New sponsor guidance
expands licence
revocation rules

This month saw the publication of new sponsor guidance for Tiers 2 & 5, containing key changes to the way in which sponsor licence holders comply with the UK immigration rules.

Below, the final instalment of our four-part summary focusses on the expanded list of reasons why your sponsor licence could be suspended or even revoked.

As a UK employer of Tier 2 migrant workers, it is of the utmost importance that your organisation remains compliant with the latest regulations and processes.

If a sponsor is found to be in breach of their sponsor duties, they run the risk of having their sponsor licence revoked and any future sponsor licence application being refused.

Licence refusals, suspensions and revocations

This section of the changes should only come into play if a sponsor licence holder is caught in breach of its compliance duties. The recent changes extend the severe consequences of being found to be non-compliant.

  • If you are caught out for non-compliance, the Home Office has confirmed its right to reduce or refuse your requested Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) allocation.
  • If a sponsor is suspected of assigning a CoS for a role or vacancy which is not genuine, the sponsor’s licence may be suspended and an investigation launched into whether or not the licence should be revoked.
  • The new guidance clarifies that if a sponsor was notified of compliance action on or after 6 November 2014 and subsequently surrendered its licence, a cooling-off period of 12 months will apply from the date of notification of revocation or approval of the licence surrender before it can reapply.
  • The Home Office now has the right to refuse a sponsor licence application or to revoke a sponsor licence from sponsors who have any type of civil penalty imposed on them, as opposed to just the previous maximum civil penalty.
  • If a sponsor states that it intends to or does employ a migrant for a vacancy which is on the shortage occupations list but does not meet one or more of the criteria needed for employing a migrant under this provision, the Home Office has the right to revoke their sponsor licence or to refuse any sponsor licence application.

These new changes provide the UK authorities with the means to suspend a sponsor licence where they merely ‘suspect’ that non-compliance has taken place. Employers should therefore remain on their guard and regularly monitor that their sponsor duties are being fulfilled.

If you would like to know how well your sponsor organisation is adhering to its sponsor duties, contact Smith Stone Walters today.

We can offer your sponsor organisation a compliance audit which will alert you to any potential breaches and help you to alter your internal processes in order to ensure a sustainable level of compliance to the UK Immigration Rules.

Read more on the new sponsor guidance for Tiers 2 & 5:

Part one: Key changes for UK sponsors

Part two: New rules for sponsor licence applicants

Part three: Clearer rules for UK sponsors: mergers and acquisitions

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