The Home Office will evaluate your provided information and revoke your sponsor licence if they doubt any false information or non-compliance. They may also impose a civil penalty for each illegal worker for up to 20,000 pounds.
Let us explore more reasons for sponsor licence suspension and revocation.
Reasons for Sponsor Licence Revocation
A sponsor licence may be suspended by the Home Office after a UKVI audit. Below are some of the more common justifications for the Home Office’s decision to suspend the licence:
- Provided misleading information during the licence application process
- Hired an individual who was a migrant notwithstanding that the skill level was not appropriate for the individual
- A Certificate of Sponsorship was used to offer employment which was not aligned with the job mentioned in the certificate
- Human Resources Policy was not fully implemented
- Breach of serious quality in performing sponsorship responsibilities
How to Avoid Revocation of Sponsor Licence
First, the suspension can be avoided through strict compliance with the regulations and monitoring of all the components of the sponsoring activity. Some of these actions would mitigate the risk of non-compliance:
- Internal Audits: Conduct periodic internal audits of Human Resources including checks on right-to-work documentation, compliance with the salary payments, and correctness of CoS allocations.
- Training: Measures must be put in place to train or educate the employees who are responsible for sponsorship so that they are well aware of the expectations from the Home Office. Your team needs to be up to date with the immigration laws because they are prone to changes.
- Consult an Expert: The only way to guarantee that a requirement will not be violated is by seeking the services of immigration solicitors in the UK. A law expert can assist you in understanding complicated sponsoring duties and advise how you should keep up with Home Office regulations.
The risks associated with failure to adhere to the law on keeping a sponsor licence in the UK in its current state are severe, which is why holding a sponsor licence comes with a heavy burden of responsibility. Being aware of the reasons for a sponsor licence that can result in suspension as well as revocation and their potential effects can help. Reasons such as poor right-to-work assessments, poor record management, and failure to report changes can result in revocation.
Conclusion
You shall no longer be qualified to act as a sponsor to any workers and you will also not be allowed to apply for a new sponsor licence for twelve months commencing from the date of revocation of your sponsor licence. The only exception to this rule is in case your license was improperly revoked and will therefore be restored.
For those workers who were already sponsored and are involved in the reasons for the revocation, their length of stay in the UK will be curtailed. They will be ordered to exit the UK at once or risk deportation. This makes it essential to hire an immigration lawyer and avoid chances of licence revocation.