Laura Darnley is technically very sound and her attention to detail is excellent. We have worked alongside Laura on some complex employment matters where we needed her input on the immigration side and she is a pleasure to work with.
The penalties are severe – a potential fine of up to £60,000 per illegal worker, the risk of criminal liability (with an unlimited fine and up to 5 years in prison), business closure notices, adverse publicity from being “named and shamed” and reputational damage. According to the Home Office data, 748 civil penalties were issued in the period from 1 January – 31 March 2025, 81% more than in the same period in 2024. Over 10,000 illegal working visits carried out in the 12 months to July 2025
For registered sponsors, the stakes are even higher. They must ensure strict compliance with the very prescriptive duties associated with holding their licence. A failure to do so could result in the licence being revoked. This means the business will not be able to use the Skilled Worker visa route to access non-UK national talent and existing sponsored workers will typically have their visas cut short to 60 days – no matter how senior or important they are to the organisation. The Home Office’s most recent data showed 1,948 licences were revoked between July 2024 and June 2025.
Are you prepared for a compliance visit?
Ward Hadaway’s specialist business immigration team can help you rest easy, knowing that your organisation is legally compliant with our risk management services.
Sponsor Licence Audit
Option 1 – £995 plus VAT
- Provision of a questionnaire for the business to complete
- Review of completed questionnaire
- One-hour call to discuss concerns and remedial action arising from review of questionnaire
Option 2
- Bespoke Home Office Mock Audit
- Typically includes:
- attendance at your offices (where possible)
- review of the organisation’s sponsor licence
- interview with a member of the Key Personnel responsible for the sponsor licence
- review of your HR systems and processes
- review of all sponsored Skilled Worker visa holder’s personnel files
- sample review of employee right to work checks and procedures in place
- provision of report and action points.
- Prices starting from £3,500 plus VAT for small employers and £5,000 for larger employers
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Compliance Toolkit
Option 1 – £995 plus VAT
- RTW and sponsorship clause to add into job offer letter for sponsored workers
- RTW and sponsorship clauses to add into employment contract for sponsored workers
- Clauses to add in to Manager/Key Personnel employment contract regarding reporting and record keeping duties
- Email to sponsored worker after assigning the CoS
- Email to send on a monthly basis to managers to capture changes to information to be reported monthly re changes
- Requirements for supplementary employment flow chart
- Internal memo confirming sponsorship costs (what can and can’t be paid by the employee or deducted from their pay)
- Internal memo confirming minimum pay for care workers and transitional arrangements
Option 2 – £1,500 plus VAT
- All of Option 1, plus:
- Right to work policy
- Managers guide on reporting and record keeping duties
Option 3 – £2,850 plus VAT
- All of option 2, plus:
- Two-hour online sponsor management training session