Sponsor Licence: Home Office Sponsor Compliance Visits

The Home Office UKVI undertakes Sponsor licence compliance visits to determine whether a business should be given a new Sponsor licence or continue to operate under an existing Sponsor licence. A compliance officer can undertake two types of visits: pre-licence compliance and post-licence compliance visits.

These visits can be announced or unannounced and the sponsors must grant a Home Office officer access to any facilities on demand of that officer. Diplomatic or consular premises are exceptions to this requirement. If a sponsor refuses a visit, it will be recorded by the officer as non compliance and can result in the Sponsor licence being refused or revoked.

Pre-licence Compliance Visit

A pre-licence compliance visit is a visit to the facilities of an employer that has applied for a Sponsor licence. The Sponsor Operations will then assess the conclusions provided by the compliance officer and decide if he meets the criteria to be granted with a license.

During these visits the compliance officer checks if:

• this sponsor is a potential threat to immigration control;
• the sponsor will be able to perform their sponsor obligations;
• the amount of migrants they wish to sponsor is proportionate to the business’ size and nature;
• the sponsor can provide employees with work that satisfies the standards.

Post-Licence Compliance Visit

A post-licence compliance visit is a visit to a sponsor who already holds a Sponsor licence.  It may be carried upon Sponsor Operations request.

Some reasons for the visit might be:

• renewal application;
• sponsor’s request;
• reaching the maximum number of migrants sponsored;
• new information about the organisation;
• request of another Home Office unit.

During these visits the compliance officer checks if:

• the sponsor’s meeting their obligations;
• this sponsor’s activities are a threat to immigration control;
• the migrants working are following the terms they agreed to;
• the sponsor has a trading presence;
• sponsored employees were hired to fill legitimate jobs that meet the requirements.

How to prepare for the Home Office Compliance Visit?

You may be asked to supply certain documentation in advance of the visit. Outlined below are some key areas the Home Office may focus on during a compliance inspection:

1. Human resource systems. When evaluating your suitability to act as a sponsor, the Home Office is likely to check if you have robust HR and recruitment procedures.
2. Right to work checks. They may wish to see evidence that you have correctly conducted right to work checks. This might include viewing employees’ passports or alternative proof of identity. The Home Office has issued an Employer’s guide to right to work checks, detailing how employers should perform these checks and the steps to take to avoid any penalties.
3. Work address of the sponsored employee. Compliance checks may take place at any physical site where your sponsored workers currently perform, or are expected to perform, their duties. The Home Office may want to confirm that the location on the SMS matches the actual work site.
4. Current employees. Officials may ask to see copies of employment contracts and documentation recording staff holidays and absences.
5. Documents relevant to your organisation. This could include recent business bank statements, allowing the Home Office to examine recent transactions and confirm salary payments to staff if you hold a sponsor licence.
6. No physical office. If your organisation has limited or no physical office space, the Home Office will look at the type of work your sponsored employees will do and where it is to be done. They will consider why it is necessary for the sponsored worker to be in the UK if the job could be performed remotely.
7. Interviews. The Authorising Officer, other relevant personnel, and any sponsored workers may be interviewed. Although the Home Office might notify you in advance of which sponsored workers they wish to interview, that is not guaranteed, so it is advisable to have everyone available on the scheduled date.

Illegal Migrants

During the compliance visit, potential unlawful workers can be assessed. Employers must  not hire migrants who do not have the necessary work permits and must save copies of all sponsored migrants’ passports and BRPs to fulfil their record-keeping obligations as a sponsor. If the compliance officer finds an illegal worker on a sponsor’s premises even if all recommended checks were carried out by the sponsor, that sponsor will be classed by the Home Office as having a ‘statutory excuse’.

However this situation will be reported to the Immigration Enforcement and other relevant bodies.

Sponsor Responsibilities

A sponsor is responsible for fulfilling certain duties but their responsibilities for a migrant ends when:

• the Home Office is notified the migrant is not being sponsored anymore;
• the migrant leaves the UK;
• the migrant is granted further leave to remain with a different sponsor or in another immigration category.

Outcomes of the Compliance Visit

The Sponsor licence compliance assessment will lead to one of the following outcomes:

• the approval of the Sponsor licence application if a potential sponsor;
• existing sponsors will keep their licence;
• application refusal.

If you fail the compliance check, you may face significant consequences as a sponsor, such as the following:

• Downgrading your licence to a B-rating. You will receive an action plan to follow within a set timeframe. A fee is payable, and you cannot sponsor new workers until your licence has been upgraded back to an A-rating.
• Suspending your licence. During the suspension, you cannot assign any Certificates of Sponsorship. Your existing sponsored employees will not be directly affected unless the Home Office later decides to revoke your licence.
• Revoking your licence. You will be unable to sponsor any additional workers, and permission for current sponsored employees is usually curtailed.

Immigration due Diligence

If you haven’t already been audited by the UKVI, you might reasonably be expecting an audit at some point. Your HR systems therefore need to be up to scratch. If the UKVI are not satisfied that you’ve complied with your obligations to them, your licence could be suspended or revoked, which could threaten your ability to recruit migrants indefinitely. In addition, heavy fines of up to £20,000 per illegal worker and/or criminal sanctions of up to five years’ imprisonment may be imposed.

With the ever-changing immigration rules and regulations, changing business needs, it can be difficult to maintain this. Are you confident that your systems and processes would withstand a UKVI audit?

How Can We Help You?

We can arrange an initial telephone conversation with you to understand how Sterling Law can support you. We will also propose a support visit audit from our side. This can be done remotely, but advisable on site to replicate UKVI visits.

We have first hand experience dealing with more than 100 UKVI visits, therefore we could be in a better position to prepare you on what they will look like in terms of record keeping and reporting via SMS.

With the Covid restrictions being lifted UKVI has increased their activity and more clients reported announced and unannounced visits, in some cases resulting in fines, hence why we feel that this process will be beneficial to your business. According to the recent data there was an increase of 87% of UKVI visits, and 1 in 3 companies are being inspected.

How Our Visit Will Benefit You?

We offer an audit of your HR immigration systems where we will:

• assess your understanding and compliance of the points-based system;
• review a sample of existing migrant files to assess whether they would meet UKVI requirements;
• make recommendations for improvements/changes.

We will help you:

• to ensure you can recruit the best staff to meet your needs;
• to provide comfort that you would be able to establish a statutory excuse against criminal and/or civil penalties;
• to successfully obtain and maintain an A-rated licence to sponsor;
• to prepare you for a UKVI audit;
• to avoid negative press and employment tribunal proceedings.

At the end you will receive a comprehensive written report summarising the above.

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