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New UK government guidance for sponsoring migrant workers includes major U-turn

Employers with a licence to sponsor migrant workers in the UK should be relieved by the latest guidance for sponsors published by the UK Government

Employers with a licence to sponsor migrant workers in the UK should be relieved by the latest guidance for sponsors published by the UK Government. In a surprising reversal of guidance published in March, then April, the latest updates published on 20 May 2026 have removed wording which required employers sponsoring workers to conduct right to work checks on anyone they “directly engage”. 

It’s especially crucial that organisations with UK sponsor licences are aware of updates. The Home Office has just published its third update in three months and since April’s changes sponsors now have a requirement to read the sponsor guidance in full and to be aware of any new developments

In March employers with a sponsor licence were told they must check the right to work of not just those they sponsor, but anyone they “engage.”  The Home Office then clarified in April that employers with a sponsor licence must conduct right to work checks on anyone they “directly engage” – even non-employees or risk losing their licence.

Losing a sponsor licence means losing the ability to recruit international workers and losing the international workers employers currently sponsor along with all the employment law consequences that may entail.

May’s reversal in sponsor advice now takes the guidance back to the situation before March, which will be a massive relief to personnel teams. Sponsors now only need to do right to work checks now on people they employ and those they sponsor.

It is crucial that HR teams stay on top of all updates to sponsor guidance and compliance if they are sponsoring any workers. 

Other significant updates in May

• Expansion in sponsors’ record keeping duties to include keeping records of right to work checks on all employees as well as any workers they sponsor.
• The Home Office will likely revoke a sponsor licence if a sponsored worker doesn’t have “relevant permission to work.” This is added to remind sponsors that if they sponsor a migrant, even one who is not an employee, and they are found to be working in a capacity that they do not have the right to work in, the sponsor is likely to lose their licence.
• The guidance warns that if the Home Office has reasonable grounds to suspect “your organisation has been established, or exists, mainly to facilitate the entry or residence of a person who would not otherwise have permission to work in the UK or do the work in question” it may refuse of revoke a sponsor licence.
• New details on how to satisfy the Home Office an organisation is operating or trading to qualify for a sponsor licence.

You can read further and find an explanation of all these updates  here.

Do take legal advice if you are concerned about how these updates will affect any sponsor licence applications or sponsor compliance. Please feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss any of these changes or an audit of your sponsor or right to work compliance. With increasing UK Visa and Immigration enforcement action, it’s important to ensure you are on top of the latest updates to these practices. 

Vanessa Ganguin Immigration Law is a boutique immigration law practice in London, advising on all aspects of UK business and private immigration and nationality, with a personal, partner-led approach. The firm is highly ranked in major legal guides.