Guide

Sponsor duties and compliance

A licence is a privilege with ongoing duties. The Home Office can downgrade, suspend, or revoke licences when sponsors fail to meet obligations.

This is general information for employers, not legal or immigration advice. Rules, fees, and thresholds change — confirm the current position on official government sites before you act.

Last reviewed: 2026-07-28

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01

Guide section

Core duty themes

Prevent illegal working: Right-to-work checks and follow-ups.
Keep records: Recruitment, contact details, right-to-work evidence, and other Appendix D-style records as required.
Report changes: Worker no-shows, job changes, early endings, and organisational changes via SMS within required timeframes.
Comply with the law: Pay, working time, and wider employment law still apply.

Operational checklist themes

Theme	Owner idea	Cadence
Right-to-work	HR / People Ops	At hire + follow-ups
SMS reporting	Level 1 user	Within Home Office deadlines
Record pack	AO + HR	Living folder; audit-ready
Key personnel backup	AO	Review quarterly

02

Guide section

Audit readiness

Assume you may be visited or asked for documents. Keep a living compliance folder, train backup SMS users, and review sponsored workers quarterly.

Next step

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What's next

Common questions

Who should own compliance?+

A named Authorising Officer with operational Level 1 support. Spreading duty across “whoever is free” is a common failure mode.