Sponsor Licence Compliance

As a niche law firm that specialises in immigration law, we help many companies, charities, and entrepreneurs manage their Sponsor Licence compliance.  Our team are by your side from the very beginning of the Sponsor Licence application process, ensuring you are actioning your licence duties and responsibilities.

When assisting a client to apply for a Sponsor Licence, we pay a personal on-site visit and evaluate your HR systems.  By identifying your organisation’s ability to comply with licence duties and responsibilities at the outset, it is then simple to put a plan of action in place to address any weaknesses that may affect your ongoing compliance. 

We can also administer Key Personnel roles on your behalf, providing you with the peace of mind that your Sponsor Management System is being correctly maintained.  In addition, we will keep you updated on any changes in immigration law and policy.  By investing in our experience and knowledge, you can be confident that you are compliant with your Sponsor Duties should the Home Office conduct an unannounced audit. Thus you will retain your Sponsor Licence and the ability to employ the talent you need to grow.

What are a Sponsor Licence holders’ duties and responsibilities?

The Sponsor Guidance states licence holders have a duty to: prevent abuse, capture any patterns of migrant behaviour which may give rise to concern, address any weaknesses in the licence holder’s systems which may cause concerning patterns of migrant behaviour, and monitor compliance with immigration rules.

The key priorities for complying with Sponsor Licence duties and responsibilities are:

  • Applicants need to be vigilant in ensuring the information which appears on their application form is true.  Also, the evidence supporting the accuracy of the information needs to be retained.
  • Ensuring qualified and trained personnel are appointed to the key roles of Authorising Officer, Key Contact, and Level 1 user.
  • Maintaining accurate records of all migrants employed by the organisation, including their current address and immigration status.
  • Keeping the Sponsor Management System up-to-date and have an appropriate method in place to keep up with changes to the system and report these to the appropriate person.
  • Ensuring there is a backup system in place if one of the Key Personnel are unable to complete their duties, i.e. they are on long-term sick leave.
  • Making sure all migrant employees know of the licence holder’s duties and responsibilities, ensuring they appear in any job offers, employment policies and handbooks, introductory procedures, and in periodic reminders (these can be done by email).

What are right to work checks?

All Sponsor Licence holders need to be vigilant in their right to work checks.  Ignorance is no defence when it comes to employing an illegal worker – employers are expected to have the checks and balances in place to ensure such a situation does not occur.

To obtain a statutory excuse to prevent a civil penalty being imposed for employing an illegal worker under section 15 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, employers must check and keep copies of one or a combination of specified documents.  Acceptable documents include (but are not limited to); a current passport, a current Biometric Residence Permit or current Immigration Status Document for each employee.

What are the penalties for non-compliance?

Failing to comply with Sponsor Licence holder duties and responsibilities can result in a licence being downgraded, suspended, or revoked.  All of these measures result in significant time, energy and resources being spent on implementing improvements to remove the downgrade or suspension or challenging a suspension or revocation by Judicial Review.

Suspension or revocation of a Sponsor Licence can lead to severe reputational damage which can affect an organisation’s ability to attract international talent.  In addition, in the case of revocation, existing migrant employees may have their leave curtailed if they cannot find another sponsor.

Let our team manage your Sponsor Licence compliance on your behalf, leaving you free to focus on your business.

Established in 2008, Garth Coates Solicitors is a leading Law Firm in Immigration who can provide professional legal advice to ensure that your Application satisfies the strict requirements of the Immigration Rules. 

Our team of legal professionals offer comprehensive and considered advice to enable our clients to make informed choices. We strongly believe that our clients deserve the best; we take our responsibilities very seriously to ensure that client satisfaction is achieved by providing a professional yet friendly legal service. We aim to resolve all immigration matters brought to us by working diligently and together with the client, keeping them informed of the progress of their case at all stages. Our outstanding success rate is maintained thanks to the high standard of our work.

If you would like us to assist you with your Immigration Matter, kindly click here to leave us an Enquiry. Alternatively, we can be reached via telephone at (00 44) (0)20 7799 1600 from 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM (UTC+00.00 London) every Monday to Friday.