Sponsor Licence downgrading, suspension and revocation

UKVI has wide-ranging powers to conduct compliance checks on Sponsors before the grant of a Sponsor Licence or at any time throughout the lifetime of a Sponsor Licence.

This may involve asking the Sponsor for additional documents or information, making regular checks with HMRC, considering allegations from the public, conducting announced or unannounced on-site visits or digital compliance inspections (remote interviews) etc.

During a compliance check, a UKVI compliance officer will look for the following:

• That information given by the Sponsor is accurate and complete;
• The business is committed to and is actually complying with all sponsorship duties, which includes having the necessary HR and recruitment processes in place;
• The business is a genuine organisation and trading/operating lawfully in the UK;
• The Sponsor is able to offer genuine employment;
• There are no reasons to believe the Sponsor represents a threat to immigration control; and
• There are no reasons to believe that the Sponsor is engaging or has engaged in behaviour/actions that are not conducive to the public good.

In doing so, the compliance officer may want to verify any information given by the Sponsor, conduct checks on sponsored workers and other employees, inspect records and/or systems, speak to sponsored workers and any employees involved in the recruitment of the sponsored workers etc.

The Sponsor will be expected to co-operate with the compliance check and allow the compliance officer full access to any premises or sites under the Sponsor’s control on demand.

During the check, the compliance officer will not provide an indication of their assessment or the Sponsor’s ability to comply with sponsor duties.

Following the completion of a check, the Sponsor will be notified of UKVI’s decision in writing.

UKVI may decide not to take action, but where there has been a breach or suspected breach of sponsorship duties, or where the Sponsor is considered to pose a threat to immigration control or behaviour/action that is not conducive to the public good, the issue will be assessed further.

Depending on the extent of the Sponsor’s breach, the Sponsor Licence may be downgraded to a B-rating, suspended with a view to revocation, or revoked without prior suspension. A relatively minor breach will result in downgrading, whilst more serious breaches may lead to suspension or revocation.

A more serious breach is where there are indications of:

• A significant or systematic failing;
• The Sponsor no longer meeting the eligibility or suitability requirements for holding a licence;
• The Sponsor posing a serious threat to immigration control; or
• The Sponsor engaging or having engaged in behaviour/actions that are not conducive to the public good.

Sanctions may also be issued against Sponsors where the business is found to be employing illegal workers. More information on the penalties and how these can be avoided can be found here.

The automatic A-rating awarded by UKVI to Sponsors upon approval of the Sponsor Licence application indicates that the business has the necessary systems in place to comply with sponsor duties. To keep an A-rating, Sponsors must adhere to compliance duties set out by UKVI.

A B-rating means the UKVI compliance officer is not satisfied that the Sponsor is able to fully comply with sponsorship duties, but is satisfied that the Sponsor has the ability to fix any gaps in the organisation’s processes. In general, a licence will only be downgraded to a B-rating for relatively minor breaches of the sponsorship system that UKVI believes can be resolved by issuing an action plan. For example, where:

• UKVI believes the Sponsor does not have the necessary processes in place to comply with sponsor duties; or
• The Sponsor has not provided information they hold when UKVI asked for it.

If downgrading of a Sponsor Licence is considered, the Sponsor will receive written notification and will be given 20 working days from the date of the letter to respond in writing. If no response is given, UKVI will take the action believed to be most appropriate.

A licence is downgraded starting from the date of the decision letter. Whilst on a B-rating, the Sponsor will be prohibited from assigning any Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) to new workers and will be required to carry out time-sensitive steps to:

• Pay the action plan fee to receive an action plan from UKVI; and
• Comply with a time-limited action plan which sets out the steps the Sponsor must take to return to an A-rating.

As the B-rating is a transitional one, Sponsors must be upgraded to an A-rating within a specified time limit of no more than 3 months. Failure to do so will led to a Sponsor Licence being revoked.

Further compliance checks will be carried out at the end of the 3 month period to determine whether the Sponsor has met all requirements of their action plan. There are three possible outcomes of this compliance check:

• The Sponsor is found to not have met the requirements of their action plan, or more serious areas of non-compliance arise – this will result in revocation of the licence;
• Certain areas of non-compliance have arisen which are not addressed by the current action plan – this will result in a new, second action plan which must be paid for; or
• The Sponsor has met all the requirements of the action plan and there are no other concerns about the Sponsor – this will result in the restoration of the Sponsor’s A-rating.

Sponsors can only be B-rated and subject to an action plan for a certain number of times during the validity period of their Sponsor Licence (i.e. 4 years). Where this maximum is reached and there is further reason for downgrading, the Sponsor Licence will be revoked.

Where there has been sustained non-compliance over a period of time, or where there is indication of serious or systematic failing due to a series of minor breaches, UKVI may decide to suspend a Sponsor Licence without first downgrading it.

A licence is normally suspended where the Sponsor is found to be breaching sponsor duties and/or pose a threat to immigration control, or is engaging in behaviour/actions detrimental to the public good. There are many circumstances where a licence can be suspended. For example, where:

• The Sponsor is found to have knowingly given false information on the Sponsor Licence application or in support of the application, and the licence would have been refused had the correct information been given;
• The Sponsor is convicted or has an unspent conviction for a relevant offence;
• The Sponsor stops having, or never had, a trading/operating presence in the UK;
• The Sponsor does not hold, or stops holding, appropriate planning permission or Local Planning Authority consent to operate the type/class of business at their trading address; or
• The Sponsor gives false information in any application for, or request to assign, a CoS, or a request to renew the annual allocation of CoS.

UKVI may suspend a Sponsor Licence with or without a full investigation. The reasons for suspension will be provided in a written notification and the Sponsor will have 20 working days from the date of the letter to respond in writing. If no response is given, the action believed to be most appropriate will be taken.

Action taken may include one or more of the following:

• Re-instatement of the Sponsor Licence with an A-rating;
• Re-instatement of the Sponsor Licence with a B-rating along with issuance of an action plan;
• Preventing the Sponsor from assigning any new CoS;
• Preventing the use of any assigned, but unused, CoS; or
• Revocation of the Sponsor Licence.

A final decision will generally be given to the Sponsor within 20 working days of the Sponsor’s response being received.

Whilst a licence is suspended, a Sponsor will not be able to assign any CoS, and any functions to replace the Authorising Officer or Key Contact and add new Level 1 Users automatically will also be suspended.

There are certain circumstances that can lead to a Sponsor Licence being revoked, including, but not limited to, where:

• The Sponsor ceases to have, or has never had, a trading presence;
• The Sponsor ceases to meet the requirements of the route(s) in which they are licensed;
• There is serious or systematic breach of sponsor duties;
• The Sponsor poses a threat to immigration control;
• The Sponsor has been convicted of a relevant criminal offence or issued with a specified civil penalty; or
• The Sponsor is engaging or has engaged in behaviour/actions that are not conducive to the public good.

The sponsorship guidance provides detailed guidelines on circumstances where a licence:

• Will be revoked on a mandatory ground;
• Will normally be revoked unless there are exceptional circumstances; and
• May be revoked.

Notification of revocation will be provided in writing and the Sponsor has no right of appeal against the decision. If a Sponsor with a revoked licence wishes to apply for a Sponsor Licence again, they will be unable to do so until the cooling-off period of 12 months (or any longer period specified) has passed from the date of revocation.

Where a Sponsor Licence is revoked, it will be revoked for all the routes in which the Sponsor is licensed and the organisation’s details will be removed from the public register of licensed sponsors. The Sponsor will not be able to sponsor any more workers and the permission of any workers being sponsored will be denied, cancelled or shortened.

This has clear and serious implications for affected workers, who will be treated differently depending on whether UKVI believes the worker was or was not complicit in the reasons for revocation of the licence. Those who are found to have been complicit will have their remaining permission cancelled and will be required to leave the country immediately or face enforced removal. Those who are not found to be complicit will normally have their remaining permission shortened to 60 calendar days after which they must leave the UK. They may, however, make an application for another visa during the 60 days.