Can the Home Office visit without notice?

Yes. The Home Office can conduct both announced and unannounced compliance visits. Announced visits give you a few days' notice, but unannounced visits can happen at any time during working hours. You must cooperate with both types.

What happens if I fail a Home Office audit?

Depending on the severity of the failings, your sponsor licence may receive an action plan (minor issues), be downgraded to a B-rating (moderate issues), suspended, or revoked (serious issues). Revocation means all sponsored workers lose their visa permission.

How often does the Home Office audit sponsors?

There is no set schedule. The Home Office audits sponsors based on risk factors, complaints, and random selection. New sponsors are more likely to receive an early visit. Sponsors with a B-rating will receive a follow-up visit.

Home Office Sponsor Licence Audit: How to Prepare

Home Office compliance visits assess whether sponsors are meeting their duties under the Immigration Rules. Inspectors check record-keeping, reporting compliance, HR systems, and the genuine nature of sponsored roles. Preparation is essential as failure can result in licence suspension or revocation, affecting all sponsored workers.

What Inspectors Check

The Home Office visiting officer will assess your compliance against the sponsor guidance. Key areas include:

Record-keeping: Contact details, right to work documents, and copies of qualifications for each sponsored worker.
Reporting: Whether you have reported all required changes through the Sponsor Management System (workers leaving, changing roles, or being absent).
HR systems: Whether you have adequate systems to monitor sponsored workers' immigration status, attendance, and salary.
Genuine vacancy: Whether sponsored roles are genuine and match the description on the certificate of sponsorship.
Salary compliance: Whether sponsored workers are being paid at least the salary stated on the CoS and the going rate.

How to Prepare

Maintain a sponsor file for each worker: Include copies of their passport, visa/BRP, right to work check record, employment contract, payslips, and any correspondence about changes to their role.
Review your SMS reporting: Check that all required reports have been submitted. See our sponsor duties guide for a checklist.
Verify salary compliance: Cross-check each sponsored worker's actual salary against their CoS and the current going rate.
Brief your key personnel: Ensure your Authorising Officer and Key Contact know their responsibilities and can speak to the visiting officer.
Check your premises: Inspectors may want to see the workplace and confirm sponsored workers are present and working as described.

Common Reasons for Failure

Missing right to work checks: Not having conducted or recorded the check before the worker started.
Failure to report: Not reporting when a sponsored worker left employment, changed their working pattern, or was absent.
Salary below the going rate: The worker is being paid less than the amount stated on the CoS or below the current going rate.
Role mismatch: The worker is performing duties significantly different from those described on the CoS.
Inadequate HR systems: No system to track visa expiry dates or monitor attendance.

What Happens After the Visit

After the visit, the Home Office will issue one of the following outcomes:

No action: You are fully compliant. Your licence remains at A-rating.
Action plan: Minor issues identified. You are given a timeframe to rectify them.
Downgrade to B-rating: Moderate compliance failures. You must complete an action plan within a set period and will receive a follow-up visit.
Suspension: Serious concerns. Your ability to assign new CoS is suspended while the Home Office investigates further.
Revocation: Your licence is revoked. All sponsored workers are given 60 days to find a new sponsor or leave the UK. See our 60-day rule guide.

Care Sector Sponsors

The Home Office has increased scrutiny of care sector sponsors in recent years following concerns about exploitation and non-compliance. If you sponsor health and care workers, expect more frequent visits and higher standards of compliance.

Ongoing Compliance Best Practices

Set diary reminders for visa expiry dates and follow-up right to work checks.
Report changes within 10 working days through the SMS.
Conduct internal audits of sponsored worker files quarterly.
Keep your Authorising Officer details up to date on the SMS.
Train HR staff on sponsor duties. See our responsibilities guide.