What is a ‘sponsor licence revocation letter’ and what should I do if one is received?

This is a letter your business would receive from UKVI formally notifying you that the company can no longer sponsor foreign workers, both existing and future employers. The sponsor licence revocation letter will give you a timescale within which to respond to the grounds raised for revocation. Examples of grounds raised could include:

• Poor record-keeping – businesses that do not consistently meet the record keeping duties as a sponsor licence holder.
• Not genuine vacancy – it may be alleged that a sponsored worker is carrying out a different role to the one on the CoS or, in more extreme cases, that the employee is not working for the business at all.
• Failure to retain specified documents and information – Appendix D sets out what documents a business should maintain. For example, ID documents, addresses and proof of status.

As a business, you should consult with all relevant parties to provide a robust response. It may be prudent to obtain legal advice at this stage, if you haven’t done so already, as there are lasting implications on a business whose license has been revoked i.e. cooling off period.