How do I sponsor a migrant?
How we can refuse a licence
This page explains the situations in which we can refuse your application to join the register of sponsors under the points-based system.
On this page
When we will refuse an application
We will refuse an application in any of the following circumstances:
- if you, or another relevant person, send any false document with your application. If this happens, and we believe that a criminal offence has been committed, we will not hesitate to refer the case for prosecution as well as refusing the application;
- if you do not meet the specific requirements that apply to the appropriate tier or category that you are applying to register under. If you meet the requirements for some of the tiers or categories, but not others, we will only licence you for the tiers or categories that you qualify under;
- if you, or another relevant person, have in the previous six months been issued with a civil penalty under Section 15 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 for employing one or more illegal workers, and the fine for at least one of those workers was set at the maximum amount (currently £10,000). We will not refuse the application if we withdrew or reduced the fine or it was cancelled or reduced on appeal;
- if you, or another relevant person, have been issued with a civil penalty for one of the offences in Appendix C of the policy guidance and have not paid it (unless we withdrew the penalty or it was cancelled on appeal); or
- if you, or another relevant person, are legally prohibited from becoming a company director (unless this is because you are an undischarged bankrupt).
Additionally, we will refuse an application if you, or another relevant person, have been convicted of one of the offences below, unless it is a spent conviction under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
- any offence under the Immigration Act 1971; the Immigration Act 1988; the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993, the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999; the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002; the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006; or the UK Borders Act 2007;
- trafficking for sexual exploitation; or
- any other offence which, in our opinion, indicates that you pose a risk to immigration control, for example, offences involving dishonesty or deception, including any of the offences listed in Appendix B of the full policy guidance of the policy guidance. Any other unspent convictions could also lead to an application being refused.
A conviction may become 'spent' after a specified period of time from the date of conviction if there have been no further convictions during that time. Spent convictions are disregarded for certain purposes.
When we will normally refuse an application
We will normally refuse an application if you, or another relevant person, have been dishonest in any of your previous dealings with us (or the former Immigration and Nationality Directorate or Border and Immigration Agency). Examples of dishonesty include, but are not limited to:
- applying for work permits despite not having, or being in the process of establishing, an operating or trading presence in the United Kingdom;
- having had work permit applications refused on the grounds that your facilities were not large enough to cope with the increased staff and there were no plans to expand to take account of that increase; and
- making false statements in any application to us, including an application for a work permit.
We can grant a licence in exceptional circumstances, such as if a former employee of your organisation was wholly responsible for the dishonesty and was dismissed when it was discovered. However, if we do grant you a licence in exceptional circumstances, we may award a B rating at first.
When we may refuse the application
We may refuse your applicaton in the following circumstances:
- if you, or another relevant person, have a previous record of non-compliance or poor compliance with the duties of sponsorship, or with the work permit arrangements;
- if you, or another relevant person, have been asked to provide evidence to allow us to decide whether you were complying with the sponsorship or work permit arrangements, and you or they refused or failed to provide that information;
- if the information available to us suggests that you do not yet have the processes necessary to comply with your duties as a sponsor. For example, your internal communications may not be good enough for you to know who has reported for work, or whether a sponsored student is absent without your permission;
- if you or another relevant person has previously had a sponsor licence withdrawn by us. You must show that the reasons for the removal no longer apply before we will grant a new licence;
- if you, or any organisation that you, or another relevant person, have been involved with in a similar role, has been removed from the register of education and training providers maintained by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (formerly the Department for Education and Skills);
- if the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) has removed the authorisation of you or any organisation that you, or another relevant person, have been involved with in a similar role. (This applies to individuals or organisations that provide immigration advice or services.)
The exact action we take in one or more of the circumstances above will depend on:
- the seriousness of the past conduct (including the conduct that led to any previous withdrawal of a licence, removal from the register of education or training providers or termination of authorisation by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner), the time since it took place and any mitigating circumstances; and
- the extent of the shortcomings in your processes or procedures, and the degree to which they lessen your ability to comply with your duties.
We are likely to give you a B rating if we give you a licence in these circumstances.