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UK Sponsor Licence & Expiry
Understanding your sponsor licence status is critical. Since April 2024, licences with expiry dates on or after 6 April 2024 are automatically extended by 10 years, without needing renewal.
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Sponsor Licence Form
The UK sponsor licence expiry date is displayed on the Licence Summary Page of your company’s Sponsor Management System (SMS).
The Home Office issues sponsor licences to employers that are good for four years. The licence automatically expires unless it is renewed before the expiration date. It implies they failed to fulfil their sponsoring obligations to manage their licence.
Quick Facts: UK Sponsor Licence & Expiry
Change from 2024
Since 6 April 2024, the Home Office abolished the requirement to renew most sponsor licences every four years. Licences set to expire on or after that date were automatically extended by 10 years.
Old licence expiry rules
Licences expiring before 6 April 2024 were subject to renewal under the old four-year cycle. Missing renewal could lead to loss of ability to sponsor.
Ongoing compliance matters
Even with automatic extension, sponsors must maintain staffing records, report changes via SMS, and abide by all sponsor duties. Breach may lead to suspension or revocation.
Consequences of suspension / revocation
If a sponsor licence is revoked, certificates of sponsorship are invalidated and employees’ visas may be curtailed (60 days or shorter) unless they switch to a new sponsor
The Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) is a fee paid by most visa and immigration applicants for over six months to access the National Health Service (NHS). It is not required for British citizenship applications, as permanent residents contribute via taxes like National Insurance.
Licence expiry / status is visible on the Licence Summary page in the Sponsorship Management System (SMS)
When applying for a Spouse visa, you must pay the Immigration Health Surcharge to cover your healthcare costs while in the UK. Since February 2024, the surcharge has been £1,035 per year, following a 86% increase. For in-country application, it will be for 30 months and out-country application, it will be for 33 months.
Employers should apply for renewal at least three months before expiry to avoid automatic suspension of sponsorship rights.
Your sponsor licence approaching its expiry date
This matters, because under the old regime, failing to renew meant losing your ability to issue CoS and jeopardising your immigration operations.
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How Our Solicitors Simplify Your Sponsor Licence Journey
At UK Immigration Solicitors, we take the stress out of the sponsor licence process by guiding you through every requirement with precision.
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From Consultation to Visa Approval
Our immigration specialists streamline your application process by clearly identifying which evidence and strategies will strengthen your case.
By aligning your unique circumstances with Home Office requirements, we help you focus on high-impact preparations while addressing any potential weaknesses in your application.
From Consultation to Visa Approval
Our immigration specialists streamline your application process by clearly identifying which evidence and strategies will strengthen your case.
By aligning your unique circumstances with Home Office requirements, we help you focus on high-impact preparations while addressing any potential weaknesses in your application.
Maximising Your Approval Chances
Our goal is to maximise the chances of your visa being approved the first time. By carefully reviewing your circumstances, identifying potential weaknesses, and preparing strong supporting evidence, we significantly reduce the risk of refusals. Every application is checked by senior immigration solicitors who apply their expertise to make your case as clear, accurate, and persuasive as possible. This attention to detail is what improves success rates and helps our clients move forward with confidence.
Success Rate Optimisation
We carefully analyse every detail of your application to maximise the chances of approval. By addressing weaknesses, strengthening supporting evidence, and ensuring full compliance with Home Office rules, we optimise your case for success. This thorough approach significantly improves approval rates and gives you confidence throughout the process.
Risk Mitigation Strategies
We identify potential risks in your application early and put safeguards in place to address them. By preparing strong evidence, clarifying complex points, and anticipating Home Office concerns, we minimise the chance of delays or refusals.
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Evidence-based case preparation
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Home Office compliance checks
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Success rate optimisation
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Risk mitigation strategies
From Consultation to Visa Approval
Our immigration specialists streamline your application process by clearly identifying which evidence and strategies will strengthen your case.
By aligning your unique circumstances with Home Office requirements, we help you focus on high-impact preparations while addressing any potential weaknesses in your application.
Maximising Your Approval Chances
Our goal is to maximise the chances of your visa being approved the first time. By carefully reviewing your circumstances, identifying potential weaknesses, and preparing strong supporting evidence, we significantly reduce the risk of refusals. Every application is checked by senior immigration solicitors who apply their expertise to make your case as clear, accurate, and persuasive as possible. This attention to detail is what improves success rates and helps our clients move forward with confidence.
Success Rate Optimisation
We carefully analyse every detail of your application to maximise the chances of approval. By addressing weaknesses, strengthening supporting evidence, and ensuring full compliance with Home Office rules, we optimise your case for success. This thorough approach significantly improves approval rates and gives you confidence throughout the process.
Risk Mitigation Strategies
We identify potential risks in your application early and put safeguards in place to address them. By preparing strong evidence, clarifying complex points, and anticipating Home Office concerns, we minimise the chance of delays or refusals.
Work With Trusted, SRA-Regulated UK Immigration Experts
Your immigration journey is too important to risk on unqualified or unregulated help. Every case we handle is prepared by SRA-regulated solicitors who apply structured legal reasoning, precise documentation checks and full compliance with Home Office and UKVI rules.
Our accreditations are your assurance that you are working with a reputable, experienced and highly trained legal team. We combine decades of immigration expertise with strict professional standards to give you clarity, confidence and complete peace of mind — no matter which visa or application route you are pursuing.
How to Determine Whether Your Sponsor Licence Has Expired?
The UK sponsor licence expiry date is displayed on the Licence Summary Page of your company’s Sponsor Management System (SMS).
The Home Office issues sponsor licences to employers that are good for four years. The licence automatically expires unless it is renewed before the expiration date. It implies they failed to fulfil their sponsoring obligations to manage their licence.
Additionally, the Home Office notifies email recipients thirty days prior to the expiration of licences for this reason. The Authoring Officer (AO) of the organisation and the Level One Users included in the SMS are reminded via email.
Moreover, the Home Office anticipates that the organisation’s key individuals will receive and read this information. However, it’s not always the case
Why Do Companies Ignore the Sponsor Licence Expiration Date?
The Home Office compels sponsoring organisations to update their contact information on the SMS. However, this is not always the case.
The SMS account may still have contact information for a prior Authorising Officer (AO) or legal adviser. It’s possible they departed the company, and the system doesn’t have any updated contact details.
When this happens, the person supporting something might not get messages. This means the company won’t know when a deadline is coming or when a license is expiring. That’s why it’s good to have different people listed as the main contact or responsible person.
Additionally, Level One Users may be required by the organisation to log into the SMS at least once every month. Occasionally, the Home Office uses SMS to send out general communications that may be important. If Level One Users consistently register in the portal, they will be able to track these.
What Effects Can An Expired Sponsor Licence Have?
It is not possible to provide fresh Certificates of Sponsorship (COS) to a sponsor whose licencing has expired. This document is given to the employee by the sponsoring employer so they can apply for a visa and join the company.
What are the UK Sponsor Licence Expiry consequences? If the sponsored employee’s employer’s licence expires, their leave will be reduced. Entry and/or stay in the UK will be cancelled or shortened. Moreover, when their visas expire, employees will have sixty days, or earlier, to depart the company.
Additionally, if the company’s license is expired, employees can apply for a new visa by finding a new sponsor in the UK. If your sponsored employee doesn’t do this quickly, they might get into trouble with the law. Some workers were held by officials when they tried to come back to the UK without knowing their employer’s license had expired.
Due to an expired licence, the sponsor will also be deleted from the Sponsor’s Registers. The Register of Licenced Sponsors is a public database of all UK organisations that have valid sponsorship licences.
How the Sponsor Licence Is Renewed
You will have to take quick action when your sponsor licence expires. To renew it, you might need to submit an urgent application to the Home Office. It may also be recommended that you apply for a new licence.
It will take some time to renew a sponsor licence because the Home Office must thoroughly review every application. This could entail assisting in sponsoring business owners.
Seek the assistance of our immigration solicitors to speed up the renewal application process. To avoid issues, they can also help with negotiations between employers and employees resulting from the sponsor licencing expiry.
Consult with our immigration solicitors and seek professional legal assistance from UK Immigration Solicitors as soon as you detect a licence issue. This will assist you in choosing the most effective plan to follow for minimising expenses and damage to your business.
How to Prevent the Issues of UK Sponsor Licence Expiry?
Keep an internal log to keep track of the day your licence expires. This should be accessible to the HR director, SMS Users, and your AO. Do not depend solely on notifications sent by the Home Office to serve as a reminder.
The Home Office typically has ninety days to go before a licence expires. However, it is preferable to plan ahead of time and provide room for error if problems arise. It is best to renew your licence at least six months before it expires.
Additionally, make sure your AOs and users’ contact information on the SMS are updated. Employers should treat sponsor licencing in the same manner as other legal and regulatory requirements.
Continued management will be necessary to keep your sponsor position. New immigration legislation penalises sponsors who neglect to update their contact information in the SMS. As a result, inaccurate information is provided to COS. The Home Office believes that this is a serious enough case of neglecting sponsorship obligations to cancel a licence
How Can UK Immigration Solicitors Help?
If your UK Sponsor Licence expiration date has passed, our business immigration solicitors can help you with the renewal procedure. To guarantee a seamless renewal procedure, we may assign an expert to collaborate with your company and its representatives.
You can also get advice on whether applying for New Sponsor Licence UK is preferable to renewing an old one. In addition, we can provide the following support:
- Help you make sure your essential roles in the Sponsor Management System (SMS) are up to date and compliant with the law.
- Make sure that the immigration laws are followed in your employment records.
- Organise your supporting materials, such as your work description and sponsorship certificate, by UKVI requirements.
- Get your business ready for an inspection of UKVI compliance.
- Until you hear back from the Home Office, keep in touch with them as needed.
Along with many other places, we also have offices in Birmingham, Manchester, and London. We are eager to have a face-to-face discussion with you.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The company may be eligible to renew the licence or may need to apply for a new one, depending on its specific conditions.
During the sponsor licence renewal process, licenced sponsors are typically free from submitting additional documents. On the other hand, UK Visas and Immigration will write to you to request any specific records or evidence that they require.
In this case, you have five working days to submit the required documents.
If the employer’s current licencing has expired, sponsored workers are not permitted to work legally. If the employer is unable to obtain a new or renewed licence, they will have to quit the firm or the UK.
If they decide to stay, they can apply for a new visa and search for a different sponsor.
Some holders of sponsor licences may not want to renew because they are no longer sponsoring immigrants and will no longer require the permit. It is a good idea to use your SMS account to deny renewal and let your licence expire on its own.
Applications for Renewing UK Sponsor Licence usually take eight weeks to process. This is based on the absence of application issues and the non-conduct of an onsite compliance inspection by the Home Office.
If you need your sponsor licence renewed quickly, you may be eligible to pay for rapid processing. Your sponsor licencing application can be processed in as little as 10 days with this service.
But keep in mind that this service is only available to a restricted number of applications daily. They operate on a “first come, first served” basis.
Your sponsor licence can be renewed by applying through the sponsorship management system. This is explained in detail in the Home Office’s policy guidelines on the sponsor licence renewal procedure.
After being granted by the Home Office, a sponsor licence automatically expires after four years. There’s no automated process in place for renewals. To renew your sponsor licence, action must be taken by your HR department or by relevant staff.
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