Sponsor duties and responsibilities

STOP PRESS: This Overview is currently being updated for changes to the Sponsor Guidance which came into force on 6 March 2026. See News Analysis: Detailed list of Home Office’s Sponsor Guidance changes of 6 March 2026.

When an organisation obtains a sponsor licence it must comply with a number of duties and responsibilities to the Home Office. When it applies for the licence, it is declaring that it is capable of complying with all of these. These include:

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monitoring immigration status and preventing illegal employment
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maintaining migrant contact details
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other record keeping
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monitoring and reporting migrant activity
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ensuring that relevant professional registrations and accreditations have been obtained
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reporting various changes of circumstances to the sponsor
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complying with the law, and
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co-operating with the Home Office

The consequences of failing to comply with the duties can be serious, including the licence being downgraded or revoked and the permission of existing sponsored employees being curtailed.

It is open to the Home Office to visit an organisation or carry out a digital compliance inspection over video-conferencing facilities,

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