30 January 2024
Sponsor licence holders will no longer need to renew their licence according to an announcement made by the Home Office on the Sponsor Management System (SMS) portal.
Up to now licences to sponsor migrant workers had to be renewed – every four years in most cases, with an application to the Home Office adding to cost and bureaucracy for businesses and Home Office staff.
According to the announcement, from 6 April 2024 all sponsors with a licence expiry date on or after 6 April, will no longer need to renew their sponsor licence or pay a renewal fee. The Home Office has automatically extended all these licences by another 10 years in preparation for the change. Sponsors will not need to take any action and the message on the SMS portal says that they can ignore a notification to renew their licence if they have already received one. If they have already made an application to renew their licence, they will be contacted to arrange a refund.
Sponsors with a licence expiry date between 25 January and 6 April 2024 however, will still need to apply to renew their sponsor licence and pay a renewal fee one more time. After 6 April 2024 they will no longer need to renew their licence again.
We would advise all sponsors to check their licence expiry dates. This is good news as it will save employers sponsoring migrant workers time and money going forward. It is also worth remembering to conduct regular compliance audits of your sponsor licence duties and right to work practices so as never to fall foul of any sanctions for breaches which can easily happen inadvertently.
Feel free to call us on 0207 033 9527 or email [email protected] to discuss any of these changes, sponsor compliance or any UK immigration questions you may wish to pose to our friendly team of experts.
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