Sponsor Licence Renewal

A sponsor licence is granted for a period of four years, after which it will expire unless the sponsor renews it before the expiry date. An application to renew a sponsor licence should be made in good time as UKVI will not be able to stop the licence from expiring should any unforeseen complications arise.

An application to renew a sponsor licence should be made online using the Sponsor Management System (‘SMS’) and can be made up to 90 days before the expiry date of the sponsor licence.

A fee is payable when renewing a sponsor licence, however the amount payable will vary depending on the size of the company. 

Once a sponsor has successfully submitted an application for renewal, UKVI may request some supporting documentation or make a Compliance Visit before making their decision. 

If a sponsor fails to meet the UKVI requirements,  UKVI may:

• Reduce or remove the sponsor’s Certificates of Sponsorship (‘CoS’) allocation;

• Downgrade the sponsor licence;

• Suspend the sponsor licence; or

• Revoke the sponsor licence.

Sponsor Guidance and Duties: The duties of a sponsor include:

• monitoring a sponsored worker’s attendance/absences;

• reporting any changes to the sponsored worker’s employment;

• carrying out right to work checks;

• retaining documents as set out in Appendix D of the Sponsor Guidance;

• complying with the law; and

• cooperating with the Home Office.

Compliance Visits

If UKVI have any concerns that a sponsor is not capable of or is not complying with its duties, it may visit the sponsor at any time in order to carry out a compliance visit.

During a compliance visit, UKVI will review all the HR systems and processes and how the prevention of illegal working is managed and they will interview any sponsored workers that you have.