Sponsor Licence Audit Support

Prepare for a Home Office compliance visit, fix problems before they are found, and protect your licence if action has already been taken.

Licence Suspended or Downgraded?

Home Office deadlines to respond are short, and what you say in your response can decide whether your licence is revoked. Contact us as soon as you receive a letter so a solicitor can review it straight away.

Keep Your Licence, and Your Sponsored Staff

The Home Office can inspect sponsors at any time, with or without notice. If it finds breaches, it can downgrade, suspend or revoke your licence, and revocation normally means your sponsored workers lose their permission to work for you. Our solicitors help you find and fix problems first, and defend your licence if the Home Office acts.

What We Help With

Mock Audits

A full rehearsal of a Home Office compliance visit, including key personnel and worker interviews and a file review.

Compliance Health Checks

Every sponsored worker file checked against Appendix D, with CoS details compared to real duties, pay and location.

Support During A Compliance Visit

Preparation for announced visits and guidance for your team if officers arrive unannounced.

B-rating and Action Plans

Help completing the Home Office action plan so you can return to an A-rating.

Suspension Responses

Detailed written representations with evidence, submitted within the Home Office deadline.

Revocation and Next Steps

Advice on challenging a decision, options for affected workers, and planning a future application.

How It Works

1. Review

We look at your SMS records, HR files and sponsored roles, or at the Home Office letter if action has started.

2. Fix

You get a prioritised list of gaps, with templates and practical steps to correct them and report where needed.

3. Protect

We prepare your team for visits and handle written responses to the Home Office on your behalf.

Common Problems Found at Audits

  • • Sponsored workers doing a different job from the one on their Certificate of Sponsorship
  • • Salary, hours or work location changes that were not reported within 10 working days
  • • Missing or incomplete right to work checks and Appendix D records
  • • Key personnel changes not reported within 20 working days
  • • Sponsorship costs recovered from workers

Read more in our guide: How to keep your sponsor licence.

FAQs

Will The Home Office Tell Us Before A Compliance Visit?

Not always. Visits can be announced or unannounced, so it is safer to be audit-ready at all times.

What Does A B-rating Mean?

You cannot assign new Certificates of Sponsorship until you complete a paid action plan, which currently costs £1,579 and lasts three months.

What Happens to Our Workers If The Licence Is Revoked?

Their permission will normally be cut short, and they will need a new sponsor, a different route, or to leave the UK. You usually cannot reapply for 12 months.

Do We Still Need to Renew Our Licence?

No. Sponsor licences no longer need renewing, which makes regular internal compliance checks more important.

We do not accept Legal Aid clients. Solicitors in our network act for privately paying clients only. The initial discovery call is free; any legal work after that is charged at an agreed private fee. If you need Legal Aid, visit GOV.UK Legal Aid.

Worried About A Sponsor Licence Audit?

Speak to a sponsor compliance solicitor before the Home Office does.