Sponsor duties: what you must do and report

A licensed sponsor must check its workers have the skills for their jobs and only assign certificates for suitable jobs. It must tell UKVI when sponsored workers break their visa conditions, follow UK employment law and keep records. You usually report changes to a worker within 10 working days, and changes to your organisation within 20 working days.

What are your duties as a sponsor?

You must:

• check that your foreign workers have the skills, qualifications or professional accreditations they need for their jobs, and keep copies of documents that show this
• only assign certificates of sponsorship to workers when the job is suitable for sponsorship
• tell UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) if your sponsored workers are not following their visa conditions
• follow UK employment law for the jobs you offer
• meet any extra rules for workers under 18, scale-up workers or offshore workers

Part 3 of the sponsor guidance (version 08/26, valid from 28 August 2026) groups the duties like this:

• reporting
• keeping records
• following immigration laws and the sponsor guidance
• following wider UK law
• not behaving in a way that is not conducive to the public good

Your duties start the day UKVI grants the licence. They continue until you surrender it, UKVI makes it dormant, or UKVI revokes it.

Your responsibility for each worker starts on the date you assign a certificate of sponsorship.

What are the reporting duties?

Part 3 sets two time limits. Unless it says otherwise, you must report:

• changes to a sponsored worker’s circumstances within 10 working days of the event
• changes to your organisation within 20 working days of the event

To report changes to a worker, use the “Report migrant activity” function in the sponsorship management system (SMS).

What changes to a worker must you report?

You must report each of these within 10 working days (Part 3):

• the worker does not start the job within 28 days
• the worker is absent from work without your permission for more than 10 working days in a row
• the worker is absent without pay, or on reduced pay, for more than 4 weeks in total in any calendar year (or during the sponsorship period for a Scale-up Worker)
• the worker’s pay is cut in any other way from the level on the certificate
• there are major changes to the details of the worker’s job, other than those that need a change of employment application
• the worker’s normal work location changes
• you stop sponsoring the worker for any reason
• for an offshore worker, the dates they arrive in and leave UK waters

You must also:

• tell UKVI as soon as reasonably possible if you know or suspect a sponsored worker has broken their conditions of stay
• give the police any information suggesting a sponsored worker may be involved in terrorism or crime

What changes to your business must you report?

You must report major changes to your own circumstances within 20 working days. For example, if you:

• stop trading or become insolvent
• change the nature of your business in a big way
• are involved in a merger or take-over
• make changes that affect your relationship with any overseas businesses that have sent workers to you
• make any changes to a contract covering secondment workers or service suppliers

You must also tell UKVI if you change your details, such as your address or allocated roles.

If you are a Worker sponsor, you must tell UKVI if your organisation’s size or charitable status changes. This can change what you pay for licence fees and the immigration skills charge. (Part 3)

To register a change of circumstances, use the SMS. Requests can take up to 18 weeks. If you use the priority service, you can register a change within 5 working days. It costs £350.

If you sponsor a UK Expansion Worker and have a provisional rating, you must tell UKVI when your authorising officer’s visa is granted. You must also update their immigration status and address in the UK.

What records must you keep?

You must have HR systems that let you:

• monitor your workers’ immigration status
• keep copies of relevant documents for each sponsored worker, including proof of right to work checks
• track and record workers’ attendance
• keep worker contact details up to date
• report to UKVI if there is a problem, for example if your worker stops coming to work

Appendix D to the sponsor guidance lists the documents and how long you must keep them. You must give UKVI relevant documents when it asks. (Part 3)

If you sponsor a child under 18, you must keep a copy of a consent letter from their parent or legal guardian.

What other rules does Part 3 set?

You must also:

• only sponsor workers who are suitably qualified, registered or experienced to do the job
• carry out the right to work checks
• not assign a certificate for a role that does not meet the route’s rules
• make sure the worker’s real job matches the occupation code and job description on the certificate
• not let an SMS user assign a certificate to themselves, or to a close relative or partner
• not try to get sponsorship fees back from a sponsored worker where the guidance does not allow it

If UKVI finds a worker in a job that does not match the occupation code or job description, and the change is not allowed, it must revoke the licence. For occupation codes, see SOC codes.

Part 3 also says you must follow wider UK law. This includes employment law such as the National Minimum Wage and the Working Time Regulations. You must avoid behaviour that is not conducive to the public good.

What extra duties apply to some workers?

• Workers under 18. You must make sure they have suitable care arrangements for travel to the UK, arrival and living. You must get a letter from their parents giving consent. You must get a Disclosure and Barring Service check on any worker who needs one. You will lose your licence if you do not do this.
• Children under 16. You can only sponsor workers under 16 on a Creative Worker or Government Authorised Exchange visa. You also need to check the rules on the hours children can work. You must also check whether the child needs an employment permit from the local council.
• Scale-up workers. Your responsibilities start when you assign the certificate. They end 6 calendar months after the “valid from” date on the visa (if the worker applied from outside the UK), or after the date they are told they have permission to stay (if they applied from inside the UK). You must tell UKVI the worker’s start date on the SMS.
• Offshore workers. You must tell UKVI when the worker first arrives in UK waters and when they leave. You report no earlier than the date they arrive or leave, and up to 10 working days after.

How does UKVI check compliance?

UKVI may carry out a compliance check at any time, before or after it grants a licence. (Part 3)

Checks can be announced or unannounced. They can include:

• visits
• digital interviews
• asking for documents
• checks with other government departments

UKVI also makes regular checks with HMRC to confirm that you pay sponsored workers in line with the Immigration Rules and sponsor guidance.

What happens if you do not meet your duties?

Your licence may be downgraded, suspended or withdrawn. UKVI may take these actions (Part 3):

• reduce your certificate of sponsorship allocation
• downgrade your licence to a B-rating
• suspend your licence
• revoke your licence
• cancel the permission of your sponsored workers to stay in the UK
• report you to the police or other relevant authorities

UKVI normally uses a downgrade and an action plan for fairly minor breaches. It uses suspension or revocation for more serious ones. See sponsor licence ratings for the downgrade and action plan rules.

If a licence is revoked, there is no right of appeal. You must wait at least 12 months before a new application, or 24 months if the licence has been revoked more than once. See sponsor licence eligibility.