UK Sponsor Licence Guidance: Complete 2026 Compliance Hub

A UK sponsor licence is Home Office permission for a business to sponsor non-UK workers under the points-based immigration system, most commonly on the Skilled Worker, Health & Care Worker, or Global Business Mobility routes. Without a valid licence and an active A-rating, you cannot lawfully employ workers who need sponsorship.

Any UK business that wants to employ a worker from outside the UK who does not already have unrestricted right to work. This includes care homes, NHS trusts and private healthcare providers, hospitality groups, construction firms, tech companies, professional services firms, recruitment agencies (in narrow cases), and any other employer of skilled migrant labour.

An A-rating is the default healthy rating that lets you assign Certificates of Sponsorship and recruit. A B-rating means the Home Office has found compliance failures serious enough to downgrade you. While B-rated, you cannot assign new CoS, you must pay a £1,476 Action Plan fee, and you have a fixed window — usually three months — to evidence remediation or face revocation.

The four core duties published in the Workers and Temporary Workers Sponsor Guidance: record-keeping (Appendix D), reporting duties (10-day SMS reports for absences, role changes, salary changes, leavers), compliance with immigration law and wider UK law, and not behaving in a way that is not conducive to the public good.

The Workers and Temporary Workers Sponsor Guidance is updated multiple times a year. The March 2026 update introduced material changes to salary thresholds, role review obligations, worker rights protections, and Authorising Officer governance. Sponsors are expected to operate against the current version, not the version they read at licence grant.

A compliance officer (announced or unannounced) reviews your HR systems, Appendix D files, SMS reporting history, Right to Work checks, and AO knowledge. They typically interview the Authorising Officer, Key Contact, and Level 1 Users, and may interview sponsored workers. The visit usually triggers a written outcome: continued A-rating, B-rating downgrade with Action Plan, or revocation.

Appendix D is the published Home Office schedule of documents every sponsor must keep on file for each sponsored worker — passport copy, visa or BRP, Right to Work evidence, CoS reference, contract, contact details, recruitment evidence, and absence records. Missing Appendix D items is one of the most common revocation triggers.

Standard processing is currently around 8 weeks from a complete application, with a Priority Service available for an additional fee for faster turnaround. Times shift; check GOV.UK for the live processing position. The application requires supporting documents proving the business is genuine and capable of meeting sponsor duties from day one.