A sponsor compliance visit is an inspection by Home Office compliance officers at a UK employer that holds, or has applied for, a sponsor licence. Officers check that the employer's systems, records and sponsored jobs meet the rules. A visit can be announced or unannounced, and the employer must allow access on demand.
Key points
- Visits can happen before a licence is granted or after, and can be announced or unannounced. Home Office guidance says they should normally be unannounced.
- The sponsor must allow staff full access to premises under its control on demand, and make sure third-party sites it uses are ready for the same.
- Officers may interview the employer and sponsored workers, check records and photograph the premises.
- A minor breach usually leads to a B-rating and an action plan. A serious or systematic failing can lead to suspension or revocation.
- The Home Office can also run a digital compliance check, interviewing the sponsor by video.
How a sponsor compliance visit works
The Home Office checks that sponsors are able to keep, and are keeping, their duties. A compliance check can involve asking for extra documents, verifying information, visiting the sponsor on site, interviewing the sponsor by video, checking with other government departments and considering other evidence, such as allegations from members of the public.[1]Home Office, Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 3: sponsor duties and compliance (accessible version) The Home Office also makes regular checks with HMRC to see whether workers are paid in line with the rules.[1]Home Office, Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 3: sponsor duties and compliance (accessible version)
A check can be made at any time, before a licence decision or after the licence is granted. A visit or interview can be announced or unannounced.[1]Home Office, Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 3: sponsor duties and compliance (accessible version) A check can be based on a reasonable suspicion that the sponsor has breached its sponsor duties, including one drawn from a poor record with other government departments.[1]Home Office, Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 3: sponsor duties and compliance (accessible version)
Types of visit and what officers check
Guidance written for Home Office compliance officers and published on GOV.UK describes two main sponsor visits.[2]Home Office, PBS Worker and Temporary Worker: sponsor compliance visits (guidance for Home Office staff, accessible version)
| Type | When it happens | What the officer checks |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-licence assessment visit | An employer has applied for a licence, or applied to add a route | HR systems able to meet sponsor duties, whether the number of workers is right for the business, any evidence of a threat to immigration control |
| Post-licence compliance visit | An employer already holds a licence | HR systems, whether the certificates requested are still justified, whether the sponsor still has a trading presence, whether workers were recruited to genuine vacancies at the right skill and pay level |
The staff guidance lists reasons for a post-licence visit. They include intelligence about the organisation, a sponsor reaching a trigger point for the number of workers sponsored, a B-rated sponsor whose action plan needs assessing, and a request from the sponsor itself.[2]Home Office, PBS Worker and Temporary Worker: sponsor compliance visits (guidance for Home Office staff, accessible version) Officers may also verify information in the licence application, inspect records, interview sponsored workers and staff who recruit them, and check that the sponsor is preventing illegal working. They may take photographs of the premises.[1]Home Office, Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 3: sponsor duties and compliance (accessible version)
What the sponsor must do
The sponsor must co-operate and allow staff full access to any premises or sites under its control on demand. If sponsored workers work at a third party’s office, the sponsor must make sure that party knows an unannounced visit may happen and must secure its co-operation.[1]Home Office, Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 3: sponsor duties and compliance (accessible version) The sponsor guidance does not tolerate abusive, intimidating or threatening behaviour towards officers.[1]Home Office, Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 3: sponsor duties and compliance (accessible version)
Officers do not have to give notice. The staff guidance says visits should normally be unannounced, and gives reasons such as an intelligence-led request or serious concerns from earlier visits. It says officers must not force entry. If a sponsor refuses access, the report records that the sponsor was non-compliant, which may result in the licence being refused or revoked.[2]Home Office, PBS Worker and Temporary Worker: sponsor compliance visits (guidance for Home Office staff, accessible version) Officers will not tell the sponsor during the visit how they assess its ability to comply.[1]Home Office, Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 3: sponsor duties and compliance (accessible version)
What can follow
After the check the Home Office decides what action to take and tells the sponsor in writing.[1]Home Office, Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 3: sponsor duties and compliance (accessible version) If the breach is relatively minor and the sponsor is willing and able to correct it, the Home Office will in most cases downgrade the licence to a B-rating and set a time-limited action plan. If the breach is more serious, for example a significant or systematic failing, it may suspend the licence while it investigates or revoke it without suspending first. See suspension and revocation.[1]Home Office, Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 3: sponsor duties and compliance (accessible version)
Example
Lakeside Hotels Ltd employs three sponsored workers. Two officers arrive without notice. The authorising officer is away. The officers carry on with the visit and speak to the managing director instead. They look at attendance records and the files for each sponsored worker, and ask the workers about their duties. Afterwards the Home Office may ask the sponsor for more information by phone, email or post.[2]Home Office, PBS Worker and Temporary Worker: sponsor compliance visits (guidance for Home Office staff, accessible version) It then decides what action to take, if any, and writes to tell the company.[1]Home Office, Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 3: sponsor duties and compliance (accessible version)
What people get wrong
The duty to allow access covers any premises or sites under the sponsor’s control, not only its main office. If sponsored workers work at a third party’s site, the sponsor must make sure that party knows an unannounced visit may take place.
The sponsor should also not assume the officer’s questions are only about the business. Officers may interview sponsored workers, and the guidance notes that what the sponsor reports about a worker can be used to cancel that worker’s permission or to take enforcement action.[1]Home Office, Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 3: sponsor duties and compliance (accessible version)
The bottom line
A compliance visit is how the Home Office tests whether a sponsor really operates the way its licence says. The sponsor must allow access on demand, answer questions and show its records. Minor failings usually lead to a B-rating and an action plan. Serious ones can lead to suspension or revocation, so records and reporting need to be kept up to date before any officer arrives.
Common questions
Not necessarily. Visits can be announced or unannounced. Guidance for Home Office compliance officers says visits should normally be unannounced, for example where the visit is intelligence led or earlier visits raised serious concerns.
The guidance for officers says the visit should continue. If key personnel are not there, the officer speaks to another relevant person, such as an owner, a director or someone in day-to-day running. The Home Office may follow up later.
A sponsor must allow staff full access to premises it controls on demand. Officers cannot force entry, but a refusal is recorded as non-compliance and may lead to a licence being refused or revoked.
Officers carry official Home Office identification. If you doubt the person is genuine, the sponsor guidance tells you to call the Home Office on 0300 123 4699.
Sources
We cite the Immigration Rules, legislation and GOV.UK guidance directly. Rules change, so each source shows the date we last checked it.
- Home Office. Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 3: sponsor duties and compliance (accessible version). Checked 11 November 2026. ↩
- Home Office. PBS Worker and Temporary Worker: sponsor compliance visits (guidance for Home Office staff, accessible version). Checked 11 November 2026. ↩