All Sponsors of Worker and Temporary Workers  are required to comply with a range of duties. Some duties apply to all sponsors while others are specific to those licenced under certain routes.

What are the sponsor licence duties?

Generally, your sponsor duties include the following:

Record keeping

Licensed sponsors in the UK have a duty to keep accurate and up-to-date records of their sponsored employees or students. This can be done by maintaining a secure database or filing system.

Reporting duties

Sponsor licence holders must report certain information or events to the Home Office within specific time frames. This can be done through the Sponsor Management System (SMS) or by contacting the Home Office directly.  

Compliance with Immigration Rules

Sponsor licence holders must comply with all immigration laws and the Worker and Temporary Worker sponsor guidance.

Compliance with UK laws

Sponsor licence holders must also comply with the wider UK law e.g. employment law.

Behaving for the public good

Sponsor licence have a duty to behave in a way that is consistent with the UK’s fundamental values and not act in a way that is detrimental to the wider public good.

How will the Home Office know if my organisation is complying with the sponsor duties?

The Home Office can carry out checks on your organisation before granting or renewing your sponsor licence or at any point during the 4 years of the validity of the sponsor licence.

They can undertake a compliance check which can involve:

• site inspection of your organisation
• requesting for you to provide additional documents
• carrying out checks with other government departments, agencies or local authorities
• carrying out checks with HMRC

What happens if there is a breach of sponsor licence duties?

The Home Office uses a range of measures to enforce sponsors’ duties. This includes:

• downgrading your licence from an A-rating to a B-rating

suspending your licence

• revoking your licence
• reducing your certificate of sponsorship allocation

The Home Office expects sponsor licence holders to play their part in ensuring that the immigration is not abused which is why it imposes such robust obligations. It is therefore important for your business to have complete understanding of sponsor duties and the correct processes in place to fulfil the duties.