Sponsor Licence Immigration Compliance Tips
When a Sponsor Licence is issued to an organisation, this means that the organisation now has a number of duties and responsibilities in order to continue holding the licence.
An organisation must typically report the following changes within 10 working days:
Reporting duties, migrant worker changes
If a worker is absent from work, without permission, for more than 10 days
You stop sponsoring a worker
If a sponsored worker resigns
A worker does not show up for their first day of work
If the sponsored workers work address changes
U.K. Sponsor Organisation changes
Changes to personnel must be reported, such as changes to the Authorising officer, Key contact or Level 1 user.
Changes to organisations name, address or overall structure
If any key personnel are convicted of an offence
How to comply with sponsor duties
As well as reporting duties, a sponsor must also comply with immigration laws and record keeping duties.
Some of the documents that must be kept include:
Evidence of right to work checks
Date of worker entering the U.K checks
Evidence of how sponsored workers were recruited
Evidence of salary for sponsored workers, i.e payslips
Relevant qualifications of the worker
Workers contact details, as well as their UK residential address
Worker’s absences from work
The sponsoring organisation must keep the records relating to sponsored workers, throughout the period they are sponsoring them and until whichever is earlier of either:
One year after the date of which the sponsorship ended
The date on which a compliance officer has examined and approved the records, if this is less than one year after the sponsorship ended
Sponsor Licence FAQ’s
What is the Sponsor Licence Management System (SMS)?
The Sponsor Licence Management System (SMS) is a portal is a platform that enables licensed employers and educational institutions to manage their sponsorship obligations.
It is also recommended that employers log onto the portal monthly to check if they have received any important messages.
How do you operate the Sponsor Licence Management System (SMS)?
The portal enables employers and key personnel to perform day to day admin duties. Log in details for the portal are provided via email on the day an organisation is granted a licence.
An Immigration specialist can also be appointed as a Key contact & Level 1 user. This will help with potential future Home Office compliance audits, ensuring maintained compliance.
Get in touch with a licensed Immigration advisor to find out more about our Sponsorship Management services.
What happens during a UKVI Compliance check?
Compliance audits may take place physically on site or remotely via Teams meetings.
Main things that compliance officers will look for are:
That the business has a robust HR system, with correct record keeping procedures relating to employee files.
That the jobs the employer is hiring for are genuine vacancies which match reported skill levels
That the business is genuinely operating lawfully in the U.K.
That the sponsor/employer is keeping up with their sponsor duties
Get in touch with a licensed Immigration advisor to find out more.