Employers in the United Kingdom who want to recruit skilled workers from overseas must first secure a sponsor licence from the Home Office. Holding a valid licence allows an organisation to assign Certificates of Sponsorship to eligible overseas workers.
However, a sponsor licence also places the business under strict and ongoing Home Office scrutiny, with extensive compliance and reporting duties that must be met throughout the lifetime of the licence.
The sponsor licence system is designed to balance access to global skills with immigration control. For employers, this means that while the route opens recruitment opportunities, it also brings significant compliance risk. This guide explains the core sponsor licence rules, application process, and compliance duties, with reference to key official guidance and practical considerations for employers.
Types of Sponsor Licence
The sponsor licence sits within the UK’s Points-Based Immigration System (PBS). Some advisers use the phrase PBS licence, but the correct legal term remains a sponsor licence. The PBS is the framework, not the licence itself.
Different sponsor licence types are available depending on the worker route being used.
Officially, licences are granted under Worker and Temporary Worker routes. Subcategory licences under these routes are often referred to colloquially, such as the UK expansion worker sponsor licence, intended for overseas businesses setting up a UK branch, and the global mobility sponsor licence, which supports transfers of staff between international offices. The most common is the skilled worker sponsor licence, which enables employers to recruit workers for eligible roles meeting salary and skill thresholds.
Employers may also come across legacy references such as the Tier 2 sponsor list. The correct modern term is the UK sponsor list, which is the official list published by the Home Office of all organisations authorised to sponsor workers. This is often referred to informally as the list of companies that can sponsor visa in UK and is the definitive resource for both employers and applicants.
Some employers look at arrangements such as an umbrella company visa sponsorship UK. These are not formally recognised by the Home Office as a separate route, and the regulator has warned against abuse of umbrella sponsorship models. Using them carries high compliance risks and must be approached with extreme caution.
Applying for a Sponsor Licence
The starting point for any employer is the sponsor licence application. This process is completed online through an application form on the Home Office portal, supported by documentary evidence proving that the business is genuine and capable of meeting its immigration responsibilities. Employers must also pay the sponsor licence application fee, which varies depending on the size and type of organisation.
Applications require careful preparation. The Home Office will want to see robust HR systems that support immigration compliance. Key personnel must be appointed, including an authorising officer, a key contact for Home Office communications, and at least one Level 1 user who manages the Sponsor Management System.
It is important to note that the employer-facing Sponsor Management System is different from the UK visa application login portal, which is used by individuals to apply for their visas. Sponsors cannot apply for or manage a licence through the applicant portal, and applicants cannot access the Sponsor Management System.
Mistakes or insufficient evidence can lead to the application being delayed or refused. Where speed is important, employers may benefit from the post licence priority service guidance, which allows certain requests to be fast-tracked.
For some employers, questions around how long does it take to get a sponsorship licence in UK are critical for workforce planning. Timelines vary depending on Home Office caseload and whether priority services are used, but most applications take 8–12 weeks.
Sponsor Licence Costs and Services
Running a sponsor licence is not free of charge. Employers should budget not only for the application fee but also for additional costs such as the Immigration Skills Charge and legal support. Some organisations also ask about the self sponsorship visa UK cost. It is important to note that “self-sponsorship” is not an official visa category but an informal way of describing a process where an individual sets up a UK company, obtains a sponsor licence, and then sponsors themselves for a Skilled Worker visa.
Faster decisions can sometimes be achieved by using the CoS allocation priority service, which allows businesses to secure Certificates of Sponsorship more quickly in urgent recruitment scenarios.
Compliance Duties and Risks
Holding a sponsor licence is only the starting point. The real challenge for employers lies in meeting the ongoing compliance duties. The Home Office expects sponsors to maintain a strong HR and compliance framework, with the ability to produce evidence on demand. Failure to do so can put the licence, and the immigration status of sponsored workers, at risk.
The official sponsor guidance sets out in detail what sponsors must do, but in practice the obligations touch almost every aspect of the employment relationship. Records must be maintained of recruitment processes, right to work checks, absences and changes in job roles. Employers must also use the Sponsor Management System, accessed through SMS login, to report changes such as a worker leaving employment, changing job title or moving to a new work location. Appointing trained staff and ensuring regular use of SMS level 1 & 2 user training is vital to avoid missing reporting deadlines.
In practice, the most common compliance failures are administrative oversights. These include forgetting to report a change of address for a sponsored worker, failing to update a change of salary after a pay rise, or not recording why an employee missed work. Employers may think these are minor issues, but the Home Office views them as breaches of licence duties. Even small errors, repeated over time, can justify enforcement action.
Some employers use commercial monitoring tools, such as a daily licence checker, to stay on top of reporting deadlines. It is important to note that these are not official Home Office systems but third-party services designed to support compliance. Employers should also embed sponsor duties and compliance within wider HR policies, so that line managers are trained to notify HR immediately of relevant changes.
The Home Office also conducts UKVI compliance visits, often with little or no notice. These visits involve detailed checks of HR files, interviews with sponsored workers and reviews of how records are maintained. Employers that prepare by carrying out internal audits and mock inspections are better placed to withstand this scrutiny.
The risks of non-compliance are significant. The Home Office can issue warning letters, downgrade the licence rating or suspend it altogether. A sponsor licence suspension means you cannot assign Certificates of Sponsorship until the issues are resolved. Sometimes, advisers refer to a Tier 2 sponsor licence suspended list. In practice, there is no separate published list, but suspended sponsors may temporarily lose their ability to appear on the Register until the Home Office lifts the suspension.
In more serious cases, the Home Office can revoke the licence. There is no public revoked sponsor licence list published, but once revoked, the organisation is removed from the official Register of Licensed Sponsors. For practical purposes, this has the same effect: the business is no longer authorised to sponsor workers.
Employers often ask, can my sponsor cancel my visa in UK? Sponsors cannot directly cancel a visa, but they must report any relevant change and, in the event of loss of licence, UKVI may curtail permission accordingly.
The risks are not only regulatory but also commercial. If a licence is suspended, recruitment plans grind to a halt. If it is revoked, sponsored workers’ visas are curtailed, leaving the business facing sudden skills shortages. In some cases, competitors may take advantage by poaching affected staff.
Ultimately, compliance is not something that can be managed once a year at renewal. It has to be built into daily practice, with ongoing training, oversight, and investment in HR systems. Employers that treat sponsorship as an isolated immigration function, rather than an integrated compliance responsibility, are the ones most at risk of enforcement action.
Practical Compliance
While the risks of non-compliance are serious, employers can take proactive steps to manage their sponsor licence effectively. A structured compliance plan reduces the likelihood of errors, gives reassurance during Home Office audits and ensures that sponsored workers’ status is protected.
A good starting point is to embed licence obligations into everyday HR practice. For example, recruitment processes should incorporate checks against the Register of Licensed Sponsors and ensure that each sponsored role meets eligibility requirements under the skilled worker sponsor licence or other relevant route. Internal procedures should also confirm that Certificates of Sponsorship are issued only where the job role, salary and duties comply with immigration rules.
Employers should formalise compliance responsibilities in HR policies and employee handbooks. This makes it clear to managers that they must notify HR if a sponsored worker changes job role, moves work location or stops attending work. Without these internal reporting lines, breaches can occur before HR is even aware of the change.
Employers should also be aware of associated training and system requirements, including SMS login and SMS level 1 & 2 user training, which are critical for managing the Sponsor Management System.
Timetabling is another key part of compliance. A compliance calendar should cover deadlines for right to work checks, reporting obligations through the Sponsor Management System and renewal of training for staff holding SMS level 1 & 2 user training roles. This calendar should be reviewed monthly to avoid missed deadlines. Note there is no longer a requirement to apply for a sponsor licence renewal. Employers must be proactive in managing the licence, using tools like the sponsor licence number to track compliance and renewal.
Internal audits provide an extra layer of protection. These should involve a full review of personnel files, right to work evidence, and reporting records. Conducting mock audits, simulating a UKVI compliance visit, helps identify weaknesses before the Home Office does. Many employers also commission external specialists, such as a sponsor licence lawyer, to carry out periodic independent audits and confirm systems are fit for purpose.
Keeping pace with changes in immigration rules is equally important. The Home Office frequently updates sponsor obligations, sometimes with little notice. Employers should subscribe to official updates or seek advice from sponsor licence solicitors to ensure HR processes evolve in line with new requirements.
Finally, employers should plan ahead for urgent recruitment needs. Priority services such as the CoS allocation priority service or the post licence priority service guidance can help where time is critical. However, these services are limited and should not be relied upon as a substitute for forward planning.
Other challenges include sponsor licence refused applications, navigating the Certificate of Sponsorship process, or managing expansion with routes like the scale up sponsor licence. Employers managing large workforces or frequent recruitment may therefore need additional support, including sponsor licence compliance audits and advice on mitigating risks. Practical compliance is however ultimately about culture. Employers who make sponsorship a shared responsibility across HR, payroll, and management are far more resilient to Home Office scrutiny than those who treat it as an isolated administrative task.
Employers generally seek external support, such as a sponsor licence lawyer or sponsor licence solicitors, particularly where compliance risks are high or previous refusals have occurred.
