How do I sponsor a migrant?
What happens to migrants if we take action
This page explains what happens to migrants if we take action against you as a sponsor under the points based system.
On this page
What happens to migrants when we suspend your licence
If we are considering action against you that could lead to us withdrawing your licence we will not consider applications from any migrants that you have issued a certificate of sponsorship to until we have made a decision yours status.
If a migrant has been given permission to enter the United Kingdom based on a certificate of sponsorship issued by you, but has not yet travelled to the United Kingdom, they will be allowed to enter and start working or studying with the sponsor. However, we advise all migrants to check the status of their sponsor's licence before they travel and we recommend that migrants do not travel to the United Kingdom if their sponsor's licence has been suspended.
During the time we are making the decision, we will not tell migrants who have been given a certificate of sponsorship by you and are already in the United Kingdom about the suspension.
What happens to migrants if we withdraw your licence
If we withdraw your licence, we will:
- immediately end the permission to stay in the United Kingdom of any migrants whom we believe were actively involved in any dishonesty by you, for example, if the migrant agreed that you would arrange a non-existent job for them so they could come to the United Kingdom; and
- reduce the length of the permission to stay in the United Kingdom of any other migrants (those who were not actively involved) to 60 days, to give them a chance to find a new sponsor. If the migrant has less that six months permission to stay left, we will not reduce the length of their permission.
If we immediately end the permission to stay, the migrant will have to leave the United Kingdom or face enforced removal.
If we reduce the length of the migrant's permission to stay, they will also have to leave or face enforced removal if, at the end of the 60 days, they have not found a new sponsor.
We will take action against any migrant who remains in the United Kingdom after their permission to stay here has expired. This may result in migrants being detained and forcibly removed from the country. Any applications they make to come to the United Kingdom within the next 10 years may also be refused.
What happens to migrants who have not yet travelled to the United Kingdom when we withdraw your licence
When you have your licence withdrawn, any certificate of sponsorship you have issued will automatically become invalid. This means that any application for permission to enter or stay made on the basis of these certificates of sponsorship will automatically be refused.
If the migrant has already been granted permission to enter when we withdraw your licence, the permission to enter will be cancelled (under paragraph 30A (ii) of the immigration rules), if they have not yet travelled to the United Kingdom.
If the migrant has travelled to the United Kingdom, they will be refused entry to the country (under paragraph 321(ii) of the immigration rules).
Terms explained
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Certificate of sponsorship
This is a virtual document (a unique reference number) that an organisation gives to migrants they want to employ, and that the migrant uses when applying.under the points-based system for coming to the United Kingdom to work, train or study. Also known as confirmation of acceptance for studies.
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Enforced removal
A legal process we follow that enables us to force a person to leave the United Kingdom if he/she has no right to be here. It may involve arrest and detention in a secure centre until the person leaves the country.