UK Sponsor Licence: What Employers Need to Know Before Hiring International Workers

Every Skilled Worker visa application depends on the employer holding an active Sponsor Licence. Without it, the application cannot proceed. For international professionals assessing a job offer, understanding how the sponsor licence system works — including the costs, the compliance burden, and what happens when things go wrong — is as important as understanding your own eligibility.

What a Sponsor Licence Is

A Sponsor Licence is permission granted by the Home Office to a UK employer to hire workers from outside the UK on certain visa routes, including the Skilled Worker route. It is not a one-time approval — it is an ongoing licence that requires continuous compliance.

The licence is either A-rated (compliant, can assign Certificates of Sponsorship) or B-rated (non-compliant, subject to improvement action). Only A-rated sponsors can assign new CoS. B-rated sponsors are under active scrutiny and cannot bring in new hires.

Licences last for four years and must be renewed. If the renewal is not completed in time or is refused, the employer loses the ability to sponsor.

How to Check if an Employer Has a Licence

The Home Office publishes the Register of Licensed Sponsors on GOV.UK. It is a downloadable spreadsheet updated weekly.

Check the register before accepting a job offer and again closer to your application date. A company's licence can be suspended or revoked between the time you negotiate the offer and the time you submit your visa. Revocations happen after compliance audits, and they are announced only on the register — not necessarily communicated to employees in advance.

A suspended licence means the employer failed an audit and cannot issue new CoS until the suspension is lifted. A revoked licence means the employer is no longer authorised to sponsor anyone.

What It Costs Employers to Sponsor a Worker

The cost structure is public and worth understanding as an applicant, because employers who are hesitant about sponsorship are often hesitant about an unknown cost. The actual statutory costs are fixed.

Sponsor Licence fee (for a four-year licence):

• Small organisations and charities: £611
• Medium and large organisations: £1,682

Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) fee — per worker, per assignment:

• £525 regardless of employer size

Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) — per worker, per year of leave granted:

• Small organisations and charities: £480 for the first year, £240 for each additional six months
• Medium and large organisations: £1,320 for the first year, £660 for each additional six months

For a large employer sponsoring a single worker on a five-year visa, the ISC alone totals £6,600. Adding the CoS fee, the total statutory cost for one worker on a five-year visa is £7,125 — before any legal fees.

These costs cannot legally be passed on to the sponsored worker. Employers who deduct CoS fees or ISC from the worker's salary, include them in a repayment clause, or require the worker to reimburse them if they leave within a certain period are in breach of sponsor compliance requirements. This is a revocation trigger.

The ISC has a limited exemption: it does not apply to workers on the Health and Care Worker visa route. NHS trusts, GP surgeries, and registered adult social care providers are exempt from the charge for eligible roles.

What Compliance Requires From Employers

The Home Office describes the sponsor licence as a "privilege, not a right" and treats sponsoring employers as proxy immigration controllers. Compliance obligations are extensive:

Record keeping: Employers must hold copies of all sponsored workers' passports, visa documentation, contact details, and emergency contact information. Records must be available for Home Office inspection at any time without notice.

Reporting duties: Employers must report through the Sponsor Management System (SMS) if a sponsored worker does not turn up for work, if their employment is terminated, if their salary changes, or if the sponsored role changes materially. Reports must be submitted within specific timeframes — typically 10 working days.

Right-to-work checks: Employers must conduct a right-to-work check before employment starts and maintain a record. For eVisa holders, this is done by obtaining the worker's share code and verifying it through the online check service.

Role accuracy: The worker must actually be performing the role described in the Certificate of Sponsorship. UKVI conducts unannounced compliance visits and cross-references PAYE data, contracts, and job advertisements against what the CoS states. A worker employed in a materially different role — even if the pay is higher — triggers a breach.

What Happens to Workers if a Sponsor Licence Is Revoked

If an employer has its Sponsor Licence revoked, the impact on sponsored workers is immediate and severe.

All workers sponsored under that licence have their eVisas curtailed. In practical terms, this means their right to remain in the UK legally is cancelled. The Home Office typically grants a 60-day window from the curtailment date to:

• Find a new employer who will assign a new CoS and submit a new Skilled Worker visa application
• Switch to a different eligible visa category (if one applies)
• Leave the UK

Sixty days is a very short period in which to negotiate a new employment contract, have a new CoS assigned, and submit a visa application. Workers who are unaware that their employer's licence is under scrutiny are often caught completely unprepared.

The risk is not theoretical. Licence revocations happen regularly, often in sectors with high rates of international hiring: hospitality, social care, and some areas of healthcare where employers have poor record-keeping practices.

How Applicants Should Factor This In

When you receive a job offer from a licensed sponsor, the employer's compliance standing matters to your long-term security. Employers with established international hiring programs — large NHS trusts, major tech companies, global consulting firms — have dedicated compliance infrastructure. The risk of sudden licence issues is lower.

Smaller employers who are newly licensed or operating in high-scrutiny sectors carry more risk. This does not mean you should decline the offer, but it means:

• Check the register periodically during your time at the employer
• Know the 60-day curtailment window and have a contingency plan
• Understand your own visa conditions so you can assess options quickly if problems arise

The UK Skilled Worker Visa Guide includes a section on sponsor compliance from the worker's perspective — what to watch for, how to verify your employer's standing, and what steps to take if a licence suspension or revocation happens while you are employed there.