Sponsorship Licence Suspended
If you have had your Sponsorship Licence suspended, our team of immigration lawyers can help solve your case.
Call us on 0333 305 9593 for immediate help & assistance with your situation. We’re here to help you in person, via the phone or online.
Why Has My Sponsorship Licence Been Suspended?
If you fail to undertake your duties as a Tier 2 Sponsor Licence holder, you may have your tier 2 sponsor licence suspended. Your migrant employees will still be able to work while your licence is suspended but you risk losing them if your licence is revoked.
The Home Office expects you the follow the duties they have outlined during your time as a sponsor of migrant workers. You must keep updated, accurate records of all employees and complete the Resident Labour Market Test. You will also need to inform them of any changes to your business.
If you fail to resolve the issues identified by the Home Office’s first audit, you may have your Tier 2 Sponsor Licence revoked when they visit again. You will have 20 days from the issue of your suspension to identify and resolve the problems with your business practices and keep your Sponsor Licence.
How can IAS help?
If you have had your Tier 2 Licence suspended, our expert lawyers will help you resolve your issues. With our services, you can continue to hire migrant workers and ensure your current workers can remain in the country. Get in touch today by calling 0333 363 8577 or make an enquiry online to find out about your options following your Sponsor Licence suspension. You can get in touch with our London, Manchester, or Birmingham immigration lawyers, or use the office finder to find the closest branch to you.
What To Do If Your Sponsorship Licence Is Suspended
If your sponsor licence is suspended, it’s important to quickly get legal help from an immigration expert such as Immigration Advice Service.
When a sponsor licence is revoked, the organisation can’t sponsor new migrant workers, and existing migrant workers may have to leave the UK as their leave is shortened. This is a serious situation, and could lead to employers facing a large fine, and workers being deported.
We will work to address the suspension issues with UKVI, increasing the chances of no further action against you and restoring your licence promptly.
Contact us today on 0333 305 9593 to begin the process.
Responding to a licence suspension notice
In order to handle a suspension, we highly recommend you enlist our help to meet the requirements below:
- Work with the Home Office to resolve it; ignoring it can worsen things.
- Meet the 20-day deadline in the suspension letter to avoid licence revocation.
- Investigate and gather evidence within the tight timeframe.
- Identify why your licence was suspended and fix any issues in record-keeping, reporting, or monitoring.
- Challenge factual errors with supporting evidence.
- If the breach was minor but losing the licence harms your organisation, seek reinstatement.
- Comply with requests and clarify any inconsistencies.
- Resolution time varies based on organisation size and complexity.
Response to licence suspension notice Submitted: Now What?
After you respond, the Home Office will review and decide. During this time, the suspension continues. If your response resolves issues, your licence can be A or B-rated upon reinstatement.
No further action means suspension lifted, and you’re back on the public register. A B-rating requires work; you’ll get an action plan, pay a fee, and regain A-rating. Serious breaches may lead to licence revocation, affecting sponsored migrants’ leave.
What Happens If You Accidently Miss Or Ignore Home Office licence suspension notice?
We seriously warn against ignoring suspension notices. Let us take over your response in order to minimise the following repercussions:
- Ignoring the notice may lead to additional enforcement actions, including possible licence revocation.
- Continued non-compliance can result in the loss of your ability to sponsor migrant workers, affecting your workforce and business operations.
- Non-compliance with Home Office directives can lead to legal issues, fines, and penalties.
- Your sponsored workers may face adverse consequences, such as curtailed leave or potential deportation, if your licence is revoked.
- Ignoring a suspension notice may make it more challenging to recover your sponsor licence or contest any decisions made by the Home Office.
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Last modified on September 7th, 2023 at 2:57 pm
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Frequently Asked Questions
You will receive a letter from the Home Office following a visit stating that you have had your Sponsorship Licence suspended. They will also include the reasons for the suspension, which you will need to resolve.
You will be given 20 working days to respond to the suspension. Failure to do so may lead to you having your Sponsor Licence revoked. It is important, therefore, to seek legal advice as soon as possible.
A Sponsor Licence suspension will also affect all sponsored migrants. Any extension applications will be put on hold but current workers will still be able to work. If your Sponsor Licence is revoked, your migrant employees will be given 60 days to receive a new Certificate of Sponsorship. If they cannot find a new sponsor, they will have to leave the country.
Once you have received notification of your suspension, you will have 20 days to respond to the Home Office. You may have the Sponsor Licence suspension overturned if you can prove you have resolved the issues they identified.
At IAS, we offer Immigration Audit and Consultancy services to review your business processes. These services make sure you are compliant with Home Office regulations.
The duties of a Sponsor Licence holder include:
- Recording migrant employee data on the Sponsorship Management System (SMS);
- Completing the Resident Labour Market Test;
- Informing the Home Office of significant changes to the business;
- Ensuring the salary and job title of all employees is the same as on the Certificate of Sponsorship.
Not following your sponsorship duties could lead to a business having their Sponsor Licence suspended.
If no progress has been made, the Sponsor Licence may be revoked.
Although your employees can continue to work, the company will have to thoroughly review its business practices.
The Home Office will revisit to review any changes the business has made to its functions to ensure progress has been made.
If the company has made enough progress and has followed the action plan laid down by the government, the suspension will be lifted.
This will mean that your employees can continue to work as normal. You will also be able to hire migrant workers in the future.
If your company experiences a Sponsor Licence revocation, this will directly affect your employees’ right to be in the country. They will be issued with a Tier 2 curtailment and will have to find another sponsor.
A Sponsor Licence suspension will not necessarily mean that you will have to leave the country. Employees can still work at a company with a Sponsor Licence suspension, including those who have a start date but have not yet started.
If you have applied to extend your Tier 2 Visa, this application will be put on hold until the suspension is over.
If you have not yet entered the UK, your start will be delayed until after the suspension is resolved.
More information for employees on what to do after a Sponsor Licence suspension.
If your Sponsor Licence is suspended, or you are worried it might be we can help. Our team of highly-qualified immigration lawyers can provide immediate help. We will:
- investigate the grounds of your alleged breach;
- negotiate with the Home Office on your behalf;
- address any issues identified with your records of sponsored employees;
- identify and resolve any areas of non-compliance with Home Office regulations;
- ensure your business/company is fully prepared for any spontaneous visits from the Home Office.
Contact us now by using our online contact form or by calling 0333 363 8577 for information or assistance if you’ve had your Sponsor Licence suspended.