The most recent figures from the Home Office are no different, and the figure which caught my eye was that in 2025 more than 3,000 sponsor licences were revoked.
A sponsor licence can be revoked by the Home Office where they "reasonably suspect" that a business is breaching their compliance duties, and that is not a high bar, so even seemingly minor errors can lead to serious action from the Home Office. If a business loses its sponsor licence, their sponsored workers will have their visas curtailed and the business will lose key staff and be unable to recruit from abroad to replace them. For businesses in some sectors this makes it difficult to continue operations. This is why keeping on top of compliance is so important for businesses with sponsored staff, but it can be difficult to identify which areas to check when auditing your own records.
The key areas the Home Office audit includes are:
Organisational details
One of the first steps in any audit is to check that the licence details are accurate and all of the key personnel are still employed by the business. The Home Office will also look at corporate structure, the relationship between branches and organisation size to determine if all relevant reports have been made.
Sponsored workers
The Home Office will need to check the files for Skilled Worker visa holders to make sure:
- They are doing the job listed on their certificate of sponsorship
- They are being paid at the correct rate and working the correct number of hours
- Any absences and reductions in pay are being recorded and reported
- The business is keeping all of the records required by the sponsor guidance
Wider compliance issues
An audit should not be confined to sponsored workers. It should include a review of the right to work records to make sure that a business is carrying out proper checks on staff and keeping evidence of this and also checks that all staff are being paid National Minimum Wage. The Home Office guidance allows them to revoke a licence where a business breaches employment law in respect of a non-sponsored worker.
How can we help
MFMac's specialist immigration team regularly carry out audits for clients and tailor these packages to your business' needs and concerns. We can carry out remote and in-person audits, and these include providing training to staff on how to deal with an unexpected visit from the Home Office. During these audits we can share examples of best practice we've seen in other organisations to help you adjust your processes to keep you safe moving forward.
We are also delighted to announce that we now offer DIY audit checklists. These allow you to carry out your own internal review of files, and we offer the option of a call with the team to discuss any concerns you have following the review.
Finally, to help you keep up to date with key changes in immigration law, we offer a regular business immigration bulletin.
If you are worried about the consequences of a sponsor licence breach, or just want some peace of mind, please get in touch to discuss our support packages.