If your sponsor licence has been revoked or suspended, the letter from UK Visas and Immigration needs action within days, not weeks. The first thing to work out is whether your licence has been suspended or revoked. A suspension gives you 20 working days to respond and possibly save the licence. A revocation has no right of appeal and affects every worker you sponsor.
- Suspension: you cannot assign new Certificates of Sponsorship, and you have 20 working days to send written representations.
- Revocation: your sponsored workers’ visas are usually cut short to 60 days, and you cannot sponsor anyone new.
- There is no appeal against revocation. The only legal challenge is judicial review, which needs a solicitor.
- Since March 2026, the Home Office can act on reasonable suspicion of a breach, so prevention matters more than ever.
Suspension vs revocation: what is the difference?
| Suspension | Revocation | |
|---|---|---|
| Can you sponsor new workers? | No, while suspended | No |
| Existing sponsored workers | Keep working for now | Visas usually curtailed to 60 days |
| Can you respond? | Yes, within 20 working days | No appeal; judicial review only |
| Possible outcomes | Licence reinstated, downgraded to B-rating, or revoked | Usually a cooling-off period before you can reapply |
Some breaches lead to immediate revocation without a suspension first, for example serious illegal working findings or failing to cooperate with a compliance visit.
If your licence is suspended: your 20 working days
The suspension letter sets out the Home Office’s concerns and the evidence behind them. You have 20 working days from the date of the letter to send written representations. If you send nothing, revocation is very likely.
A strong response usually includes:
- A point-by-point answer to every concern raised, with documents to back each one up.
- Evidence of what you have already fixed, such as corrected right-to-work checks, updated HR records or new reporting processes.
- Supporting records: contracts, payslips, right-to-work check records, Sponsor Management System reports and training records.
- Statements from key personnel explaining what happened and what has changed.
If the Home Office accepts that the problems can be fixed, it may downgrade you to a B-rating with an action plan rather than revoking the licence. You must complete every step of the plan on time.
Received a suspension letter?
The 20-day clock starts on the date of the letter. Contact IAUK straight away for an urgent review of the letter and your records. If your case needs a solicitor, we will tell you at once and refer you.
Licence suspension and revocation help Book an urgent consultation
If your licence is revoked: what happens to your workers
When a licence is revoked, the permission of the workers you sponsor is normally cut short, usually to 60 days. In that time they can find a new licensed sponsor and apply for a new visa, switch to another route, or prepare to leave the UK. Workers found to be involved in the breach can lose their permission straight away.
The business is removed from the register of licensed sponsors and usually has to wait for a cooling-off period, normally 12 months, before it can apply again.
Can you challenge a revocation?
There is no right of appeal. The only legal route is judicial review, which challenges whether the decision was lawful. It has strict time limits and must be handled by a solicitor or barrister. IAUK does not conduct judicial review; where it is needed, we refer you to a regulated immigration solicitor.
How to check the sponsor register
The Home Office publishes the register of licensed sponsors on GOV.UK and updates it every working day. It lists current sponsors only. If an employer disappears from the register, its licence may have been revoked or surrendered.
How to avoid suspension in the first place
Most suspensions come from problems a regular audit would have found: missing right-to-work records, changes not reported within 10 working days, pay below the required salary level, or job duties that do not match the Certificate of Sponsorship. Updated guidance from March 2026 also requires sponsors to tell workers about their employment rights in writing, and salary must now be met in every pay period.
Our sponsor licence compliance checklist covers every duty. For an independent check before the Home Office visits, see our sponsor compliance audit.
Frequently asked questions
What happens to employees if a sponsor licence is revoked?
Their visas are usually curtailed to 60 days. They can look for a new sponsor, switch to another visa or leave the UK within that time.
How long do you have to respond to a sponsor licence suspension?
20 working days from the date on the suspension letter.
Can I appeal a sponsor licence revocation?
No. There is no appeal. The only legal challenge is judicial review.
Can I reapply after my sponsor licence is revoked?
Usually only after a cooling-off period, normally 12 months, and you will need to show the original problems have been fixed.
Last reviewed: October 2026. Based on the Home Office sponsor guidance. This article is general information, not advice on your individual case.
Sources: GOV.UK: sponsor guidance for employers.