Sponsor Licence Expiry Removed: Next Steps

Sponsor Licence Expiry: New Rules From April 2024

As of 6 April 2024, the Home Office has removed the requirement for most sponsor licences to be renewed every four years. However, organisations licensed under the UK Expansion Worker or Scale-up routes are still subject to a maximum licence validity of four years. To maintain a valid sponsor licence, all organisations must continue to adhere to their sponsorship responsibilities.

Instead, organisations must simply continue to adhere to their normal responsibilities as a sponsor of foreign employees in order to maintain their valid sponsor licence.

Please note: The information provided applies to organisations whose sponsor licences had an expiry date before 6 April 2024. Licences expiring before this date were subject to the renewal requirements effective at that time.

How will existing Sponsor Licenses be affected by this Change?

The changes took place on 6 April 2024; therefore, all organisations whose Sponsor license expired before this date should have followed the original rules to renew it. You can check your expiration date in the SMS (Sponsorship Management System).

The rules are strict, and as such, if your organisation’s sponsor license expiry date is before 6 April 2024, and you haven’t followed the renewal process, your organisation could face serious consequences. You could be fined, and you will no longer be able to sponsor any foreign workers (including those who currently work for you).

If you continue to employ foreign workers without a valid sponsor license, your organisation and your workers will be classed as undertaking illegal employment. This would mean further consequences for your business, and your foreign workers would risk having their visas revoked and, in some cases, legal punishment.

If your organisation’s Sponsor License expires after 6 April 2024, your license will be automatically extended by 10 years. The 4-year renewal process is no longer necessary for your business in this circumstance; however, your organisation must continue to comply with the responsibilities expected as a sponsor of foreign employees.

Why Do Businesses Miss Their Sponsor Licence Expiry Date?

The Home Office requires sponsor organisations to update their contact details on the SMS. However, this does not always happen.

The SMS account may still contain contact information for a previous Authorising Officer (AO) or legal adviser. They may have left the business, and no new contact information has been entered into the system.

Because of this, the sponsor may not be able to receive notifications. This leaves the business unaware of the approaching deadline and licence expiry date. Thus, it helps to have different people named as the key contact or AO.

The organization can also require Level One Users to log in to the SMS at least once per month. The Home Office sends out general messages via SMS occasionally, which can be important. Level One Users can track these if they register in the portal regularly.

What Are The Implications Of An Expired Sponsor Licence?

There are consequences to an expired sponsor licence, one is not being able to assign new Certificates of Sponsorship (COS). The sponsoring employer provides the worker with this document to allow them to apply for a visa and onboard the business.

If a sponsor licence expires, sponsored workers’ visas may be curtailed, typically to 60 days, unless they can secure a new sponsor or have valid leave under a different immigration category.

However, another option for employees sponsored by businesses with expired licence is to apply for a new visa. To do this, they must find a new sponsor to stay in the UK.

Your sponsored employee may face legal consequences if they don’t act promptly. For example, workers have been detained after attempting to re-enter the UK unaware that their employer’s licence had expired.

The sponsor will also be removed from the Register of Sponsors because of an expired license. The Register of Licenced Sponsors is a public listing of all UK organisations with valid sponsorship licences. This is also formerly known as the Tier 2 sponsor list.

How To Renew Sponsor Licence

You will need to act fast upon the expiry of your sponsor licence. It may be necessary to make an urgent application to the Home Office to renew it. You may also be advised to apply for a new licence.

The sponsor licence renewal process involves the Home Office reviewing the sponsor’s compliance with their duties, which may include site visits. Sponsors should apply to renew their licence before it expires to avoid any disruption

Explore hiring employment lawyers or immigration solicitors to handle the renewal application as quickly as possible. They can also assist with negotiations between employers and employees arising from the sponsor licence expiry to avoid disputes.

Seek expert legal advice from IAS and talk to our immigration solicitors as soon as you recognize a problem with your licence. This will help you determine the best strategy for mitigating damage and costs for your business.

How to Avoid Sponsor Licence Expiry Issues

Manage the date of your licence expiry by keeping an internal log. Your AO, SMS Users, and the HR director should have access to this. Even if the Home Office sends notifications, do not rely on these reminders alone.

The Home Office has a standard 90 days before the licence expiry date. However, it’s better to prepare and give leeway if there are possible issues. Renewing your licence at least six months before expiry is ideal.

It is crucial to keep your Authorising Officer’s and other key personnel’s contact details up-to-date in the Sponsor Management System (SMS) to ensure you receive important communications from the Home Office. Employers should approach sponsor licensing similarly to other legal and compliance requirements.

Maintaining your sponsor status will require ongoing management. There has been a recent immigration law for sponsors failing to update contact details in the SMS. This results in issuing COS with incorrect information. Home Office considers this an act of neglecting sponsorship duties severe enough to revoke a licence.

Sponsor License Compliance

All businesses or organisations that have been successfully granted a valid sponsor license must ensure they follow all compliance rules as set out by the UK government:

Reporting Duties

As a valid sponsor, you have a duty to report any changes or details about your foreign employees. For example, if you start to notice patterns of illegal behaviour, suspect any of your workers are in breach of their visa conditions, or if there are any changes to the circumstances of a sponsored employee of your business, you must report this.

Record Keeping Duties

You will need to keep records and documents (either on paper or electronically) for each foreign employee you sponsor. This will include information about their details, such as their name and address.

You should ensure your records are accessible and comply with the Data Protection Act of 2018.

Compliance with UK Immigration Law

All employees and their qualifications relating to their job should always comply with UK immigration law. For example, if you have employed somebody as a doctor, they should be legally registered to practise in the UK. It is the sponsor’s responsibility to ensure that all of their workers in respects of their job role comply with UK law, and any organisation or foreign worker that breahes the rules face severe consequences.

Organisations must also ensure they comply with wider UK immigration law, which includes paying the national minimum wage, keeping to time regulations, paying VAT, and so on.

Anti-Social Behaviour

All sponsors have a duty to their employees. For example, organisations should behave in a manner that is in line with the UK’s fundamental British values. They cannot act in a way that would cause the wider public any harm. For example, they should not encourage hatred or inter-community division and should not justify or glorify terrorism. They should not discriminate against ethnic minority groups or individuals based on their race, gender, or religion etc.

If a company is found to be engaging in such behaviours, its license will be revoked and it will face serious consequences.

How Can IAS Help?

Our corporate immigration lawyers can walk you through the renewal process if you have missed your sponsor license expiry date. We can assign an expert to work alongside your business and its representatives to ensure a smooth renewal process.

You can also receive advice if applying for a new sponsor licence is better than renewing the expired one. Aside from this, we can offer the following assistance:

• Assist you in using the Sponsor Management System (SMS), ensuring your key roles are updated and legally correct.
• Ensure that your employment records follow immigration regulations.
• Organise your documentation to meet UKVI requirements, including certificate of sponsorship and job description.
• Prepare your company for a UKVI compliance inspection.
• Communicate with the Home Office as needed until you receive a decision from them.

We can also offer a customized Sponsor Licence Application Package at IAS if you have more specific needs. To schedule your initial consultation with one of our lawyers, please call us at +44 (0)333 414 9244 or fill out our online contact form.

We also have offices in London, Manchester, and Birmingham, as well as in many other locations. We look forward to speaking with you in person.