Sponsor Licence Compliance: A Guide for Bolton Employers

Holding a UK Sponsor Licence comes with significant ongoing compliance obligations. Failing to meet these can result in suspension, downgrading or revocation of your licence — with serious consequences for your business and your sponsored workers. Our Bolton immigration solicitors explain what employers need to do.

Key Compliance Obligations

Record-Keeping

You must hold up-to-date records for every sponsored worker including: copies of their passport and visa, contact details, a record of their national insurance number and Unique Taxpayer Reference (if applicable), records of absences from the UK, and evidence of their right to work.

Reporting Duties

You must report certain events to the Home Office via the Sponsorship Management System (SMS) within 10 working days, including: a sponsored worker not starting their role on the expected date, a sponsored worker leaving their role early, a significant change to a sponsored worker’s role or salary, and a sponsored worker going absent without leave.

Right-to-Work Checks

You must conduct right-to-work checks on all employees — not just sponsored workers — before they start work. Using the Home Office’s online checking service provides a statutory excuse against civil penalties in most cases. Manual checks using physical documents remain valid in certain circumstances.

UKVI Compliance Visits

UKVI may conduct unannounced compliance visits to check that you are meeting your obligations. Inspectors may review HR records, interview staff and assess your monitoring systems. It is essential that all personnel responsible for the licence are trained and that records are meticulously maintained at all times.

What Happens if You Fail a Compliance Visit?

Depending on the seriousness of the findings, UKVI may downgrade your licence (from A-rating to B-rating, requiring you to pay for an action plan), suspend your licence (preventing you from assigning new CoS), or revoke your licence entirely. Our solicitors can represent you in responding to UKVI’s findings and help restore your licence.