Resources and Guides

Sponsor Compliance Visits – What to Expect

A sponsor licence allows any UK organisation to sponsor non-resident workers within its organisation, be that a business, school, college, charity, sports club etc. In order to assess whether your organisation is eligible to apply for a licence and able to meet its sponsor duties the Home Office may wish to visit your premises as part of the application process, or indeed at any point throughout the initial four-year period of your sponsor licence. These visits, often referred to as sponsor compliance visits or sponsor audits, are intended to check your organisation has the appropriate HR recruitment systems and processes in place to effectively monitor a migrant workforce, and to ensure you are fulfilling your legal obligations as an employer.

In this article, we will look at the who conducts sponsor compliance visits on behalf of the Home office, why they take place and what happens before, during and after a visit. Plus, our immigration consultants share their top tips to help your business proactively maintain sponsor licence compliance.

What is a sponsor licence?

From January 2021 any UK business wishing to hire skilled EU or non-EU workers needs to gain approval to do so from the Home Office by applying for a sponsor licence. Once your organisation has obtained its sponsor licence you also need to maintain compliance with all Home Office requirements and proactively fulfil your sponsor duties.

What is a sponsor licence compliance visit

Sponsor compliance visits or sponsor audits are conducted by representatives from the Sponsor Licencing Unit of the Home Office either before making a decision on your application for a sponsor licence, or during the initial term of the licence which is usually four years. The visits usually involve an interview with the owner of the business or organisation and sometimes a physical inspection of the business.

A pre-decision compliance visit

A pre-decision compliance visit takes place after an application has been submitted where some of the information requires physical verification. The purpose of a pre-decision visit is to:

• verify the information provided in the licence application to ensure it is accurate and complete.
• ensure your business is genuinely trading or operating lawfully in the UK.
• establish you have a genuine need for a sponsor licence and you are able to offer employment to Tier 2 migrants at the appropriate skill and payment level.
• you are conversant and committed to comply with the prescribed sponsorship duties.

A post-decision compliance visit

A post-decision compliance visit will be scheduled where doubt has arisen about the willingness or ability of a sponsoring organisation to adhere to the relevant requirements. The purpose of a post-decision visit is to:

• audit your HR systems to confirm you have the appropriate human resource practices in place to meet your sponsorship duties and monitor your workers’ immigration status.
• check you are compliant with your legal responsibility as a sponsor to prevent illegal working, and check for any incidences of non-compliance.

What to expect during your compliance visit

A compliance visit will usually follow a prescribed format which should be clarified at the start by the visiting officers; although legal representation isn’t normally required, it makes sense to familiarise yourself with the relevant sponsor duties and requirements in advance and make an accurate record of the visit for reference. A Home Office compliance officer may want to:

• Verify information you gave in a sponsor licence application or a worker’s application.
• Take photographs of the business premises.
• Check you are complying with all of your sponsor duties, or will be able to comply if they visit you before your licence application has been decided.
• Speak to any current or previously sponsored workers. 
• Speak to employees involved in recruitment of sponsored workers.
• Inspect records and/or systems to ensure you are following your sponsor obligations and adhering to the relevant rules set out in Appendix D and the sponsor guidance published by the Home Office.

They may also conduct checks in advance on workers to ensure you are complying with your obligation to prevent illegal working, key personnel (ie owners, directors, managers or other employees in positions of responsibility and financiers involved in the running of your organisation) and with HMRC to ensure you are paying your workers appropriately and in line with the Immigration Rules and sponsor guidance.

Will I know the date of the compliance visit in advance

The Home Office may visit and conduct checks unannounced, or otherwise by appointment, at any premises where your sponsored workers carry out, or would carry out, their employment duties. In either case you should allow Home Office staff to access your premises upon request as refusal to grant entry could result in your sponsor licence application being refused, or your existing licence being revoked.

Our advice to any employers who have recently filed an application for a sponsor licence is to expect and pre-empt a visit from Home Office officials and familiarise themselves with their responsibilities and duties as a sponsor prior to such a visit. For existing sponsors, any changes to your business circumstances may also trigger a compliance visit such as.a change in business name, operating premises or a merger/takeover.

The sponsor license ratings (A vs B)

When your sponsor licence is approved, you will be granted either an A or a B rating, as you may expect the A rating is the one every employer should strive for. An A-rating will allow you to assign Certificates of Sponsorship to prospective employees to support their visa applications.

If you receive or are downgraded to a B-rating, you will not be able to assign Certificates of Sponsorship and will have to apply for and implement an “action plan” agreed with the Home Office to address any shortcomings identified in your HR processes. This may have a serious impact on business continuity and expert advice should be sought at this point to minimise disruption and costs to your commercial operations.  

Our top tips to achieve and maintain sponsor compliance

To help you identify the principal requirements and maintain compliance, we have prepared a summary of the areas to focus on when you are considering or preparing an application or have received your licence. These are usually the responsibility of the Key Contact or Level 1 or 2 user(s) who are appointed in the application process and should:

• Monitor the immigration status of your employees requiring permission to work on a routine and regular basis to prevent illegal working for which the penalty can be up to £20,000 per individual and the revocation of your licence.
• Record and maintain your sponsored migrant contact details including UK residential address, landline and mobile telephone numbers.
• Retain paper and electronic files for all of your sponsored workers.
• Track and report the attendance, absences or relevant changes in the circumstances of all your sponsored workers.
• Record any changes in key personnel involved in the administration of your sponsorship licence.
• Ensure the Sponsor Management System is updated when changes are made in respect of sponsored workers.
• Ensure any Certificates of Sponsorship issued are for genuine vacancies and that the proposed positions meet the relevant Home Office criteria in terms of the rates of pay and skill level.

Next steps for licenced sponsors

Immigration legislation, and specifically the rules governing the employment of foreign nationals, is currently one of the fastest moving areas of law in the UK; it therefore makes sense for you and/or your HR personnel to keep up to date as the penalties for failing to follow the relevant legislation are severe. Sanctions on your business can range from the downgrading or revocation of your sponsor licence to fines of up to £20,000 per person for employing those who require but don’t have permission to work.

So whether you’re applying for a new licence, renewing an existing licence, or simply want some reassurance that you’re doing everything by the book, it pays to reach out for professional legal advice.

Book a complimentary business immigration audit

At The Yellow Halo we specialise in business immigration and can assist you with any or all of the following:

• the sponsor licence application process including an initial assessment on eligibility
• sponsor compliance to ensure this is met and maintained
• HR training to ensure those responsible for dealing with this complex legal area are conversant with the relevant legislation
• Right to work checks to establish what a prospective employee is permitted to do and for how long.
• Home Office visits – pre or post decision to ensure these are conducted in accordance with statutory guidance.
• Submissions following suspension, revocation or downgrading of your licence rating including negotiating and implementing “action plans” drawn up by the Home Office.

Why not book a complimentary initial immigration audit of your business with one of accomplished immigration consultants? We can help you to ensure that you are maintaining compliance with your sponsorship duties and responsibilities following the approval of your sponsor licence. Please get in touch and let’s make your sponsor licence process as smooth as possible so you can concentrate on your business and its employees.