Choosing the right Authorising Officer and Level 1 User is central to a sponsor licence application. The Authorising Officer must normally be a paid member of staff or office holder within your organisation and must be the most senior person responsible for recruiting sponsored workers and ensuring sponsor duties are met. Key Personnel must generally…
If your UK Student visa application is refused, the first step is to read the decision letter carefully. Most Student visa refusals do not carry a general right of appeal. Depending on the decision, the realistic options may include an administrative review, a fresh application or, in limited cases, judicial review. Administrative review is designed…
Good sponsor licence management depends on accurate records, timely reporting and keeping the right people in control of your Sponsorship Management System (SMS). Most changes affecting sponsored workers must be reported within 10 working days, while many significant organisational changes must be reported within 20 working days. Missing a reporting duty can lead to compliance…
If you hold a standard Worker or Temporary Worker sponsor licence, you no longer need to renew it every four years. The renewal requirement was removed on 6 April 2024. In most cases, a licence now remains valid until it is surrendered or revoked. The main exceptions are UK Expansion Worker and Scale-up licences, which…
A child may be able to come to or remain in the UK to live with a parent or close relative who is present and settled here under Part 8 of the Immigration Rules. From 3 August 2026, the close-relative route uses a clearer test: the applicant must have no family, other than the close…
From 3 August 2026, a child born in the UK during a parent’s current Graduate route permission can apply in the UK as that parent’s dependant. If granted, the child’s permission will normally end on the same date as whichever parent’s immigration permission expires first. The change closes a gap in the previous rules. Graduate…
From 3 August 2026, a partner granted permission under Appendix FM will normally receive leave ending on the same date as their sponsor’s 30-month protection permission. The change applies where the sponsor has been granted 30 months’ permission on the basis of protection status, generally following an asylum claim made on or after 2 March…
Yes. For EU Settlement Scheme travel permit applications made from 30 July 2026, applicants are no longer required to provide fingerprints. A facial photograph and evidence confirming identity and EUSS status remain part of the process. The change was introduced by the Statement of Changes HC 259, laid before Parliament on 9 July 2026. It…
From 3 August 2026, a child born in the UK while a parent holds Graduate route permission can apply in the UK as that parent’s dependant. Previously, the route generally covered family members who had already been Student dependants and children born during the parent’s most recent period of Student permission. It did not clearly…
The government’s plan to cut net migration is set out in its Immigration White Paper, Restoring Control over the Immigration System, published on 12 May 2025. A white paper is not law by itself, so the detail arrives through changes to the Immigration Rules, regulations and Home Office guidance. Much of the work-route package is…
