What happens to our care business if our sponsor licence is revoked?

If the Home Office revokes your sponsor licence, you cannot sponsor more workers, assigned CoS become invalid and sponsored workers may have their permission shortened or cancelled. Your entry is removed from the sponsor register. Care contracts are governed separately, so review commissioner and lender terms promptly rather than assuming a single automatic outcome.

Confirm the decision and its effective date

Preserve the revocation letter, delivery evidence and every document previously submitted. Record the routes affected, stated grounds, decision date and any separate action involving workers or pending applications.

Sponsor Guidance Part 3, paragraph C10.2 says revocation applies across all licensed routes, prevents further sponsorship, normally affects sponsored workers' permission and removes the organisation from the public register.

Identify every affected worker and CoS

Build a list of current sponsored workers, pending applications, assigned but unused CoS, workers overseas and people with approaching permission expiry. Do not give blanket immigration advice to the workforce.

Part 3, paragraphs C10.10 to C10.15 explain possible cancellation or shortening of workers' permission, invalidation of assigned CoS, effects on people who have not travelled and Home Office notification to workers.

Give each worker accurate factual information about the sponsor decision and access to independent immigration advice. Record what was communicated and when.

Separate sponsor consequences from care-contract consequences

The sponsor guidance does not decide whether a local authority, NHS body, lender, landlord or commercial counterparty will suspend or terminate a contract. Review the actual contract, framework terms, regulatory notifications and finance documents.

Create a contract schedule showing notice duties, change-of-status clauses, workforce commitments, continuity obligations and decision owners. Do not repeat regional anecdotes as if they were universal rules.

Stabilise lawful service delivery

Map the workforce by immigration status, role, shift and service. Identify which work can continue lawfully and safely, and which commitments need commissioner discussion. Do not conceal the decision or move people between entities without proper advice.

Keep service continuity, employment duties, worker immigration position and sponsor remediation as separate workstreams with named owners.

Preserve the evidence behind the decision

Index the decision grounds against the CoS, contracts, payroll, payment evidence, attendance, work locations, recruitment records, right-to-work checks and SMS history. Appendix D, version 08/26 identifies the principal worker records sponsors must retain.

Record what the evidence proves, what is missing and where the decision may rely on a factual or legal error. Do not alter source records.

Check the cooling-off position before planning a new application

Part 3, paragraphs C10.3 and C10.16 to C10.18 describe the cooling-off period and the requirement to address all reasons for the previous revocation before reapplying. The minimum period is normally at least 12 months and can be longer in specified circumstances.

A future application is not simply a new form. The organisation must be able to demonstrate that the old grounds have been addressed and that reliable systems now operate in practice.

Obtain advice on challenge and remediation

Part 3, C10.3 says there is no right of appeal against revocation. That does not answer whether another public-law remedy may be available on the facts. Obtain prompt legal advice about the decision, deadlines and evidence.

At the same time, correct genuine operational failures. Keep any legal challenge separate from the internal remediation record so neither depends on overstating the other.

This article provides general information, not legal advice.

Related questions

Can we keep sponsoring workers after revocation?

No. Part 3, C10.2 says the organisation cannot sponsor more workers after its licence is revoked.

What happens to assigned Certificates of Sponsorship?

Part 3, C10.12 says assigned CoS automatically become invalid, so an entry-clearance application based on one will be refused.

Will every sponsored worker get 60 days?

Do not promise that. Part 3, C10.10 distinguishes workers considered complicit from those who were not, and also considers how much permission remains.

Does revocation automatically end our care contracts?

The sponsor guidance does not determine commercial contract consequences. Review each framework, commissioner, funding and regulatory term separately.

When can we apply for a new sponsor licence?

Part 3, C10.16 describes a cooling-off period of at least 12 months, potentially longer, and requires the previous revocation reasons to be addressed.