Common Sponsor Licence Breaches That Trigger UKVI Enforcement

Are You Unknowingly Breaching Your Sponsor Duties?

Many well-intentioned businesses have their sponsor licences suspended or revoked not because of deliberate deception, but due to a gradual accumulation of seemingly minor sponsor licence breaches. The Home Office operates on a system of strict liability; ignorance of your duties is not a defence. Understanding the most common breaches is the first step to avoiding them.

This article outlines the frequent errors and systemic failures that attract the attention of UKVI compliance officers and can place your sponsor licence in jeopardy.

The Anatomy of a Sponsor Licence Breach

A breach occurs any time you fail to meet one of the duties specified in the Home Office’s guidance for sponsors. While a single, minor administrative error is unlikely to result in immediate revocation, a pattern of breaches, or a single serious breach, is often enough to trigger enforcement action. UKVI is looking for evidence that your organisation’s processes are not fit for purpose.

Top 7 Common Sponsor Licence Breaches

Our analysis of Home Office enforcement trends reveals that the majority of compliance action stems from a consistent set of failures. Is your business making any of these common mistakes?

1. Defective Right to Work Checks

This is the single most common and most dangerous breach. It is a fundamental duty to prevent illegal working, and failures here are punished severely.

• The Breach: Not conducting a check on every employee, conducting it after employment has begun, or failing to keep a clear, dated record of the check. For migrant workers, it also includes failing to conduct follow-up checks before their visa expires.
• Why it’s Serious: It directly undermines immigration control. A pattern of failure suggests gross negligence and can lead to immediate suspension and a civil penalty of up to £60,000 per illegal worker.

2. Failure to Report on the Sponsor Management System (SMS)

The SMS is your direct line to the Home Office, and you are required to report specific events within 10 or 20 working days.

• The Breach: Not reporting a sponsored worker’s failure to start their job, repeated unauthorised absences, a change in their core duties, a drop in salary, or a change in your own organisation’s structure.
• Why it’s Serious: It suggests you are either not monitoring your sponsored workers or are actively concealing information. UKVI sees this as a serious breakdown in trust.

3. Inadequate Record-Keeping

You must be able to produce specific documents for every sponsored worker upon request. These are listed in Appendix D of the sponsor guidance.

• The Breach: Being unable to provide a complete copy of a worker’s passport, BRP, employment contract, payslips, or absence records during a compliance audit.
• Why it’s Serious: If your records are incomplete, the Home Office has no way to verify that you are complying with your duties. They will assume the worst.

4. Issues with Genuineness of the Role

You must only sponsor workers for genuine vacancies that meet the required skill and salary levels.

• The Breach: The sponsored worker’s actual duties do not match the job description on their Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS), or the role appears to have been created solely to facilitate their immigration to the UK.
• Why it’s Serious: This is seen as a direct attempt to abuse the immigration system and can lead to swift revocation.

5. Incorrect Salary Payments

The salary you pay a sponsored worker must not fall below the amount stated on their CoS or the appropriate rate for the job, whichever is higher.

• The Breach: Paying less than the required salary, making unauthorised deductions (such as for the Immigration Skills Charge), or reducing a worker’s hours to the point that their pro-rated salary falls below the threshold.
• Why it’s Serious: It undermines the economic integrity of the sponsorship system and can be seen as exploitation.

6. Poor Absence Monitoring

You must have a robust system for monitoring and recording employee absences.

• The Breach: Not having a clear policy, failing to record periods of sickness, annual leave, or unauthorised absence, and not reporting absences of more than 10 consecutive days to the Home Office.
• Why it’s Serious: It indicates a lack of monitoring and control over your sponsored workforce.

7. Failure to Respond to UKVI Requests

If the Home Office requests information or documents, you are expected to respond promptly and accurately.

• The Breach: Ignoring requests for information, providing incomplete answers, or failing to cooperate with compliance officers during an audit.
• Why it’s Serious: It is seen as a direct refusal to engage with your duties as a sponsor and will inevitably lead to escalation.

In Conclusion: From Minor Errors to Major Sanctions

Understanding these common breaches is the first step towards building a resilient compliance framework. Each of these failures, on its own, can seem like a minor administrative slip. However, in the eyes of the Home Office, they form a pattern that points to a single conclusion: your organisation cannot be trusted to hold a sponsor licence.

If you are concerned about potential breaches in your organisation, a confidential internal audit can identify and rectify issues before they escalate.

Related Articles

• Ultimate Guide to UK Sponsor Licence Compliance (2026 Edition)
• Right to Work Failures: The Fastest Way to Lose Your Sponsor Licence
• Home Office Sponsor Audit: Checklist, Red Flags & How to Pass