How To Deal With Tier 2 Or Skilled Worker Sponsor Licence Revocation

Receiving notification from the Home Office that your Tier 2/Skilled Worker sponsor license has been revoked can come as a real blow. Without the ability to continue to hire employees from outside of the UK, some businesses will struggle or even be unable to operate. It is imperative that if your business has already, or is likely to have its license revoked, that you take immediate action. By taking the right steps, it is possible to resolve the matter and have the license reinstated. In this article, we will outline how businesses in the UK can deal with the revocation of a Tier 2 or skilled worker sponsor license, with a view to having the license reinstated as quickly as possible by the Home Office. For the purposes of clarity, we will not deal with license suspension (often the stage prior to revocation) as this warrants an article in its own right.

Why Are Sponsor Licenses Revoked?

The Home Office may take action if they find problems with how you are adhering to your license holder duties and responsibilities during a compliance visit. Most businesses can expect to receive a compliance visit during the life of their license, hence it is important to ensure you are compliant at all times, and that you are prepared for an audit by the Home Office. The Home Office may arrive announced or unannounced, and their visit may be routine, or it may be triggered by a complaint against your business. Annex C1 of the sponsor guidance issued by the Home Office outlines all of the reasons why a license may be revoked, these include:

• False information was provided on the sponsor license application
• You are convicted of, or we find you have an unspent conviction for, a relevant offence
• You have stopped trading
• You stop being accredited by or registered with any accreditation or regulatory body that you need to be accredited by or registered with to get a licence or to otherwise trade legally in the UK
• You do not hold, or you stop holding appropriate planning permission or Local Planning Authority consent to operate your type/class of business at your trading address
• You pay a sponsored worker less than you said you would on the worker’s CoS
• You employ a worker in a job that does not meet the skill-level requirement
• The role undertaken by a worker you have sponsored does not match one or both of the following: the occupation code stated on the CoS you assigned to them, or the job description on the CoS you assigned to them

This list is not exhaustive; in fact, there are over 30 different reasons why a sponsor license may be revoked.

What Should I Do If My Sponsor License Is Revoked?

If your sponsor license is revoked, it will typically be revoked for all sponsorship routes (if you have more than one), meaning you will be unable to recruit workers from outside of the UK. In addition, any existing sponsored workers will have their leave reduced (curtailed) to 60 days.

The sponsor guidance states, “We will tell you in writing if your licence has been revoked. There is no right of appeal against the decision and you will not be eligible to apply again for

a sponsor licence until at least 12 months (longer in some circumstances) have passed since the date of revocation”. This clarifies that the Home Office does not provide an automatic right to appeal against a decision to revoke a sponsor license. It is also not feasible for most businesses simply to wait until the cooling-off period comes to an end to then reapply. Nevertheless, with the correct advice, there are steps you can take to remedy the matter.

At this stage, we recommend that you take the following steps:

• Engage a specialist immigration Solicitor who has the expertise and experience to help you to have your license reinstated.
• Cooperate fully and courteously with the Home Office in all dealings, whether in writing or in-person
• If not already provided, as for a copy of the compliance visit report.
• Keep all correspondence including emails, letters, and other documents

Your immigration Solicitor will review your case and determine if you have grounds to bring a judicial review. A judicial review is a court proceeding whereby a judge will review the lawfulness of a decision or action made by a public body; in this case, the Home Office. A judicial review won’t be possible in all cases, but in many situations, it will be. When selecting an immigration Solicitor, ask how they approach judicial reviews and for their experience and track history in bringing successful cases of this nature.

When bringing a judicial review, you will typically be challenging the validity of a decision made, and therefore, it is essential that a strong case backed by plenty of evidence is provided. Where a mistake has been made by the Home Office leading to the revocation of your license, this can be challenged.

There are several stages to a judicial review:

1. The pre-action stage – whereby a letter is sent to the Home Office advising them you believe they acted unlawfully in revoking your license
2. If there is no satisfactory outcome to the pre-action letter, then permission can be sought for a judicial review. A judicial review claim, statement of facts, grounds and legal arguments, and supporting documents will be lodged with the court.
3. Papers are then served on the Home Office who have 21 days to file an acknowledgement of service and say why (if they are going to do so) that the claim is unarguable and should not be considered.
4. Whether to grant permission for a judicial review is then considered by the judge
5. If granted permission, the Home Office will have 35 days to outline its case and defend the claim.
6. There will then be a hearing in the Upper Tribunal during which legal arguments on both sides are presented. At the end of the hearing, the judge will make their decision.

Wrapping Up

Receiving a notice of revocation of your sponsor license can seem insurmountable, but with the right advice, this can be a temporary setback. The key is to take action quickly and to secure the services of an immigration lawyer in whom you can trust to handle the matter successfully on your behalf, allowing you to focus on the day to day running of your business.