What is the sponsorship management system?

The sponsorship management system (SMS) is the Home Office online system that a licensed UK sponsor uses every day to run its licence. Through it the sponsor assigns certificates of sponsorship, reports changes to its sponsored workers and to its own business, and reads messages from UK Visas and Immigration.

How the sponsorship management system works

The sponsorship management system (SMS) is an online system run by the Home Office. A business gets access to it once its sponsor licence is granted. It is where the sponsor carries out its day-to-day activity and reports changes to UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI).^{[1]Home Office, Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 1: apply for a licence (accessible version)}

The guidance lists what a sponsor does in the SMS. It manages its licence and services, creates and assigns certificates of sponsorship and applies for defined certificates for Skilled Workers. It also reports changes to its sponsored workers, including when it withdraws sponsorship.^{[1]Home Office, Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 1: apply for a licence (accessible version)}

The account also shows information about the licence. A sponsor can see how many SMS users it has appointed and who they are, how many certificates it has left to assign and when its certificate allocation will expire. There is a message board where the Home Office posts updates, for example changes to the sponsor guidance.^{[1]Home Office, Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 1: apply for a licence (accessible version)}

Who can use it and what they report

Only people appointed as Level 1 or Level 2 users can use the SMS. The authorising officer and the key contact have no automatic access. If they need it, they must also be appointed as Level 1 users.^{[1]Home Office, Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 1: apply for a licence (accessible version)}

Level 2 users are being phased out. From 9 September 2026 a sponsor can no longer appoint new Level 2 users, and the role will not exist after 8 March 2027. Existing Level 2 users must be changed to Level 1 users or deactivated before then.^{[1]Home Office, Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 1: apply for a licence (accessible version)[3]Home Office, UK visa sponsorship for employers: Sponsorship management roles}

The SMS is also the route for the reporting duties described under sponsor duties. The main ones are below.

The time limits for worker changes and business changes come from the sponsor duties guidance.^{[2]Home Office, Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 3: sponsor duties and compliance (accessible version)} The priority service figures come from the GOV.UK page on sponsor responsibilities.^{[4]Home Office, UK visa sponsorship for employers: Your responsibilities} If a sponsor has no Level 1 user with SMS access, it cannot use the system for these requests. It must use a change of circumstances form instead.^{[2]Home Office, Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 3: sponsor duties and compliance (accessible version)}

Security and inactive accounts

SMS users must not give their password or passcode to anyone else. If they do, the Home Office may revoke the licence.^{[1]Home Office, Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 1: apply for a licence (accessible version)} Mandatory multi-factor authentication began on 3 September 2026. It is expected to be in place for all sponsors by November 2026. The user enters a one-time passcode as well as their password. The passcode goes to a registered mobile phone by text message or, where there is no valid mobile number, to a registered email address.^{[1]Home Office, Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 1: apply for a licence (accessible version)}

A user account is inactive if it has not been used for 12 months or more. The Home Office writes to the authorising officer and any inactive Level 1 user. The Level 1 users must then log in and check their details within 3 months. If nobody does, the inactive accounts are deactivated.^{[1]Home Office, Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 1: apply for a licence (accessible version)} The guidance also recommends that a Level 1 user logs in at least once a month.^{[1]Home Office, Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 1: apply for a licence (accessible version)}

Example

Maria is the only Level 1 user at a small sponsor. She has not logged in for 12 months. The Home Office contacts the authorising officer and Maria and tells them what to do.

• If Maria logs in and checks her details within 3 months of that contact, the account stays active.
• If nobody takes action, her account is deactivated.
• The sponsor then has no active Level 1 user, so its licence is suspended. It has 28 days from the date of suspension to nominate an eligible Level 1 user.
• If it does not, the Home Office will normally revoke the licence.

The guidance says there is no cooling-off period before a new application if the only reason for revocation was this inactive account process. The sponsor would still have to pay the application fee and meet the rules in force at that time.^{[1]Home Office, Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 1: apply for a licence (accessible version)}

What people get wrong

Many sponsors treat the SMS as a system that one person logs into only when a new worker arrives. The guidance counts an account as inactive after 12 months without use, and a sponsor with no active Level 1 user has its licence suspended.

The authorising officer is responsible for the activities of all SMS users, so the guidance expects the sponsor to have a system for checking what they do. It recommends that the authorising officer checks the certificates assigned to workers at least once a month.^{[1]Home Office, Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 1: apply for a licence (accessible version)}

The bottom line

The SMS is where a sponsor assigns certificates, reports changes and receives messages from the Home Office. Access sits with Level 1 users, and the rules on passwords, multi-factor authentication and inactive accounts all carry a risk to the licence. A sponsor should keep at least one eligible Level 1 user in place and check their details regularly.