Sponsor Licence Suspension- How to Safeguard Your UK Business

The ability to sponsor overseas skilled workers to fill essential skills gaps in any organisation’s workforce can help them achieve vital growth and remain operational and competitive. Such organisations looking to hire overseas workers need to obtain and retain their sponsor licence. However, the Home Office may suspend an organisation’s sponsor licence in certain circumstances.

A sponsor licence suspension is an enforcement action taken by the Home Office against a licensed sponsor who is found to have breached their compliance duties. Even though it may be a temporary measure, it restricts the organisation’s ability to sponsor new overseas workers under its licence.

While existing sponsored workers can generally continue working, the business whose licence has been suspended is removed from the public register of sponsors, and any pending visa applications linked to CoS (Certificates of Sponsorship) are paused.

You must continue to meet all your sponsor’s obligations in letter and spirit to safeguard your UK business.

However, if your organisation has received a notice of sponsor licence suspension, you must act promptly to have your licence reinstated. If you don’t respond to the Home Office in time, they may revoke your sponsor licence.

If you are a licenced sponsor, you must comply with your sponsor’s duties. If the Home Office alleges that you have failed to comply with your immigration compliance duties, it has the power to suspend your sponsor licence.

Suspension of your sponsor licence means that your organisation will be removed from the public register of sponsors, and your ability to assign any new certificate of sponsorship will be taken away until you have your licence reinstated. You will need to determine how you will respond within the given timeframe. Depending on the facts of the case, you may choose to challenge the Home Office’s decision to suspend your licence, or resolve the issues and provide evidence of the steps you have taken.

A sponsor licence imposes strict sponsorship duties on your organisation that you must comply with; otherwise, you risk enforcement action from the Home Office, such as your sponsor licence suspension.

The most common reasons why the Home Office may suspend your sponsor licences are the following:

1. Failure to comply with Record-Keeping Requirements

Sponsors must retain accurate and up-to-date personal records of their sponsored workers. For example, proof of employees’ right to work, employment contracts, and visa-related documentation. Failure to produce these records during a Home Office audit is a common reason for sponsor licence suspension.

2. Non-Compliance with Monitoring and Reporting Duties

Sponsors must monitor and report to the Home Office within specific timeframes any significant changes, such as changes in sponsored workers’ job roles, salaries, or work locations, amended employment contract terms, or absence from work for more than 10 days without permission. Failing to notify the Home Office within the specific deadlines can trigger enforcement action.

3. Failure to Notify the Organisational Changes

Failing to report organisational changes such as a change of company name, address, or Authorising Officer can also result in suspension of the sponsor licence.

4. Failing to Prevent Illegal Working

A licenced sponsor must conduct right-to-work checks for all migrant workers. Employing a worker, intentionally or due to negligence, without legal permission to work in the UK, is a serious violation.

5. Issues Found During Home Office Inspections

During an inspection, whether announced or unannounced, the immigration enforcement officials assess a sponsor’s compliance with their duties. Failure to demonstrate robust compliance processes in place or inability to resolve these issues during or after the Home Office inspection can result in a sponsor licence suspension.

You must avoid the reasons mentioned above to safeguard your business from a potential sponsor licence suspension.

If your sponsor licence has been suspended, the first step to safeguard your business is to consider the options and formulate a course of action to avoid any detrimental impact on your business operations and the visas of your sponsored employees. Generally, your options are to either:

Respond to the suspension notice, challenging the Home Office allegations, with supporting evidence, and seeking to have your licence reinstated, or
Respond to the notice by accepting the accusations and identifying how you are addressing the compliance breaches.

The suspension letter from the Home Office will detail the grounds for suspension. You must address the reasons carefully and in detail in your response. You should seek an expert’s advice who can review the suspension notice and advise on your options in the circumstances so that you can decide the best course of action for your organisation.

Getting sponsor licence reinstated means it will resume with full status.

The suspension notice will tell you of the deadline to respond to the Home Office. You will usually be required to respond to the suspension notice within 20 working days from the date of the suspension notification. Review the suspension decision during this period, seek professional advice on options available after the suspension, and compile and submit your response.

You must respond to the Home Office in writing, with all relevant supporting evidence to demonstrate the specific suspension grounds you believe to be incorrect and the reason(s) for this. The response will need to be clear, robust, and thorough on all points. Collecting extensive and compelling documentary evidence will help strengthen your position.

An expert can help you identify your options and ensure your response addresses the immediate concerns of the Home Office and identifies necessary remedial steps. For example, is there a factual error that can be challenged through supporting evidence? Do you need to take any measures or have already taken measures to rectify the breach? Are there any mitigating circumstances?

Engaging positively with the Home Office throughout the process is also important, as it demonstrates your commitment to complying with the sponsor’s duties placed on your organisation.

You should also prepare for any potential site inspection by immigration enforcement officials, even if they haven’t already visited your location.

After receiving your response, the Home Office will usually further investigate your organisation and its compliance. UKVI should usually come up with its final decision within 20 working days of receiving your response, unless the consideration is quite complex or information that has to come from a third party, such as another government department, is still pending. In this case, you will be notified of the delay.

The sponsor licence suspension will remain in place until UKVI makes a decision.

Your licence should be reinstated if the Home Office is satisfied that you have successfully addressed the issues. If the Home Office reinstates your licence with an A-rating, in which case your licence will resume with full status.

Summary

Employers, in order to safeguard their UK business from a potential Sponsor licence suspension from the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), should avoid any breaches in their compliance with their sponsor’s duties.

For example, keeping accurate records of sponsored workers, conducting right-to-work checks, and reporting relevant changes in workers’ or the organisation’s situation in a timely manner.

Sponsor licence suspension temporarily halts an employer’s ability to sponsor foreign workers. Therefore, regular internal audits and training should be carried out to ensure ongoing compliance with UKVI’s requirements.

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