Sponsor management · IAA-regulated advice
Sponsor Reporting Duties and Record Keeping in Birmingham & London
As a licensed sponsor, you must tell UKVI about certain changes within strict deadlines and keep set records for every worker you sponsor. We tell you what to report and when, check your HR files against Appendix D and set up a simple routine, 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 reporting and record-keeping duties?
When you’re granted a sponsor licence, you agree to tell UKVI about changes that affect the workers you sponsor and your organisation, through the sponsor management system (SMS). Most changes about a worker must be reported within 10 working days, and most changes to your organisation within 20 working days.
You must also keep the documents listed in Appendix D to the sponsor guidance for each sponsored worker, and give them to UKVI when asked. These duties are in Part 3 of the Workers and Temporary Workers sponsor guidance, and failing to meet any of them is a ground on which UKVI will normally revoke a licence.
✓This page is for you if…
- You sponsor workers, or have just been granted a licence
- Something has changed: a worker’s pay, role, location, absence or departure
- Your organisation is moving, merging, changing size or changing key people
- You want to know whether your HR files would satisfy a UKVI check
Quick check
Are your reports and records up to date? Six questions, one minute
Answer honestly. Nothing is saved or sent: this is a general guide, not advice on your case.
Have you reported every sponsored worker who didn’t start within 28 days?Counted from the latest of the certificate start date, the visa’s ‘valid from’ date or the date they were told of the grant.
Would you know if a sponsored worker was away without permission for more than 10 working days in a row?You must report it even if you plan to keep sponsoring them.
Have you reported every pay cut, change of role and new regular work location?Pay rises don’t need reporting. Working from home full-time does.
Have you told UKVI every time you stopped sponsoring someone?Include their last known address, phone number and personal email.
Have you reported changes to your organisation, such as a new address, branch, owner or size?Usually within 20 working days, with any submission sheet sent within 5 working days.
Could you produce the Appendix D documents for every sponsored worker today?Right to work checks, recruitment, pay, job description, contact details and absences.
Eligibility
Sponsor reporting duties and record-keeping requirements
These are the main duties in Part 3 of the sponsor guidance and Appendix D. Guidance for the route you sponsor on can add more.
Changes to a sponsored worker: 10 working days
- The worker doesn’t start within 28 days: report the new start date and reasons, or that you’ve stopped sponsoring them
- Their pay is cut below the level on their certificate (pay rises don’t need reporting)
- A change of job title, core duties or promotion within the same occupation code, or another permitted change
- A change to their normal work location, including a new branch or client site, or working from home full-time
Day-to-day changes and hybrid working don’t need reporting, but keep a record of working patterns.
Absences and the end of sponsorship
- Absence without permission for more than 10 working days in a row: report within 10 working days of the 10th day, even if you’ll keep sponsoring them
- Unpaid or reduced-pay absence of more than 4 weeks in a calendar year: you normally stop sponsoring, unless it’s for a listed reason such as maternity, adoption or sick leave
- Stopping sponsorship for any reason: resignation, dismissal, redundancy, a withdrawn job offer, a contract ending early or a required registration withdrawn
- For absences and leavers, give the worker’s last known address, phone number and personal email
What you report can be used to cancel the worker’s permission, so keep it factual and accurate.
Changes to your organisation: 20 working days
- A new name, address or contact details, or new branches or sites
- A merger, takeover, insolvency, stopping trading or a big change in the nature of your business
- A relevant criminal conviction, or losing a registration or accreditation you need to trade
- For Worker sponsors, a change in your size or charitable status, which affects your fees and the Immigration Skills Charge
Replacing your Authorising Officer or Key Contact is done in the SMS too, with a signed submission sheet.
What Appendix D says to keep
- Evidence of right to work checks, and of the date of entry for workers you sponsored for a visa
- How you recruited the worker: adverts, applicant numbers and how you chose them, or how you found them if you didn’t advertise
- Payslips, proof of each salary payment into the worker’s account, and their contract
- Job description, qualifications and registrations, NI number, up-to-date contact details and a record of absences
Paper or electronic is fine, as long as you can produce the documents when UKVI asks. Keep your licence application documents for as long as you hold the licence.
Reports that can’t wait
- Tell UKVI as soon as reasonably practicable if you know or suspect a sponsored worker has breached their conditions
- Give the police any information suggesting a sponsored worker is involved in terrorism or crime
- Route reports, such as a Scale-up Worker’s actual start date or an overseas nurse’s NMC registration
- For offshore workers, the dates they arrive in and leave UK waters, within 10 working days
Some records, such as right to work copies, must be kept longer under other laws. Data protection law applies throughout.
Documents
Sponsor record-keeping documents: the easy part
Most of these documents already exist in your HR system. Problems come from gaps, inconsistencies and records nobody can find on the day.
What everyone needs
- Right to work check records for every worker
- Recruitment records for each sponsored role
- £Payslips and proof of each salary payment
- Contracts and job descriptions that match the certificates
- Absence and attendance records
- Current contact details for each sponsored worker
Plus copies of qualifications and registrations, NI numbers, entry-date evidence where needed, and your original licence application documents.
Costs & timeline
Sponsor reporting: costs and deadlines
There’s no Home Office fee for reporting a change. Getting it wrong costs more: if UKVI downgrades your licence to a B-rating, you pay £1,579 for an action plan and can’t sponsor new workers until your A-rating is restored.
Paid by you, the sponsor
| Reporting a change on the SMSno Home Office fee | £0 |
| Action plan, if you’re downgraded to a B-ratingpay within 10 working days, or your licence is revoked | £1,579 |
| Cost of a missed duty that leads to a B-ratingand no new certificates until your A-rating is restored | £1,579 |
Home Office fees from the fees table in force from 8 October 2026, checked 11 October 2026. A priority decision on some SMS change requests costs £350; standard requests can take up to 18 weeks. Action plans last 3 months, and you can be B-rated only twice in any rolling 4-year period. Our consultation fees →
Something changes
Day 0A worker is absent, leaves, takes a pay cut or changes role or location, or your organisation changes.
Report worker changes
Within 10 working daysUse ‘Report migrant activity’ in the SMS. For absence without permission, the 10 days start after the 10th day of absence.
Report organisation changes
Within 20 working daysUse the SMS licence functions, then send any submission sheet and documents within 5 working days.
Keep the records
Throughout sponsorshipKeep Appendix D documents up to date and ready to produce when UKVI asks.
After sponsorship ends
1 year, or employment + 2 yearsKeep worker records for a year after sponsorship ends, and right to work copies for 2 years after employment ends.
Protect your licence
Common sponsor reporting mistakes
Most reporting failures come from HR systems that don’t talk to each other. These are the issues we check first.
Counting calendar days
Deadlines are in working days, and for absence without permission the 10 days to report only start after the 10th working day of absence.
We check: how your team counts deadlines, with worked examples.
Absences nobody noticed
UKVI expects systems good enough to know when a sponsored worker hasn’t turned up. Not having them is itself a ground on which it will normally revoke a licence.
We check: how absence information reaches the person who reports.
Unreported pay cuts
Paying a worker less than their certificate says, without reporting it or where the cut isn’t allowed, is a ground on which UKVI will revoke a licence.
We check: payroll against each certificate.
Job changes without a new certificate
Some changes only need a report. Others, such as a move to a different occupation code, need a new certificate and application first.
We check: whether each change is a report or a new application.
Gaps in Appendix D files
Not giving UKVI an Appendix D document when asked, within the time it sets, is a ground on which it will normally revoke a licence.
We check: each worker’s file against Appendix D.
Paying in cash
Sponsored workers must be paid into their own bank account. Paying them in cash is a ground on which UKVI will normally revoke a licence.
We check: how and where each worker is paid.
How we help
Our sponsor reporting and records services
Choose a one-off records check, or ongoing help with reporting, for a fixed fee.
Duties briefing
We explain what you must report and keep, for the routes you sponsor on.
Records review
We check each sponsored worker’s file against Appendix D and list what’s missing.
Reporting routine
We set up a simple process and calendar so changes reach the SMS in time.
Change-by-change help
When something changes, we tell you whether and how to report it, before the deadline.
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 proposes to downgrade, suspend or revoke your licence, we explain the process and deadlines and refer you to a solicitor or higher-level adviser.
FAQs
Sponsor reporting duties questions, answered
What is the deadline for reporting changes to UKVI?
Most changes to a sponsored worker’s circumstances must be reported within 10 working days, and most changes to your organisation within 20 working days of you becoming aware. Some have their own timing, such as absence without permission, late starts and suspected breaches of visa conditions.
Do we have to report a pay rise?
No. You must report a cut from the pay on the certificate, but not an increase, unless you sponsor a pre-registration nurse or midwife who has now registered. If a cut takes pay below the route’s salary rules, you must stop sponsoring the worker.
A sponsored worker hasn’t come in for a week. Do we report it?
Not yet. You must report absence without permission once it goes beyond 10 working days in a row, and you then have 10 working days after the 10th day to report it. Record the dates, your attempts to contact them and whether you’ll keep sponsoring them.
Does maternity or sick leave affect sponsorship?
Unpaid or reduced-pay absence of more than 4 weeks in a calendar year normally means you must stop sponsoring the worker. Statutory maternity, paternity, adoption and parental leave, sick leave and some other listed reasons are exceptions, but you should still report the absence through the SMS.
Do we need to report a worker moving house?
No, a new home address isn’t one of the changes Part 3 says to report. But Appendix D says you must keep an up-to-date history of each worker’s contact details, including their UK address, personal email and phone number.
How long must we keep records after a worker leaves?
Under Appendix D, until a year after sponsorship ends, or until a compliance officer has examined and approved them if that’s sooner. Right to work copies must be kept for the length of employment and 2 years after, and your licence application documents for as long as you hold the licence.
What if we missed a reporting deadline?
Report it as soon as you notice, with accurate dates and a clear explanation. A late report is still a breach of your duties that UKVI can act on, so check at the same time whether anything else has slipped.
Can sponsored workers work from home some of the time?
Yes. You don’t need to report a move to hybrid working, but you must report a change to their main work location or a new client site, and keep records of working patterns. If a worker will work from home full-time, you must tell UKVI.
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