All things Sponsor Licence: how to gain, maintain, and use one properly in 2026

Winning a sponsor licence is the easy part. The Home Office revoked 1,545 in the first quarter of 2026 alone, and most weren't lost at the application stage. They're lost afterwards, on the day-to-day duties that come with holding one: a right-to-work check not on file, a salary change never reported, a role that stopped matching the Certificate of Sponsorship it was assigned against.

Holding a licence is three jobs, not one. You have to gain it, passing the genuine vacancy test and getting your key personnel in place. You have to maintain it, reporting inside the 10 and 20 working-day deadlines and surviving a compliance visit. And you have to use it properly, so every CoS you assign holds up against what the Home Office now checks. This session walks through all three, and the rhythm that keeps a licence in good standing. Join this session: Tuesday 1 September, 11am UK. 45 minutes, live Q&A in the end.

Key learnings include::

• Gaining it first time, from the genuine vacancy test to the key personnel the Home Office scrutinises.
• Maintaining it inside the 10 and 20 working-day reporting deadlines, and what an audit officer actually checks.
• Using it properly, so every CoS you assign matches the role and meets per-pay-period salary rules.
• Building a compliance rhythm that survives a member of HR leaving.

Who should attend: HR, People Ops and operations leads responsible for a sponsor licence