Changelog
October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026
What changed in SponsorGuard, month by month.
Every month we collect what changed in the product and explain it the way we would on the phone: what changes for your file, not how we built it. Last updated 2 October 2026. The product reads documents and runs written rules; it does not give immigration advice.
The checker arrives, and the library opens
The Certificate of Sponsorship checker arrives in preview for law-firm partners, Office files can be uploaded, and the resources library opens.
NewWhat's new
Resources
- Four more guides in Resources. Right to work checks from 1 October 2026, SMS multi-factor authentication and the end of Level 2 users, the Temporary Shortage List deadline of 31 December 2026, and a dated log of every Skilled Worker and sponsor rule change from 2025 to 2027. Every quote is checked against the GOV.UK text it comes from. 2 October 2026
- Resources library and llms.txt. Guides on the checks before a Certificate of Sponsorship, the Appendix D record list and what a compliance visit rates, each with the paragraph for every point; a plain-text summary of the product for search engines and AI assistants. 1 October 2026
Uploads
- Word, Excel and OpenDocument uploads. Appendix D cases and the checker now take .docx, .xlsx and OpenDocument files alongside PDF, photos and zips, through one shared reader. 1 October 2026
PreviewIn preview
CoS checker
- Certificate of Sponsorship checker for law-firm partners. Open a role for a client, add the job description and the candidates' documents, and each candidate comes back as meets the checks we can run, needs information (with the list) or does not meet, with the quote and the rule behind every finding. The rules are in review and marked draft on screen; a candidate you hire hands straight into an Appendix D case. 1 October 2026
ImprovedImprovements
Appendix D packs
- Appendix D case page in five steps. Documents, Facts, Findings, Review and sign, Downloads, with a 'What needs you' strip at the top so the next action is never hidden. 1 October 2026
- Appendix D rules catalogue 1.2.0. Salary evidence must show money moving in the right direction, and a verified value must be a whole token on the page. Ratified 1 October 2026; every pack records the catalogue version it was checked against. 1 October 2026
Website
- For immigration law firms page. The checker is step one, the pack is step two, and the rules we follow are named with the version each is checked against. 1 October 2026
The sponsor file, rebuilt around what a visit asks for
The sponsor portal is rebuilt around the file a compliance visit asks for, and Appendix D evidence packs open to immigration law firms by invitation.
NewWhat's new
Appendix D packs
- Scanned documents read twice. A scanned page is read by two independent readers and the passport check digits are verified; any field where the readings differ goes to the solicitor with an image clip of the exact line, and the solicitor sets the tolerance. 29 September 2026
- Facts assist and a GOV.UK source watch. The documents propose the case facts (salary, hours, occupation code) for a person to confirm; saving facts re-runs the checks; a salary-option card shows every option with the Appendix Skilled Worker words; the pinned going-rate data is watched against GOV.UK and flagged when it goes stale. 27 September 2026
- Appendix D evidence packs for immigration law firms. Upload a hired worker's documents; fixed written rules check them against Appendix D v08/26 and the sponsor guidance, citing the paragraph for each finding; the solicitor accepts or overrides each finding, gives a reason and signs; out come the pack, a zip with a manifest, and a CoS sheet with a copy button for each SMS field. By invitation. 25 September 2026
- Rules catalogue 1.0.0 ratified. The Appendix D pack rules and the pack wording were ratified and hash-pinned, so any later edit brings back the draft banner until it is ratified again. 25 September 2026
Partner portal
- Data processing agreement before the engine switches on. A partner firm signs the DPA (and its schedule) in the portal before any case can be opened. Signing uses a step-up code sent by email. 27 September 2026
- Clio Manage connection for partners. A partner firm can connect Clio, link a case to a matter, and have the signed pack filed as a matter note. 25 September 2026
Staff and checks
- Staff and checks register. Every worker you employ, sponsored or not, with their right to work check, the follow-up date, the visa or CoS expiry and the CoS salary against the going rate; add a worker, open their page, record a check. 24 September 2026
Key Personnel
- Key Personnel and SMS users register. Your Authorising Officer, Key Contact and SMS users with what has to stay true about them, the multi-factor authentication details, and dated reminders including the 8 March 2027 Level 2 deadline. 24 September 2026
Policies
- Five sponsor policies to generate, review and sign. Record-keeping (Appendix D v08/26), right to work and status monitoring, sponsor duties and reporting, a sponsored-worker privacy notice, and an employment-rights information pack; staff can acknowledge the pack. 24 September 2026
Billing
- Self-serve billing. Start, manage and cancel the subscription from the app; £99 a month or £990 a year, 30 days free, no card to start. 24 September 2026
Sign-up
- Passwordless sign-up. A work email and your organisation, one link, Continue. The register claim and licence number follow once you are in. 24 September 2026
ImprovedImprovements
Home
- Home shows what is due. A what's-due list and counters in the navigation; a tidier trial banner; reminder emails; salary frequency on the salary check; all mail from updates.sponsorguard.uk. 24 September 2026
Right to work
- Share codes are masked. Right to work share codes are masked wherever they appear, and a time-limited right to work must carry its end date. 24 September 2026
Security
- Step-up sign-in for sensitive actions. Signing, team changes and partner settings ask for a six-digit code sent by email. 25 September 2026
Accessibility
- Contrast across the app. Text and chips brought to WCAG contrast across every page. 3 September 2026
Website
- Truthful product copy on the site. The home page and the new For immigration law firms page describe only what the product does today, with the guidance version each claim rests on. 25 September 2026
Groundwork
A quiet month on the surface while the Appendix D pack engine was planned.
ImprovedImprovements
Security
- Bot protection on public forms. Sign-up and other public forms are protected against automated submissions. 5 August 2026
SponsorGuard launches
SponsorGuard launches: the sponsor file, kept as you work.
NewWhat's new
Policies
- Appendix D document pack. The record-keeping documents a sponsor needs, generated from the sponsor guidance, reviewed and ratified before release. 5 July 2026
Sign-up
- Company profile and register claim. Claim your organisation from the sponsor register at sign-up, add the licence number, and confirm the details; the organisation name sits in the sidebar. 5 July 2026
Billing
- 30-day trial and billing. Every feature for 30 days, then a subscription. 5 July 2026
Salary check
- Pay-run salary check. Upload a pay-run CSV; each row is matched to a worker and compared with their CoS salary and going rate; pay below the CoS salary opens a reporting entry with its 10-working-day deadline. 5 July 2026
Right to work
- Right to work with ID capture. Send a worker a link; they photograph their ID and take a selfie; liveness and face matching add evidence; you review and record the decision. Share-code checks are done on the Home Office service and recorded. 5 July 2026
Reporting diary
- Reporting diary. Counts the Home Office reporting deadlines in working days (10 for a worker's circumstances, 20 for the organisation) and sends reminders before, on and after the day. 5 July 2026
Staff and checks
- Sponsored-worker register. Each sponsored worker with their CoS, visa dates and salary on one page. 4 July 2026
Website
- Sponsor-licence statistics. A public page of the register of licensed sponsors in numbers. 4 July 2026
- sponsorguard.uk. The site, the sign-up and the app host go live. 4 July 2026
ImprovedImprovements
Right to work
- ID capture wording and non-UK passports. The face-match result reads consistently with its verdict; a non-UK passport is flagged on the check; check rows open with a click. 21 July 2026
SponsorGuard provides compliance software and record-keeping tools. It is not a law firm or an immigration adviser and does not give legal or immigration advice, which are regulated activities (Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, section 84). This page describes what the published Home Office guidance and the Immigration Rules say, with the paragraph for each point, so you can read the source yourself. Guidance versions and figures are those in force on the date shown; the Home Office changes them, so check the current version before you rely on any of it.
Sponsors: keep the file as you work.
Staff and checks register, right to work with ID capture, pay-run salary check, the 10 and 20 working-day reporting diary, Key Personnel and SMS users, five sponsor policies. £99 a month + VAT, 30 days free, no card.
Start your 30-day free trialImmigration law firms: check the role, build the pack.
Step 1 checks a role and its candidates against the published rules, with the quote and the paragraph for each finding. Step 2 builds the Appendix D evidence pack. Your solicitor decides and signs. By invitation.
How it works for firms