United Kingdom

Is Your UK Sponsor Licence Truly Compliant?

Maintain your UK sponsor licence compliance with confidence. Instantly assess right-to-work checks, reporting duties, and record-keeping obligations to stay Home Office audit-ready and protect your Skilled Worker sponsorship.

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Why Global Mobility Teams Rely on This Compliance Assessment Tool

Get a clear picture of where your sponsor licence stands — before the Home Office comes knocking.

Identify Compliance Gaps Before an Audit

The Home Office can audit your organisation at any time, with or without notice. This assessment helps you proactively surface weaknesses in your sponsor duties — from right-to-work checks to reporting timelines — so you can fix them before they cost you.

Understand Your Sponsor Licence Obligations

Sponsorship duties span HR processes, record-keeping, and reporting to the Home Office. This tool breaks down each obligation area so your global mobility team knows exactly where responsibilities lie and who owns them.

Reduce the Risk of Licence Suspension or Revocation

A suspended or revoked sponsor licence puts every sponsored worker at risk — and halts future hiring instantly. Use the assessment to maintain a compliance standard that protects your workforce and your ability to hire internationally.

Align HR and Global Mobility on Compliance Duties

Sponsor licence compliance isn't just an immigration team responsibility. This tool helps you assess whether your HR workflows, onboarding processes, and internal reporting structures are aligned with Home Office expectations.

Stay Current with UK Immigration Policy Changes

UK sponsor licence requirements evolve regularly. From salary threshold updates to changes in reporting duties via the Sponsor Management System (SMS), our assessment reflects the latest Home Office guidance so your evaluation is always relevant.

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How the UK Sponsor Licence Compliance Assessment Works

It only takes a few minutes — and the insights could save your organisation from a costly Home Office intervention.
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Answer Questions About Your Current Practices

Tell us about your organisation's current approach to right-to-work checks, record-keeping, sponsored worker monitoring, and reporting to the Home Office via the Sponsor Management System (SMS). No technical knowledge required — just your day-to-day reality.

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Get Your Compliance Score & Risk Areas

The calculator assesses your responses against current UK Home Office sponsor licence requirements and surfaces your highest-risk compliance gaps — giving you a clear, prioritised view of what needs attention most urgently.

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Take Action with Confidence

Use your assessment results to brief your HR team, prepare for an internal audit, or engage with an immigration specialist. Whether you're maintaining an existing licence or preparing for a Home Office compliance visit, knowing your gaps is the first step to fixing them.

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UK Sponsor Licence Compliance Calculator

UK Sponsor Licence Compliance Assessment Calculator

🔴 CRITICAL

A "No" answer here represents a direct breach of UK immigration or employment law. Risks immediate civil penalties (up to £60k per worker), mandatory licence revocation, and potential criminal sanctions.

🟠 MEDIUM

A "No" answer highlights a systemic flaw or failure to meet UKVI duties. Typically leads to licence downgrade to B-rating, suspension, or costly action plan.

🟢 COMPLIANT

A "Yes" answer means you're successfully meeting baseline UKVI standards and protecting your business.

What Is a UK Sponsor Licence and Who Needs One?

A UK sponsor licence is a formal permission granted by the Home Office that allows organisations to hire workers from outside the UK under sponsored visa routes — most commonly the Skilled Worker visa. If your organisation wants to recruit internationally or retain employees who need visa sponsorship, holding an active, compliant sponsor licence is not optional — it's a legal requirement.

Global mobility teams and HR departments at sponsoring organisations are responsible for ensuring continuous compliance with the conditions attached to that licence.

UK Sponsor Licence Compliance: What Are Your Ongoing Duties?

Obtaining a sponsor licence is only the beginning. The Home Office expects sponsors to actively maintain compliance across several key areas at all times.

Right-to-Work Checks

Before employing any sponsored worker, you must verify their right to work in the UK and retain appropriate documentation. Failures here are among the most common reasons for licence action.

Record-Keeping Obligations

Sponsors must maintain up-to-date records for every sponsored worker, including:

Contact details and UK address
Employment history and role changes
Copies of relevant visa documentation and biometric residence permits (BRPs)
Attendance and absence records where relevant

Reporting Duties via the Sponsor Management System (SMS)

Sponsors are required to report specific changes to the Home Office within defined timeframes, including:

A sponsored worker not turning up to start work
Significant changes to a worker's role, salary, or working pattern
A worker going absent without authorisation for 10 or more consecutive days
Early termination of employment

Migrant Tracking and Monitoring

You must have systems in place to track the immigration status and contact details of sponsored workers throughout their employment. This includes monitoring visa expiry dates and initiating renewal processes in good time.

What Happens If Your Sponsor Licence Is Found Non-Compliant?

The consequences of non-compliance range from formal warnings to full licence revocation. Specifically:

Licence downgrade to B-rating — restricts your ability to assign new Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) until an action plan is completed
Licence suspension — halts all new sponsorship activity and puts existing sponsored workers at risk
Licence revocation — cancels your licence entirely, triggering curtailment of all sponsored workers' visas
Civil penalties — for employing workers without valid immigration permission
Criminal liability — in cases of knowing and deliberate non-compliance

Staying audit-ready isn't just good practice — it protects your people and your ability to compete for global talent.

How Jobbatical Supports UK Sponsor Licence Compliance

Jobbatical helps global mobility teams manage the complexity of UK sponsored immigration from a single platform. From tracking visa expiry dates and monitoring reporting obligations to flagging compliance risks before they escalate, Jobbatical gives HR and mobility professionals the visibility they need to stay confidently compliant — and the expert support to act when it matters.

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FAQs for UK Sponsor Licence Compliance Assessment

What does a UK sponsor licence compliance assessment check?

A sponsor licence compliance assessment evaluates whether your organisation is meeting its ongoing duties as a UK Home Office approved sponsor. This includes:

Right-to-work check processes for sponsored employees
Record-keeping standards for sponsored worker documentation
Reporting obligations via the Sponsor Management System (SMS)
Migrant tracking and monitoring workflows
HR process alignment with current Home Office requirements

How often should we carry out a sponsor licence compliance assessment?

Most immigration advisors recommend conducting a sponsor licence compliance review at least once a year, and additionally whenever:

There are changes to UK immigration policy or sponsor guidance
Your organisation undergoes restructuring, mergers, or acquisitions
You onboard a significant number of new sponsored workers
Your Authorising Officer or key personnel change
You receive any communication from the Home Office

What are the most common sponsor licence compliance failures?

The most frequently cited reasons for Home Office compliance action against sponsors include:

Failure to conduct or retain right-to-work checks
Not reporting changes in a sponsored worker's circumstances via the SMS within the required timeframe
Inadequate or missing record-keeping for sponsored employees
Assigning a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) for a role that doesn't genuinely meet the skill or salary threshold
Failure to track sponsored worker absences or contact details

What happens if the Home Office finds our sponsor licence non-compliant?

Depending on the severity of the non-compliance, the Home Office may take the following action:

B-rating downgrade: Restricts your ability to assign new CoS until corrective action is completed
Suspension: Pauses sponsorship activity while an investigation is conducted
Revocation: Cancels your licence and can trigger curtailment of all sponsored workers' visas
Civil penalties for illegal working breaches

Acting early — before a compliance visit — is always the better outcome for your organisation and your sponsored employees.

Who in our organisation is responsible for sponsor licence compliance?

Sponsor licence compliance is a shared responsibility but sits formally with specific named roles:

Authorising Officer (AO): The most senior person responsible for the licence, accountable to the Home Office
Key Contact: The main point of contact between your organisation and the Home Office
Level 1 Users: Individuals with full SMS access who handle day-to-day sponsorship activity
Level 2 Users: More limited SMS access, typically used by line managers or HR coordinators

Your global mobility and HR teams should have a clear understanding of who holds each role and ensure they are trained on their obligations.

Is this sponsor licence compliance assessment tool free to use?

Yes, Jobbatical's UK Sponsor Licence Compliance Assessment Calculator is completely free to use. There is no registration required to run your assessment. For organisations that need hands-on support addressing the gaps identified, Jobbatical's immigration specialists are available to help.

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