The UK government has published several significant changes to their guidance for employers sponsoring migrant workers. The key changes sponsors should be aware of are summarised below. If you require any advice on these changes or would benefit from an audit of your sponsor licence or right to work compliance, please do contact us on 0207 033 9527 or [email protected] to discuss, as penalties and sanctions have increased significantly recently.
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Which sponsoring costs can employers now pass on to employees?
The Labour government promised to tackle exploitation of sponsored migrants by ensuring they are no longer saddled with sponsorship costs after recent scandals emerged of many working in the care sector facing significant debts. There are a whole variety of costs incurred when sponsoring a migrant worker and we are occasionally asked by employers which immigration costs they may ask a prospective employee to incur or add to a clawback agreement in case they leave their job not long after arriving on their work visa.
The new guidance adds more clarity regarding which costs employers must not pass onto sponsored employees. Previously, the only cost that it was explicitly forbidden to pass onto a sponsored worker was the Immigration Skills Charge – payable every time a Certificate of Sponsorship is issued for a worker. A sponsor passing on the £1,000 charge (£364 for small or charitable organisations) risks losing their sponsor licence – meaning any sponsored employees would no longer be able to work for them and would have their work visas curtailed.
Home Office guidance now includes further restrictions on costs that may not be recouped. A sponsor licence will now “normally” be revoked if a sponsor recoups or attempts to recoup the Skilled Worker sponsor licence fee and any “associated administrative costs (including premium services)”. This penalty now also applies for attempting to recover the cost of a certificate of sponsorship fee for a Skilled Worker assigned on or after 31 December 2024.
A sponsor licence benefits the employer and their ability to hire from abroad, so it is unsurprising that the guidance now explicitly mentions costs should not be recouped from a worker. The example of “associated administrative costs” given refers to the “premium services” charges of up to £25,000 for more bespoke UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) customer service and expedited applications.
Employers would be wise to seek legal advice regarding any passing on of costs to migrant workers or clawback clauses in their contracts of employment.
What are the 2025 changes to key personnel on sponsor licences so far?
There are also changes to tighten the rules on British or settled staff being among key personnel operating sponsor licences. For sponsor licence applications made from 1 January 2025, at least one Level One User must be both an employee, director or partner of the sponsor and a settled worker. Up to 1 January, sponsors required Level One users who met both these requirements but they could be two different people. The guidance warns that while existing sponsors with two Level One Users fulfilling these requirements may proceed on this basis for now, at some point in the future they may be forced to have one person in this role that fulfils all the new requirements.
This change applies to sponsors of workers including those on temporary worker visas, unless the Authorising Officer on the licence has certain types of immigration status, (e.g. under the Innovator Founder or UK Expansion Worker routes), in which case sponsors do not need to have a Level One User who is a settled worker. It will mainly affect start-ups and companies based abroad seeking to open a UK office who don’t yet have local employees. If they have nobody that meets these requirements, there are other UK immigration routes that may work for the initial steps of establishing the business, such as applying for an Expansion Worker sponsor licence on Innovator Founder visas, but a sponsor licence may still be required to bring in further workers in due course. Crucially, “settled” for the purposes of this new guidance on Level One Users, does not just apply to those with British citizenship or Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK, it also includes people with other types of immigration status, such as Commonwealth citizens with UK Ancestry visas or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme.
The Home Office guidance has also been amended to prevent anyone legally prohibited from being a company director from being key personnel on a sponsor licence, unless a court has given the person permission to act as a director or to promote or form a business and as long their sponsorship role doesn’t contravene this permission.
The guidance also now confirms that any nominated key personnel must have a valid National Insurance number, unless they are exempt from requiring one.
A limited trial of the UK’s new “Sponsor UK” sponsorship system is being rolled out to sponsors of the Government Authorised Exchange (GAE) visa. Sponsors on this niche work immigration route are the first to trial the new system with only Level One users. Eventually, all sponsors will transition to this system with no Level Two Users, so everyone with access to the sponsor management system would need to meet Level One User requirements. GAE sponsors using the new Sponsor UK IT system will therefore no longer be able to have any users at host employers.
Now persons of significant control can impact your ability to sponsor
A “person with significant control” has been added to the list of people whose circumstances may impact your ability to sponsor migrant workers. The conduct of someone described as a person with significant control on a sponsor’s Companies House listing will now affect that organisation’s ability to obtain and keep their sponsor licence.
What are the 2025 rules on sponsoring domestic staff in a personal capacity?
There is a new prohibition on sponsors sponsoring migrants “in a personal capacity,” e.g. “(i) where the sponsor is an individual or household and is not otherwise conducting business or providing a service in the UK, or (ii) where the workers would be employed by or engaged for the personal benefit of, an individual who works for the organisation, or a close relative or partner of that individual, and the role is unrelated to the organisation’s wider activities.”
It was already impossible to sponsor new roles for nannies and au pairs since April 2024, but now even where such domestic personnel are already being employed, it will be impossible to have a new certificate of sponsorship issued for them.
Private servants in a diplomatic household remain the only exception to this rule. In such a scenario, the diplomatic mission, consular post or international organisation must be the sponsor and meet the Home Office requirements to Sponsor an International Agreement worker. Anyone else using their sponsor licence to sponsor domestic roles such as nannies or housekeepers now risks having their licence revoked.
In some cases there may be other non-sponsored immigration options available, such as the Youth Mobility Scheme, Graduate visa or UK Ancestry, as well as family visas. The Domestic Worker visa may be suitable for some household roles (albeit this route is extremely limited).
2025 sponsor licence changes for the care sector
Reflecting the targeting by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) of sections of the care sector, some of whom have recently lost sponsor licences or faced suspensions for various breaches, new guidance refers to additional supporting evidence that those applying for a licence to sponsor carers now need. Where care providers have multiple branches, they will be required to show up-to-date status checks by their regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for each branch, as well as the head office.
New 2025 grounds for refusal for a sponsor licence application.
Following recent sponsor licence revocations for sponsors of care workers found to be charging carers sponsor fees to come to the UK without running a care business themselves, the guidance clarifies the position that sponsors must not behave like a recruitment agency for other organisations where sponsored migrants will work.
Sponsors may use their sponsored workers to work under their supervision for third parties in limited circumstances in order to fulfil a contractual obligation where certain requirements are met. However, if the Home Office considers an organisation applying to be a sponsor to be an employment agency supplying sponsored staff to work elsewhere (including where it is acting as an employer of record or professional employer organisation), it will be mandatory grounds for refusing or revoking a licence.
New guidance also clarifies the position that those applying for a sponsor licence, applying to add different immigration routes to their licence, or applying for a certificate of sponsorship for a Skilled Worker, Scale-up or Global Business Mobility worker must be able to demonstrate that they can and intend to offer genuine employment, as well as being able to meet the required salary and skills levels for the sponsored immigration routes.
Biometric Residence Permits and digital proof of right to work in the UK
Biometric Residence Permits have been replaced by digital proof of right to work and are no longer being issued. New guidance reflects the transition to eVisas, as well as when short-term passport vignettes and ink stamps suffice. You can find more details on the digitalisation of immigration proof here.
What immigration fee rises should sponsors watch out for?
A draft immigration and nationality fees amendment order was also published this month, along with an explanatory memorandum issued by the Home Office to accompany the legislation. With the assent of both houses likely later this year, the legislation is set to raise the maximum chargeable for certain immigration costs. Fee changes usually take effect around the start of the tax year.
Of particular note to employers in this order is a hike in the potential maximum the Home Office may charge for a certificate of sponsorship for a worker up to £525 – more than double the current fee of £239.
What should HR teams do to ensure their sponsor licences are compliant?
HR teams should review their right to work and sponsorship policies, key sponsoring personnel, terms of employment and correspondence with sponsored staff to ensure they are compliant with the latest guidance.
If in doubt, contact us for advice on any issues that arise, or if you are interest with a full compliance audit.
As well as recent increases in enforcement and penalties, ministers have announced stronger measures will be added to the Employments Rights Bill passing through parliament to penalise sponsors who “repeatedly defy visa rules.” Compliance is more important than ever.
With any migrant staff you intend to sponsor we always explore whether any non-sponsored immigration options are available (such as ancestry or global talent) and whether they would be more advantageous to pursue. As sponsorship costs continue to rise, it’s always worth investigating all options for securing the talent you need.
Anyone concerned about sponsor compliance or wishing to discuss any work visa options can contact us on 0207 033 9527or [email protected].