UK Sponsor Licence Changes April 2026: What Every Sponsor Needs to Know
In this article, our UK Immigration Solicitors provide a business immigration update for sponsors following the March 2026 changes to the immigration rules and amendments to the sponsor licence guidance.
We summarise the key changes that sponsoring employers need to be aware of to help them assess whether their policies and procedures remain compliant.
Contact OTS Solicitors to discuss how the rule changes may impact your compliance regime.
The key business immigration changes
The Home Office updated its sponsor licence guidance, and on 5 March 2026, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood released a Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules HC 1691, together with an explanatory memorandum. In this article, our Sponsorship Licence Lawyers focus on how the key changes may affect sponsors and businesses.
The key changes include:
- Updated Home Office sponsor guidance with an emphasis on compliance.
- A new eligible role term in the sponsor licence
- Job descriptions and certificate of sponsorship guidance update.
- A new salary compliance regime for employers sponsoring workers on Skilled Worker Visas.
- A higher English Language requirement (level B2)for Skilled Worker Visa holders applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain.
- Visa Brake on Skilled Worker Visa applications from Afghan nationals.
- Asylum and right to work.
- Increase in licence and visa fees from 8 April 2026.
The changes are wide-ranging and a lot for HR staff, managers and key personnel to take on board. Our Business Immigration Lawyers provide company and sector-specific immigration law training or a full Sponsor Licence Management Service for firms who prefer to outsource licence management.
Contact OTS Solicitors to discuss training packages and Sponsor Licence Management Services.
Updated sponsor licence guidance
The updated sponsor licence guidance contains many changes, but the key points are:
- Duty on sponsors to inform – sponsors must tell their sponsored employees about their UK employment rights. Sponsors must evidence that they have complied with their duty to inform. Businesses will need to consider whether they are compliant. An undocumented induction process that only makes passing reference to workers’ rights may not be compliant. Furthermore, employers need to document that their current sponsored workers (and not just those sponsored after March 2026) received the information.
- Right to work – employers must check every worker's right to work before an employee starts their employment. The universal requirement to carry out a right-to-work check includes those with British citizenship or settled status.
New eligible role and job descriptions requirements
The updated Home Office guidance states that the sponsored vacancy must be for an eligible role. This replaces the previous requirement for there to be a genuine vacancy for sponsorship.
There is increased focus on ensuring jobs meet both the specifics of the certificate of sponsorship and the details of the standard occupational classification code.
To qualify as an eligible role, a job must:
- Be in existence or be reasonably anticipated, and
- Be appropriate to the company, considering its business model, business plan and scale, and
- Meet the requirements of the Skilled Worker Visa route, including skill level and the minimum salary threshold, and
- Comply with employment laws, including the Working Time Regulations.
The revised guidance enables the Home Office to refuse to allocate a certificate of sponsorship for a skilled worker in circumstances where it does not consider the job fits the company's profile or scale.
The updated guidance emphasises that if a sponsored worker's role changes, an employer must consider if a change of employment application is required or if the change falls within the ambit of the requirement to notify the Home Office of a change in duties. A change in duties must be reported within ten days on the sponsor management system. Failure to comply with the requirements could result in license revocation.
To emphasise the Home Office's focus on compliance, the updated guidance states that the Home Office can act if it has a reasonable suspicion that a sponsor is not complying with their reporting or recording duties.
New salary compliance regime
The Statement of Changes: HC 1961 introduces a new salary compliance regime for sponsored workers whose certificates of sponsorship were issued on or after 8 April 2026.
Under the new rules, employers must ensure that Skilled Worker Visa holders are paid their required minimum salary in each relevant pay period, rather than relying on the annual salary to meet the salary threshold. This change in the requirement will only affect employers paying fluctuating salaries throughout the year. For those affected, additional payroll checks will be necessary.
Businesses may need assistance with reviewing their payroll systems to ensure that HR, key personnel and accounting staff are all meeting the new compliance requirements.
For more information on the salary changes, read our article on Changes to the Skilled Worker Visa Salary Framework From 8 April 2026.
Enhanced English language requirement for skilled workers applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain
From 26 March 2027, the English language requirement for settlement applications will be increased from B1 to B2 level on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
This change forms part of the planned earned settlement changes. It will affect Work Visa holders on several Work Visa routes, including the Skilled Worker, Global Talent, Scale Up and Representative of an Overseas Business routes.
Although the forthcoming change to the English language requirement for settlement will primarily affect individuals applying to settle in the UK, it will also impact businesses.
It is in every sponsor's best interest to have their sponsored workforce convert to non-sponsored employees as soon as possible to reduce sponsorship fees and administrative compliance costs. There is an increased risk that those applying for settlement after UK entry on a Work Visa won't pass the B2 level English language test. This could be particularly problematic in sectors where businesses employ workers from countries that are not majority English-speaking, or where job roles do not require proficiency in English.
The visa brake
The visa brake allows the Home Office to suspend visa routes for specified nationalities where there have been above-average rates of asylum claims after UK entry clearance.
The first affected nationals are Afghan nationals. Since 26 March 2026, Skilled Worker Visa applications made from outside the UK by Afghan nationals have been refused even if the applicant has a valid certificate of sponsorship.
Nationals from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan are also affected by a Student Visa brake.
The introduction of the visa brake does not affect relevant nationals who:
- Made a visa application before 26 March 2026, or
- Are making a relevant visa application from within the UK, or
- Are applying to switch visa into a category caught by the visa brake rules.
The visa brake policy is intended to be temporary.
Asylum seekers and the right to work
From 26 March 2026, asylum seekers with a pending asylum claim for over a year can apply for permission to work in a sponsorable occupation under the Skilled Worker Visa route. The change means asylum seekers with pending asylum claims are limited to jobs of RQF level 6 (degree level or above).
Increase in licence and visa fees
Licence and visa fees increased on 8 April 2026. The key increases for sponsors and Skilled Worker Visa applicants are:
- The sponsor licence application fee for small businesses increased from £574 to £611.
- The sponsor licence application fee for large employers increased from £1,579 to £1,682.
- The Skilled Worker Visa fees for applications made from outside the UK for visa sponsorship for three years or less increased from £769 to £819.
- The Skilled Worker Visa fees for applications made from outside the UK for visa sponsorship for over three years increased from £1,519 to £1,618.
- Skilled Worker Visa fees for applications made from within the UK for visa sponsorship for three years or less increased from £885 to £943.
- Skilled Worker Visa fees for applications made from within the UK for visa sponsorship for over three years increased from £1,751 to £1,865.
- The fee for an Indefinite Leave to Remain application increased from £3,029 to £3,226. The applicant and each family member on a Dependant Visa must pay the settlement application fee.
The certificate of sponsorship application fee and priority fees have not increased.
Click here for more information on how the increased fees will affect your company and individual Work Visa applicants.
Action points for sponsors
Here are some suggested action points for sponsors to consider:
- Sponsor licence guidance training for key personnel and HR staff.
- Compliance audit to assess whether the business is compliant with the updated guidance.
- Review policies and procedures in light of the updated guidance.
- Audit certificates of sponsorship against sponsored workers' current duties to ensure that the certificates match the workers’ job functions.
- Check payroll compliance with the new salary requirements and provide additional training for key personnel and accounts staff.
- Review how employees are told about their rights and how it is documented. This requirement includes current sponsored employees. A business is unlikely to be compliant if workers' rights are not contained in their contract of employment, a sheet outlining their rights, or a signed statement confirming that the employee has been referred to the firm's intranet for information on their rights.
- Review right-to-work processes and record-keeping.
- Ensure sponsored staff are aware that they will need to meet an enhanced English language requirement when they apply to settle in the UK, so the workers and their dependants have time to prepare.
- Consider the business cost implications if sponsored staff are unlikely to pass the enhanced English language test and therefore will require ongoing sponsorship.
Sponsorship Licence Lawyers in London
Our Sponsorship Licence Lawyers recognise that the Statement of Changes and updated Home Office guidance require employers to review and overhaul their compliance practices at a time when companies are already under financial pressure due to global uncertainty and rising prices, and when they are struggling to get to grips with changing UK employment law and enhanced rights for all workers.
The message from the Home Office is crystal clear: businesses must meet compliance standards or risk having their sponsor licence revoked. OTS Solicitors can help your business reach and maintain the high reporting and recording standards by providing clear, pragmatic immigration and employment law advice tailored to your business needs and strategy.
Contact OTS Solicitors for more information on how our Sponsorship Licence Lawyers can help your business.
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