We are happy to share another success story from NARA Solicitors. Our client has been granted a new sponsor licence, together with an allocation of 4 Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS), after a change in the company's shareholding meant the existing licence could no longer be used.
Our client already held a sponsor licence. The company's shareholding then changed, which altered the ownership structure of the business.
Following that change, the Home Office advised that the existing sponsor licence should be made dormant, and that a fresh sponsor licence application should be submitted to reflect the company's new ownership structure.
For any sponsor, this is an uncomfortable position to be in. The licence you already hold is effectively parked, and your ability to sponsor workers depends on a new application being approved.
A sponsor licence is granted to a specific organisation, based on the information given to the Home Office at the time of the application. That includes who owns and controls the business.
Sponsors have a duty to report changes to their organisation through the Sponsor Management System (SMS), normally within 20 working days. A change in shareholding is one of those reportable changes.
Depending on the nature of the change, the Home Office may decide that the licence held by the original entity is no longer the right vehicle for sponsorship, and that a new sponsor licence application is needed. That is what happened here.
This is not a formality. A new application is assessed on its own merits. The Home Office will look at the organisation as it now stands, including whether it is genuine, whether it can offer genuine vacancies at the right skill and salary level, and whether it has the HR and recruitment systems in place to meet its sponsor duties.
We assisted the company throughout the process. We also requested a CoS allocation as part of the application, so the company would be able to sponsor workers as soon as the licence was in place rather than having to apply for an allocation separately afterwards.
We are pleased to confirm that the application was successful. The company has been granted a new sponsor licence.
We also secured an allocation of 4 new Certificates of Sponsorship, so the company can continue to meet its recruitment and sponsorship needs without unnecessary disruption.
This was a particularly good result. The company moved from a previous licence that had been affected by the shareholding change to a new, fully operational sponsor licence with 4 CoS available to use.
A shareholding change is rarely thought of as an immigration issue. It is usually handled by accountants and corporate advisers, and the sponsor licence is remembered later. By then, reporting deadlines may have passed and the licence may already be at risk.
The same is true of the everyday changes that follow: a new director, a new Authorising Officer, a change of trading address, a sponsored worker moving role or leaving. Each one carries a reporting duty, and missing them is one of the most common reasons sponsors run into trouble.
This is exactly what our Sponsor Licence Compliance Guru tool is built for. It gives you a single place to track your sponsored workers, your right to work and document checks, and your reporting deadlines, so changes in your business are picked up while there is still time to act. You can use the tool on its own, or with our solicitors reviewing your changes of circumstance and running your digital compliance audits.
If you are planning a change in ownership, or you are not certain your licence still reflects how your business is set up today, speak to us before it becomes urgent. We handle sponsor licence applications, compliance audits, suspensions, and revocations, and we can tell you quickly whether a report, a fresh application, or nothing at all is needed.
Book a consultation with NARA Solicitors today, and ask us for a walkthrough of the Compliance Guru tool while you are here.
More client outcomes are on our success stories page.
