Sponsorship Management System (SMS): How to Use It

Getting Started with the SMS

When your sponsor licence is granted, the Level 1 User named in the application gets an account. Further Level 1 Users can only be added once the licence holds an A-rating. The system is reached through the GOV.UK sponsorship management system page.

Multi-factor authentication became mandatory for system users on 3 September 2026. The sponsor guidance says users’ personal and contact details must be up to date and correctly recorded so they can keep accessing their accounts, and that the Home Office intends to remove inactive user accounts. It states plainly: “You may lose your licence if you do not take action to check and update your SMS Users’ details.”

The guidance also recommends that the Level 1 User signs in at least once a month, because accounts that are not used may be deactivated.

User Levels, and the End of Level 2

Level 1 Users

The Level 1 User carries out the day-to-day sponsorship activity. The sponsor guidance lists it as: assigning certificates of sponsorship; asking for an increase in the certificate allocation; applying for defined certificates for Skilled Workers; adding further Level 1 Users; deactivating users who have left; reporting changes to the organisation; reporting worker activity, such as an absence without permission or a change to a role or salary; withdrawing certificates; and viewing licence and key personnel information.

Level 2 Users are being withdrawn

The Level 2 User was an optional extra role with fewer permissions. It is being phased out:

• From 9 September 2026 no new Level 2 Users can be appointed
• By 8 March 2027 existing Level 2 Users must be converted to Level 1 Users, where they are eligible, or deactivated
• After 8 March 2027 the Home Office deactivates any that remain, and the role no longer exists

Staff supplied by an employment business, and not employed by the sponsor, cannot be converted into Level 1 Users; the guidance says those accounts will be deactivated after 8 March 2027.

While the role lasts, a Level 2 User can do two things: create and assign certificates of sponsorship, and report worker activity relating to certificates they personally created and assigned or that a Level 1 User transferred to them. They cannot report on certificates assigned by a Level 1 User.

Assigning a Certificate of Sponsorship

Assigning a CoS is one of the most frequent tasks on the SMS. The process involves:

• Selecting the right kind. GOV.UK: a defined certificate is for “people applying on a Skilled Worker visa from outside the UK”; an undefined certificate covers “Skilled Workers applying from inside the UK, and applicants on all other visas”
• Entering the worker's personal details (name, date of birth, nationality, passport number)
• Entering the job details (title, occupation code, salary, start date, work location)
• Paying the certificate fee: £525 on a Worker licence, £55 on a Temporary Worker licence

The salary entered has to meet the Skilled Worker threshold — £41,700 a year or the going rate for the occupation code, whichever is higher, with a lower threshold of £33,400 in defined cases. A figure below the requirement is a ground of refusal for the worker’s application. The certificate reference number then goes to the worker for that application, which must be made within 3 months of the certificate being assigned.

Undefined certificates come from an annual allocation, and a Level 1 User can ask for that allocation to be increased. Defined certificates are applied for one at a time, for a named Skilled Worker applying from outside the UK.

The sponsor pays these fees. Since 31 December 2024, a sponsor may not pass the licence fee, the administrative costs of the licence application, or the certificate fee on to a Skilled Worker.

Submitting Reports

Sponsors must submit certain reports through the SMS. The main reporting obligations are outlined in the compliance guide. Key reports include:

Within 10 working days, for a change affecting a worker:

• The worker has not started the job within 28 days of the start date on their certificate
• The worker has been absent from work without permission for more than 10 consecutive working days
• The worker has been absent without pay, or on reduced pay, for more than 4 weeks in total in any calendar year
• Sponsorship has stopped, for any reason
• The worker’s role, salary or work location has changed

Within 20 working days, for a change to the organisation: GOV.UK says “You must report any significant changes in your own circumstances within 20 working days” — key personnel, address, structure, new branches, insolvency, a merger or takeover.

Managing Key Personnel

You must keep your key personnel details current in the SMS:

• A change of authorising officer, key contact or Level 1 User is a change to the organisation, reportable within 20 working days
• There can be only one authorising officer and one key contact at any time; there can be several Level 1 Users
• The key contact has no automatic access to the system. Access means also being appointed a Level 1 User
• New key personnel must meet the suitability requirements

Failure to update key personnel is a common compliance issue that comes up during Home Office audits.

Tracking Your Licence

The sponsor guidance says the account shows:

• How many users you have appointed, and who they are
• The number of certificates left to assign, and when the allocation expires
• A message board the Home Office uses for updates to the sponsor guidance
• An expiry date for the licence — but, in the guidance’s own words, “Scale-up and UK Expansion Worker only”

That last point is the one most often got wrong. Since 6 April 2024 a sponsor licence does not expire and does not need renewing. GOV.UK says a licence “usually stays valid as long as you continue to meet the eligibility requirements”. The exception is a licence to sponsor Scale-up Workers or UK Expansion Workers, which lasts 4 years. Our guide to what replaced licence renewal covers the change.

What the Duties Require Alongside the System

• Your own record of what was reported. The sponsor duties require HR records for each sponsored worker; the system is where the report goes, not where the file lives.
• Tracking permission end dates. A sponsor must monitor its workers’ immigration status, which means knowing when each permission ends and when a follow-up right to work check falls due.
• Certificate allocations. A Level 1 User can ask for the undefined allocation to be increased. The allocation itself has an expiry date, shown in the account.
• Regular sign-in. The guidance recommends the Level 1 User accesses the account at least once a month, and warns that inactive accounts may be deactivated.

Troubleshooting

If you experience technical issues with the SMS:

The sponsor guidance gives one contact route for queries about the guidance or the application process: call the Business Helpdesk on 0300 123 4699, or email it. Lock-outs are most often a multi-factor authentication problem, since that became mandatory on 3 September 2026 and depends on the contact details recorded for the user.

The SMS user guide on GOV.UK provides detailed instructions for each function.

Next Steps

Two dated changes are worth putting in a diary: multi-factor authentication has been mandatory since 3 September 2026, and Level 2 User accounts must be converted or deactivated by 8 March 2027. Both are set out in section L4 of part 1 of the sponsor guidance.

Related guides:

• Sponsor Licence: Complete Guide
• Compliance Duties
• Certificate of Sponsorship Explained
• Sponsor Licence Requirements

Questions and answers