A suspended sponsor licence is bad news for you. But you would also worry about what would happen to your sponsored workers. Well, this is why you should avoid your licence suspension by all means, as it also impacts your reputation, business growth, future sponsor licence application (if your licence is eventually revoked), and your ability to further sponsor new workers. Even if your licence is reinstated, it might be downgraded to a B rating, which would mean you will not be able to assign new CoS (Certificate of Sponsorship) to a new worker, unless your licence is rated back to an A rating.

What does sponsor licence suspension mean?

Your Home Office-approved sponsor licence usually remains valid as long as you meet the eligibility requirements, but it may be suspended or even revoked in certain circumstances. Common reasons are mentioned below.  

A suspension of your sponsor licence means that UKVI alleges that your business or organisation has failed to comply with its sponsorship duties. 

When UKVI identifies compliance concerns (for example, employing sponsored workers in an ineligible job, failing to prevent illegal working, or no longer meeting the requirements of the route (s) in which you are licensed), UKVI depending on the grounds may suspend the licence pending investigation or revoke it.  

UKVI may suspend your licence while it makes further investigation or consideration into whether you are actually in breach of your sponsor duties and/or pose a threat to immigration control, or are engaging in actions/behaviours that are not conducive to the public good. Actions/behaviours that are not conducive to the public good includes activities such as, you are deliberately using sponsorship to help people obtain immigration permission when they do not genuinely qualify - Immigration abuse, knowingly employing people who do not have permission to work - Illegal working, serious abuse of sponsored workers or deliberately withholding wages - Exploitation of workers, or involvement in serious criminal activity - serious criminal conduct.

A licence suspension means it has been suspended for every immigration route covered by your licence, not just the route where UKVI has identified a problem. Your organisation's entry in the public version of the register of sponsors will also be removed during the suspension period. 

Can my sponsored workers continue working while my sponsor licence is suspended?

If your licence has been suspended, you cannot sponsor new workers until it is reinstated with an A rating. You must put any planned recruitment of overseas workers on hold.

However, existing sponsored workers in your organisation can generally continue working. But if you are supporting an existing worker’s ILR or settlement application, UKVI will not decide the application until it resolves the suspension reasons.

Even during the suspension period, you must continue to comply with all your sponsor’s duties and any other sponsor licence requirements to retain the sponsored workers. For example, you should continue to do the following relating to all sponsored workers:

• pay the sponsored workers correctly; 

• employ them in the sponsored role; 

• monitor sponsored workers’ attendance; 

• maintain required records of sponsored workers; 

• comply with right-to-work requirements; and 

• report relevant changes to UKVI.

If you have assigned a CoS, or in other words you have sponsored, before UKVI suspended your licence, a worker who is applying for a work visa such as a Skilled Worker visa based on this CoS, unless the application falls for refusal on other grounds UKVI will not decide the applicant’s application until they resolve the licence suspension reasons.

If you assigned a CoS to a worker who then applied for and got entry clearance to the UK based on this CoS before your licence was suspended, that person will still be allowed to come to the UK and start working for your organisation, provided UKVI does not revoke your sponsor licence by the time your sponsored worker travels. Therefore, all workers whose visa application (sponsorship-based) for entry clearance to the UK is pending or has been decided are advised to check the status of their sponsor’s licence on the sponsor register before travelling to the UK.

What if UKVI reinstates your sponsor licence after suspension?

UKVI will lift the suspension on your sponsor licence and your entry on the register of sponsors on GOV.UK will be reinstated with either an A-rating or a B-rating if it decides not to revoke your licence after investigation.

If you get an A-rating, you can assign CoS to eligible workers, sponsor new workers under the worker or temporary worker routes you are licensed for, continue sponsoring the existing workers, and will reappear on the public Register of Licensed Sponsors.

You will get a B-rating if UKVI has found that you do not fully meet your sponsorship duties, but believes these problems can be corrected.

A B-rating means you are still a licensed sponsor, but are subject to restrictions and must improve your compliance. You will not be able to sponsor new workers until you regain an A-rating. However, you can usually continue sponsoring your existing sponsored workers. Y

You must improve and comply with a time-limited action plan. You must successfully complete the action plan submitted by the UKVI before you can assign new CoS.

UKVI will monitor whether you make the required improvements. 

What if your sponsor licence is eventually revoked?

How a revocation of sponsor licence will impact the sponsored workers depends on where they are when your licence is revoked. 

a. If the worker is in the UK

If at the time of your licence is revoked, the worker you have sponsored is in the UK:

• Will have their CoS (Certificate of Sponsorship) will be cancelled

• Will have their visa will be limited to 60 days or the time left on their visa, whichever is shorter 

The worker in the UK will have to leave their job and the country unless they apply for a new visa within the time mentioned above.

If your licence got revoked due to any reason relating to your sponsored worker (s), their visa will be withdrawn, and they will have to leave the UK immediately.

b. If the worker is outside the UK

Before travelling to the UK, you should request all workers whom you sponsored before your licence got revoked not to travel to the UK. These sponsored workers can also check the status of your sponsor’s licence on the sponsor register.

Sponsored workers outside the UK who applied for a visa based on a CoS that you assigned to them before your licence got revoked will have their visa refused. 

If a worker holds a visa based on a CoS assigned by you before your licence got revoked but has not travelled to the UK, their visa will be cancelled, and they will not be allowed to enter the UK.

How can Visa and Migration Ltd. Help?

A sponsor licence suspension can create uncertainty for both you and your sponsored workers. We can help you understand the suspension, respond to UKVI, and assess how the suspension may affect your existing workers.

We can help you with the following:

• Assessing the impact on sponsored workers;

• Advising workers on their immigration position;

• Reviewing your (the sponsor) compliance problems;

• Helping prepare a response to UKVI;

• Helping protect your sponsored workers' immigration interests;

• Assisting if your licence is revoked; and

• Providing you with ongoing compliance support.

For expert advice and queries on how to handle sponsored workers if your sponsor licence is suspended or revoked, you can call us at +44 (0)20 3411 1261 or write to info@visaandmigration.com