroll
Employing someone without permission to work, without a correct check, is a ground on which UKVI will normally revoke a licence, and can lead to a civil penalty.
We check: your right to work process for all staff.
Employment law breaches
Your sponsor duties include complying with employment law, such as minimum wage and working time, and paying in cash is, on its own, a ground on which UKVI will normally revoke a licence.
We check: pay, hours and how workers are paid.
Key Personnel gaps
With no eligible Authorising Officer or Level 1 User in place, UKVI will revoke the licence.
We check: who holds each role, and who covers absences.
A takeover nobody planned for
If sponsored workers move to a new owner without the right licence, it must apply for one, or to add the route, within 20 working days of the move.
We check: the licence position before a deal completes.
How we help
Our sponsor compliance services
Choose a one-off compliance review, or ongoing support, for a fixed fee.
Duties map
We set out every duty that applies to your business, and who should own each one.
Compliance review
We check jobs, pay, records, reports and right to work against the guidance.
Fix and set up
We help you close the gaps and put simple processes in place.
Retained support
We answer day-to-day questions and tell you when guidance changes affect you.
Our scope: we’re regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority at Level 1. We carry out compliance reviews and help you put things right before any enforcement action. If UKVI acts against your licence, or you receive a civil penalty notice, we explain the process and deadlines and refer you to a solicitor or higher-level adviser.
FAQs
Sponsor compliance questions, answered
What’s the difference between sponsor duties and right to work checks?
Sponsor duties, such as reporting through the SMS and keeping Appendix D records, apply to the workers you sponsor. Right to work checks apply to everyone you employ, whatever their nationality, and from 1 October 2026 to many workers and sub-contractors you engage. As a sponsor, you must also check any worker you sponsor but don’t employ directly.
What is a genuine vacancy?
A real job that you need, at the skill level and pay on the certificate, which the worker will actually do. UKVI will act if a role doesn’t exist, is a sham, has an exaggerated job description to meet the rules, or was created mainly so someone can get a visa.
Does UKVI really visit employers?
Yes. UKVI carries out compliance checks, on-site or by video, with or without notice, and also checks pay with HMRC. Officers can interview you, your sponsored workers and other staff, and inspect your records.
Can we recover visa costs from a sponsored worker?
Not the sponsor costs. You must not recover the licence fee, certificate fee, Immigration Skills Charge or related admin costs from a worker by any means, and UKVI will normally revoke a licence for this. Get advice before agreeing any repayment terms with a worker.
What happens if we stop sponsoring anyone?
You can surrender your licence through the SMS once you have no sponsored workers; the fee isn’t refunded. If you surrender while UKVI is taking compliance action, you can’t apply again for 12 months.
What happens to our licence after a merger or takeover?
It depends on the structure. If sponsored workers move under TUPE to a new owner that doesn’t hold the right licence, it must apply for one, or to add the route, within 20 working days of the move. Report the change in the SMS and get advice before the deal completes.
What can UKVI do if we get it wrong?
It can reduce your certificate allocation, downgrade you to a B-rating with an action plan, suspend or revoke your licence, and report offences to the police. For minor issues you’re willing to fix, it usually starts with a B-rating; serious or systematic failings can lead straight to suspension or revocation.
Will a civil penalty cost us our licence?
Often. If you’re issued with a civil penalty for illegal working, UKVI is likely to revoke your licence, and you can’t get a new one until at least 12 months after you’ve paid it in full. Objections and appeals against a penalty are outside our Level 1 scope, so we explain the process and refer you on.
Related routes
More on employer compliance
Ready when you are
Compliant, sorted.
Book a consultation, or start with the free quick check on this page.