UK sponsors can assign “Certificates of Sponsorship” or “CoS,” which are digital documentation an employee requires to submit a sponsored work visa application, using an internet “portal” called a Sponsor Management System (SMS).

In order to assign “CoS,” a UK employer must have a current sponsor licence.

Sponsors must carry out specific obligations when holding a licence in order to apply for and keep one. The Home Office has the authority to suspend the licence while conducting additional investigations if any of these obligations are broken or if the company is thought to represent a “threat” to immigration control.

In order to ensure that sponsors are carrying out their obligations, the Home Office is visiting companies more frequently.

If such a visit is unsuccessful, the sponsor’s licence may be revoked.

What obligations does the sponsor have while using a sponsored licence?

The following five obligations must be upheld:

• Monitoring employees’ immigration status (i.e., doing “right to work checks”)
• Maintain contact information for sponsored immigrants
• Keeping accurate records for each sponsored employee
• Tracking and keeping track of all sponsored employees, including absences and vacation time
• Ensuring that the employer only sponsors people for real openings and abiding by all UK laws, including regulatory requirements for the company type.

What situations would result in the suspension of your licence?

If the Home Office’s compliance visit results in a failure, your licence can be suspended. While visits may be made in person, they can also be made virtually (such as a virtual call).

During a compliance inspection, Home Office compliance officials would interrogate key members of your staff to ascertain if your company operations, hiring procedures, sponsorship plans, and records adhere to the necessary standards.

You should have a much lower chance of being suspended if you prepare well for a visit.

However, if you were to receive such a notification, it is always important to comprehend what a suspension would entail for you.

What happens after your Sponsor Licence is suspended?

The Home Office will notify you in writing if your licence is suspended following a visit.

After a suspension, you retain your licence, but you are no longer permitted to award any Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) and your company is no longer listed as a sponsor. The Home Office and you will thus need to collaborate in order to resolve the causes of the licence suspension.

The suspension would apply to any recruits who have a pending visa application as well as any immigrants you want to sponsor. Normally, anyone sponsored by you who has a pending visa application would have their application put on hold until the result of the suspension was made official.

You should continue to carry out all of the obligations imposed by the licence while you wait for the suspension’s decision. Unless the suspension results in the licence being cancelled later, your present sponsored employees won’t be impacted.

If your licence must be renewed while it is suspended, you should continue to submit your application as normal.

What are the most frequent reasons for sponsor licence suspensions?

An unannounced or advertised visit by the Home Office will often be followed by the suspension of a licence. The following are the most frequent causes of licence suspensions:

• The Home Office learns that you hired an undocumented worker.
• Concerns about the validity of the position you intend to/are presently sponsoring
• Submitting a CoS with misleading information
• Not paying your staff in accordance with the sponsorship advice or the CoS
• HR rules and practices that need improvement, especially with regard to “right-to-work checks” for all personnel
• Failure to adhere to the sponsorship’s record-keeping criteria (evidence of recruitment, job descriptions, contracts, contact details etc)
• Failing to disclose changes in conditions for your sponsored organisation or for your migrant workers (such as a title change) (e.g. a change of organisation address)
• Non-cooperation during a visit by the Home Office (refusing to provide information or documentary evidence as requested by the compliance officer).

Can the judgement be contested?

You will have 20 working days to submit arguments in opposition to the decision if, as a sponsor, you get a letter requesting the suspension of your licence.

You can get legal guidance to help you decide whether there are factual mistakes or if the suspension’s justifications can be refuted with proof.

Also Read: India Medical Attendant Visa and Business Visa

You must submit written arguments and supporting facts that refute each of the UKVI’s concerns in order to file representations. The success of your challenge will largely depend on your proof.

After receiving any complaints, the Home Office will conduct inquiries to determine what to do next. Depending on the results, the licence may be upgraded, downgraded, or revoked.

The Home Office may reinstate your licence with an A grade if it is satisfied that any violations have been remedied and that processes have been altered to guarantee that the same problems do not occur again. However, if they reinstate with a B grade, this will be accompanied by a Home Office action plan, which must be followed within three months and be paid for by your company. Action plans won’t be kept longer.

What occurs if the licence is subsequently revoked?

Your sponsored licence will be revoked if the violation is serious or is one of the required reasons for revocation.

Any licence revocation entails the total removal of your company from the licence registry as well as all licence categories. Any sponsored workers who are presently working for you will likewise have their leave time cut to 60 days unless they still have a lower amount of leave time left (in which case no additional action will be taken).

Sponsor licences that have been revoked cannot be challenged, and you cannot apply for a new sponsor licence until the cooling-off period, which is typically 12 months from the date of the revocation, has passed.

If you want to contest the decision, it is critical that you respond to the letter within 20 days if your sponsor licence has been suspended. To persuade the Home Office to restore the licence, the substantial proof is needed.

If, after seeking advice, you determine that you cannot or do not intend to fight a suspension (and your licence is subsequently revoked), you must make sure that, should you reapply after your cooling-off period has passed, you have addressed all the Home Office’s concerns.

Contact A Y & J Solicitors for assistance

A licence suspension can have disastrous repercussions, especially if it leads to the licence being revoked. Therefore, it is crucial that any assertions pertaining to your licence be handled properly and promptly.
A Y & J Solicitors is an immigration law firm that specialises in client representation and has vast expertise dealing with sponsor licence suspensions. We are professionals that are focused on getting the desired outcomes and have an in-depth knowledge of immigration law. Please get in touch with us if you require assistance with your application or have any other questions about the immigration laws of the UK.