New sponsor licence refusal/revocation ground has been introduced by Home Office on 20th May 2026, where a business has been established mainly to facilitate the entry or residence of a foreign worker (see Parts 1 and 3 sponsor guidance). This is another significant change introduced together with ‘trading or operating’ definition introduced on 20th May 2026.
Home Office will refuse a sponsor licence application if they have reasonable grounds to consider or suspect that a prospective sponsor organisation has been established or exists mainly to facilitate the entry or residence of a worker who would not otherwise have the relevant permission to work in the UK. In their guidance Home Office gave example when such decision is likely to be reached.
Business has been established mainly to facilitate the entry or residence of a foreign worker
The following is an example of where Home Office is likely to consider that your organisation has been established 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.
Example A – foreign national (who does not have permission to enter or stay in the UK) registers a business with Companies House while resident outside the UK. They employ a UK-based worker and appoint that worker as a Level 1 User for the purposes of applying for a Skilled Worker sponsor licence and assigning a CoS to the foreign national. In this scenario, it is considered unlikely that the company would otherwise exist if it were not for the foreign national’s wish to enter the UK.
The Example A given by Home Office is a typical scenario of so called ‘Self-sponsorship’.
New revocation ground added
Annex C1(oo): new revocation ground where we have reasonable grounds to consider or suspect that the sponsor organisation has been established or exists mainly to facilitate the entry or residence of a worker who would not otherwise have the relevant permission to work in the UK.
What should sponsor licence applicants and sponsor licence holders should do
In short, sponsor licence applicants should read and get a good understanding of the new refusal ground introduced by Home Office and ensure that can meet the criteria and provide evidence with their sponsor licence application.
Those who already hold sponsor licence need to assess their circumstances in light of the Home Office guidance to assess their position. This is particularly important for those who obtained skilled worker visa relying on ‘self-sponsorship’.