It has long been recognised by the Courts and the Secretary of State that a sponsor licence in fact makes you, the Sponsor, the eyes and ears of the Home Office. With the privilege of a sponsor licence, therefore, comes great responsibility.

The responsibilities involved with being a sponsor are not only time-consuming, but they are also confusing. In addition, the sanctions for failing to comply with your duties as a sponsor can be extremely costly with the Home Office routinely suspending or revoking licences with the effect that businesses are no longer entitled to employ migrant workers. Not only can this be extremely disruptive to the day-to-day running of your business may rely on a migrant workforce, but it also runs the risk of requiring expensive challenges in the form of judicial review proceedings in the High Court.

The risk of non-compliance is high given the complexity of the Immigration Rules and sponsorship guidance and compliance is heavily policed by the Home Office with the likes of unannounced visits by the Secretary of State’s compliance officers. In addition to this, the Home Office will be able to monitor your compliance through the electronic Sponsor Management System (SMS). The SMS is a system that you will have to be familiar with to ensure that you are complying with your duties and not putting yourself at risk of losing your licence.