Assistance with a Sponsor Home Office Visit

Although we anonymise our case studies, we use them to illustrate common UK visa issues with which we have helped clients in the past.

The client

A UK business which holds a sponsor licence.

The issues 

The Home office have notified the business that they intend to make a Compliance Visit in order to check the company is meeting their sponsor licence responsibilities. These visits can be done digitally but on this occasion, it is by way of an actual visit. 

Things that usually come under scrutiny during a visit may include:

• Whether changes to a sponsored worker’s circumstances have been reported within the time limits
• Whether the record keeping requirements are being met   
• Whether the workers have the qualifications and experience to do the job

The Home Office will also want to be satisfied that the business is genuine and operating lawfully in the UK. 

Our approach

Having been given notice of the visit, we are able to help the client and ensure they understand their rights and also their responsibilities as a sponsor, and are compliant with the regulations.

In this example, this starts with an audit of:

• The HR and recruitment systems, including record keeping and policies
• The Right to Work systems including proof of checks and ID such as passports or other proof of ID. There is a Home Office guide about this and cross checking the system against the guide is a valuable exercise.
• Other documentation such as contracts of employment, records of the employees’ absences and possibly even business bank statements to check salary payments.

The Home Office may want to interview the Authorising Officer, any relevant personnel and sponsored workers.

In this example, there is a mock immigration audit including preparing key personnel for interview and carrying out mock interviews, covering issues like recruitment and the duties, qualifications and/or hourly rate of sponsored workers. Gaps or weaknesses in the business’s systems and record keeping are identified and made good before the visit. For example, this might include drafting updated policies or refining the Right to Work system so that it meets the recommendations of the Home Office guide.

Again, in this example, we will also attend on the day of the audit. We can then help answer any difficult or complex questions accurately and protect the business’s interests (i.e. if the Home Office raises concerns about a potential breach of sponsorship duties).

The outcome

There is often further information to be supplied to the Home Office after a visit, following which the sponsor licence could be: 

• Retained 
• Suspended 
• Revoked 
• Downgraded from a grade A sponsor licence to a grade B sponsor licence 

If for any reason the licence is not retained, we can manage any appeal. But in this example, the pre-visit audit and preparation ensures the business is properly prepared. The updated systems ensure they are more effective, and the business has tidied up their record keeping and spent time refamiliarizing themselves with their responsibilities. The result is their licence is retained.

If you would like to discuss any of the issues raised in this post, please get in touch.