UK sponsor rules changelog

The rule — in force since 31 December 2024 (Skilled Worker / Health & Care) and 9 April 2025 (other sponsored routes); verified 2026-07-09 against sponsor guidance analyses. Confirm details against Part 3 of the sponsor guidance.

• Sponsors must not pass the sponsor licence fee, Certificate of Sponsorship fee, Immigration Skills Charge or associated administrative costs on to sponsored workers — by deduction, clawback clause or repayment agreement.
• Doing so is treated as serious non-compliance and normally leads to licence revocation.
• Visa-side costs (the worker's application fee, Immigration Health Surcharge) are treated differently — check the current guidance before agreeing who pays what.

What to do in SponsorFort

1. Review employment contracts and repayment agreements for clawback clauses that touch sponsorship costs — take regulated advice before relying on one.
2. Keep evidence of who paid which fee in the Vault.

What's coming — phased rollout; SMS remains the operational system for most sponsors as of July 2026 (verified 2026-07-09).

• The Home Office is introducing Sponsor UK, a new online sponsorship service that will replace the Sponsor Management System in phases.
• A notable structural change: Sponsor UK has no Level 2 users — everyone with access must meet Level 1 user criteria. If your key personnel model relies on Level 2 users, review who will need access.

What to do in SponsorFort

1. Keep your key personnel details current under Settings → Licence.
2. When your organisation is migrated, update the portal choice there too.

What's changing — commencement not re-verified against the final rules yet; treat the date as expected, not confirmed.

• The Graduate route is expected to shorten to 18 months for new applications from 1 January 2027.
• Graduate-route employees will reach the point of needing sponsorship sooner. If you employ people on this route and want to keep them, plan the Skilled Worker switch earlier.

What to do in SponsorFort

1. Note which of your workers hold Graduate-route permission (visa route field).
2. Watch their visa-expiry reminders — switching takes lead time and a CoS allocation.

What's changing — verified 2026-07-09 (interim Temporary Shortage List arrangements).

• The Immigration Salary List — the discounted-threshold route for listed occupations — is due to expire on 31 December 2026.
• Sub-degree (RQF 3–5) occupations have only been sponsorable via the TSL/ISL since the 22 July 2025 skill-level change, so listed-occupation employers should plan for the expiry now.

What to do in SponsorFort

1. Check whether any of your standard job codes rely on a TSL/ISL listing (the occupation guides flag these as "restricted — sub-degree").
2. For affected roles, take regulated advice on the position after expiry.

What's changing — commencement per the draft Code of Practice (published 30 June 2026); confirm against the final Code before relying on the date.

• From 1 October 2026, right-to-work checking obligations expand beyond conventional employees to cover gig-economy and casual arrangements.
• If you engage couriers, drivers, or platform/casual workers, you will need a checking and re-checking process for them — not just for employees.
• Civil penalties for illegal working apply to the expanded population.

What to do in SponsorFort

1. List everyone you engage who isn't a conventional employee.
2. Log their checks under Workers → Right to work as you complete them.
3. Set re-check reminders for anyone with time-limited permission.

What changed — verified 2026-07-09 against the revised appendix.

• Appendix Skilled Occupations going rates were revised on 1 July 2026. Example: SOC 2134 (programmers and software development professionals) now carries a £54,700 median going rate.
• The general threshold stays £41,700 (new-entrant option E floor £33,400); the binding figure is the higher of the threshold and the occupation's going rate.
• SponsorFort's occupation guides were re-verified against this revision on 9 July 2026.

What to do in SponsorFort

1. Review any worker whose salary sits within a few thousand pounds of a threshold.
2. Use the salary checker on each occupation guide — it applies the revised figures.

What changed — verified 2026-07-09 against Appendix Skilled Worker / Appendix Skilled Occupations.

• Since 8 April 2026, sponsored salary is assessed per pay period and per hour worked, not just as an annual figure. A salary that averages out fine across the year can still breach in a heavy month.
• Standard going rates carry a £17.13/hour floor (£12.82/hour for occupations priced on the 25th-percentile table).
• Separately, the Home Office can cross-reference HMRC payroll data against the salary stated on the CoS — discrepancies surface without a visit.

What to do in SponsorFort

1. Make sure each worker's salary field matches the CoS figure exactly.
2. Check workers whose hours vary month to month — the hourly floor is the binding rule.
3. Keep payslip evidence in the Vault so the paper trail matches payroll.