Check your sponsor licence entry

What the entry shows

The register is the Home Office’s published list of organisations licensed to sponsor workers. Each entry gives the organisation’s name and town, and each route it may sponsor on with a rating. SponsorFlow copies the GOV.UK register about once a week; this page shows what our copy holds and the date of the last copy. The GOV.UK register is the official record. Open the register on GOV.UK.

“First seen” is the first day our copy listed the entry. Our copy starts on 4 July 2026, so for an older licence it shows 4 July 2026, not the date the licence was granted. “No longer listed” means the entry was in our copy and is not in the latest one.

The rating matters for new certificates. The Immigration Rules for the Skilled Worker route say:

SW 5.3. The sponsor must be listed as A-rated on the Home Office’s register of licensed sponsors, unless the applicant was last granted permission as a Skilled Worker and is applying to continue working for the same sponsor as in their last permission.

C8.11. If we downgrade you to a B-rating, you will not be able to assign any CoS to sponsor new workers until you have: demonstrated your commitment to make improvements by signing up to the measures set out in an action plan

This page does not tell you whether your organisation meets its duties. Only the Home Office decides that, and your immigration solicitor can advise you on it.

The duties every sponsor holds, with the dates

Whatever your entry says, these apply to every licensed sponsor. Each is quoted from the sponsor guidance, word for word, with the paragraph.

1. Always

   What the duties are

   C1.11. Your duties as a licensed sponsor include: reporting duties; record-keeping duties; complying with our immigration laws, including all parts of the Worker and Temporary Worker sponsor guidance; complying with wider UK law; not engaging in behaviour or actions that are not conducive to the public good

   The rules we check →
2. 10 and 20 working days

   Reporting changes

   C1.13. You must report certain changes that affect your sponsored workers or your organisation within the time limits set out below: changes to a sponsored worker’s circumstances – unless otherwise stated, you must report these changes within 10 working days of the relevant event occurring; changes to your organisation, as set out in section C2 of this guidance – unless otherwise stated, you must report these changes within 20 working days of the relevant event occurring

   How employers get SponsorFlow →
3. For every sponsored worker

   Keeping the Appendix D records

   C1.37. You must keep certain documents for each worker you sponsor. Appendix D of the sponsor guidance lists these documents and how long you must keep them.

   Appendix D: the records to keep →
4. At any time

   Compliance checks

   C7.9. We may check sponsors at any time, including before we make a decision on your licence application or after your licence has been granted. If we conduct a compliance check which involves visiting or interviewing you, this can be on an announced or an unannounced basis.

   What a compliance visit checks →
5. From 3 September 2026

   Multi-factor authentication on the SMS

   L4.67. … We will introduce mandatory MFA on a phased basis, beginning on 3 September 2026, and expect this to be in place for all sponsors by November 2026.

   SMS multi-factor authentication and Level 2 users →
6. From 1 October 2026

   Right to work checks reach further

   From 1 October 2026, the responsibility to carry out right to work checks will also apply to organisations that engage individuals under a worker’s contract or individual sub-contractors, or operate an online matching service providing details of an individual who is a service provider to potential clients or customers.

   Right to work checks from 1 October 2026 →
7. By 8 March 2027

   Level 2 Users converted or deactivated

   L4.59. You must take this action by no later than 8 March 2027. After that date, we will deactivate the accounts of any Level 2 Users you still have.

   What to do about Level 2 Users →

The register: contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. SponsorFlow 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.