- 1st & 2nd Floor, 112-116 Whitechapel Road, London, E1 1JE (+44) 020 8087 2343 Mon-Fri: 10am-7pm (23rd Dec-1st Jan Office closed)
If a UK firm wants to employ non-UK residents (including EU nationals entering the UK from 1st January 2021), the employer must have a valid sponsorship licence from the UK Home Office. The process of employer sponsorship licence application can be complex, and WorkPermitCloud can assist with this.
Is your organisation facing the daunting prospect of a sponsor licence revocation? We understand the complexities and can guide you through the process.
When the Home Office formally notifies your company that its sponsorship licence is at risk of revocation, the actions you take next will significantly impact your business. A revoked sponsor licence means your organisation loses its authority to lawfully employ sponsored workers across all sponsorship visa categories. This is a punitive measure with far-reaching consequences, affecting your operations and the visas of sponsored employees who may need to find new employment or leave the country.
Furthermore, after a sponsor licence revocation, your organisation will be prohibited from applying for a new licence for a specified cooling-off period, typically lasting 12 months from the date of revocation.
At Work Permit Cloud, our team of seasoned UK immigration lawyers specialises in assisting companies facing the challenges of sponsor licence revocation. We provide comprehensive support, including:
Understanding Grounds for Revocation: We help you grasp the reasons behind the revocation.
Collating Supporting Evidence: Assistance in gathering the necessary evidence.
Crafting a Comprehensive Response: We guide you in building a response that considers the broader business and economic implications of a revoked sponsor licence.
Addressing Non-Compliance: Advice on taking remedial steps to rectify areas of non-compliance.
Engaging with UKVI: We support you in your interactions with UK Visas and Immigration.
Managing Site Visits: Guidance and support related to Home Office site visits, including follow-up actions.
Considering Judicial Review: While there's no appeal against licence revocation, we can assess whether grounds for Judicial Review exist.
Licence revocations are daunting, and effective handling is essential to maintain any chance of reinstatement and avoid further punitive action. We provide guidance on your options, considering the severity of alleged breaches, the number of affected sponsored employees, and your conduct and that of the Home Office during investigations.
There is no right of appeal against a decision to revoke a sponsor licence. However, there may be grounds for a Judicial Review of the revocation decision. Our sponsor licence specialists excel in assessing the merits of applying for a Judicial Review and expertly guiding sponsors through the challenge process.
In some circumstances, it may make financial and commercial sense to accept the revocation and use the cooling-off period to address the underlying issues. This includes developing and implementing HR processes and procedures to ensure compliance, delivering training to relevant personnel, and demonstrating that the previous revocation grounds have been corrected.
As a sponsor licence holder, you are legally obligated to fulfil several duties concerning your licence's management. The Home Office takes a vigilant approach to immigration enforcement and has the authority to revoke a sponsor licence for non-compliance or failure to engage actively with the Home Office.
Revocations can occur for various reasons, often stemming from the sponsor's inability to address issues following a sponsor licence suspension or instances of fraudulent activity and false information in licence applications or the sponsorship management system.
Common breaches include poor record keeping and failure to report changes in circumstances, both regarding migrant employees and the organisation itself. Inconsistencies in information related to sponsored roles, such as salary and job duties, can also trigger punitive action.
Given the gravity of sponsor licence revocation, it is crucial to seek immediate legal advice on your options. Any decisions should be well-informed and based on a specialist assessment of all relevant facts.
Your response to the Home Office must be evidence-based and address the allegations made against your organisation within the specified timeframe. Our experts evaluate your case by considering various factors, such as the justification for the Home Office's enforcement measures, the full impact on your business, and the wider economic implications. We assist employers in constructing a compelling response to the Home Office by conducting staff interviews, preparing statements, collecting documents, and obtaining records from other government agencies. Our goal is to provide a strong case in your favour.
For help and advice with reinstating your sponsor licence after revocation, please contact us. Our experienced team is here to guide you through this challenging process.
If your sponsor licence is revoked, pending sponsored visa applications will be refused, and your existing sponsored workers' leave will be curtailed. Your organisation will lose permission to recruit and employ workers from all visa categories under the licence, and your name will be removed from the register of sponsors.
Following a sponsor licence revocation, your organisation will be prohibited from applying for a new licence for a specified cooling-off period, typically 12 months, but potentially up to five years for serious breaches.
There is no right of appeal against a decision to revoke a sponsor licence. In limited circumstances, there may be grounds for Judicial Review of the revocation decision.
How can we help you today?
It is required by the Home Office that sponsor licence holders must comply with all sponsor duties. Failure of compliance may result in fines for up to £20,000 per illegal worker, sponsor licence downgrade to a B-rating, sponsor licence suspension or revocation.
Once an UK organisation granted a sponsor licence, sponsors must follow their sponsor duties to maintain their sponsor licence, including: Keeping up-to-date records of sponsored workers and their immigration status Reporting any changes to the worker's employment or circumstances to the Home Office Complying with the law on preventing illegal working Co-operating with the Home Office in any compliance checks or audits
A sponsor licence compliance is a set of rules and regulations that UK organisations must follow when sponsoring non-British nationals to work in the country. These rules are set by the UK Home Office and are designed to ensure that sponsorship licence holders are operating in compliance with the regulations and are fulfilling their sponsor duties.
For a UK sponsor license, you'll need to provide documentation of your company's registration, the identities of key employees, proof that you need migrant workers, HR policies and procedures, and proof that you can track and monitor them. In the course of the application procedure, the Home Office may also require supplementary paperwork.
Having a legal business, demonstrating the need for migrant workers, putting in place acceptable HR and compliance procedures, and pledging to follow the sponsor duties outlined by the Home Office are all prerequisites for obtaining a sponsor license in the UK.
The duration of a UK sponsor license is four years. However if the Home Office determines that the group is not upholding its sponsorship obligations or if the organization is discovered to be engaging in any illegal activity, it may be revoked at any moment.
Application completion and case complexity are two variables that can affect how quickly a sponsor license application is processed in the UK. Nevertheless, it usually takes 8 weeks to process an order.
An organization must submit an online application form to the Home Office along with a fee in order to become a licensed sponsor in the UK. The firm must prove during the application process that it is an actual company, that it has a genuine need for migrant labor, and that it has sufficient HR and compliance processes in place.
An organization can sponsor foreign workers to come and work for them in the UK if it has a sponsor licence, which is approval from the UK government. When hiring qualified workers from outside the UK, firms must get a sponsor license from the Home Office.
