What to do if your Sponsor Licence is Downgraded, Suspended, or Revoked

UKVI is constantly assessing and checking if employers are meeting their sponsor licence obligation and duties, and if not, they may take action that prevents them from continuing to sponsor overseas workers. Employers may have their licence suspended, downgraded or revoked for non-compliance. In this post, we look at what to do if your sponsor licence is downgraded, suspended, or revoked.

What to do if your sponsor licence is downgraded

Following a compliance visit, UKVI may decide to downgrade your sponsor licence from an A-rating, the default for all new licences, to a B-rating. There are a number of reasons why this may happen, including a compliance officer finding minor issues with your sponsor licence compliance. As a B-rated sponsor, you will not be able to issue any new Certificates of Sponsorship until you have your A-rating re-instated.

Action to take

• Respond to UKVI within 20 days of receiving the notification letter that your licence may be downgraded, providing any details and evidence showing that your licence should not be downgraded
• If your licence is still downgraded, you may be asked to pay a fee for an action plan. Your sponsorship action plan will outline the steps you now need to take (e.g. to improve your record-keeping). If you pay the fee within 10 days, you will be able to continue using your sponsor licence, and your action plan will be sent to you. Alternatively, if you are not currently sponsoring anyone, you may choose not to pay the fee and simply surrender your licence. If you choose not to pay the fee or take the necessary action, your licence will be revoked.
• Once you receive your sponsorship action plan, you will have 3 months to resolve the compliance issues identified. At the end of this period, UKVI will carry out further checks and if they are satisfied, they will either a) revoke your licence if the issues remain, b) provide a second action plan if new issues are found, or c) restore your A-rating.

What to do if your sponsor licence is suspended

When a licence is suspended, an employer is no longer able to issue new Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS). There are a number of reasons why sponsor licences may be suspended, including a breach of sponsorship duties.

Action to take

• Respond to UKVI within 20 days of receiving the notification letter that your licence may be suspended, providing any mitigating details and evidence showing that your licence should not be suspended.
• On receipt of your response, UKVI will review this information and then will either: re-instate your licence with an A-rating; re-instate your licence with a B-rating (and issue you with an action plan) – in which case refer to the above section; prevent you from assigning any new CoSs; prevent the use of any assigned, but unused, CoSs, or revoke your licence – in which case, see the next section.

What to do if your sponsor licence is revoked

There are an array of reasons why the Home Office may revoke your sponsor licence, such as a serious or systematic breach of sponsor duties or if your business poses a threat to immigration control. If your licence is revoked, you are no longer able to sponsor overseas workers, and any existing visas for sponsored workers will be cancelled.

Unfortunately, there is no right of appeal against a decision to revoke your licence and you will not be able to apply for another sponsor licence until 12 months from the date of revocation.

We hope that you have found this post on ‘What to do if your Sponsor Licence is Downgraded, Suspended, or Revoked’ useful.

Our immigration experts are able to provide advice and guidance in relation to a sponsor’s duties. Contact us here to learn more.

The material contained on this website contains general information only and does not constitute legal or other professional advice and should not be relied upon as such. While every care has been taken in the preparation of the information on this site, readers are advised to seek specific legal advice in relation to any decision or course of action.