Sponsor licence in 2026: the changes that reach your HR records

Sponsorship has changed more in the last eighteen months than in the five years before. Most summaries are written for the worker. This one is for the employer who holds the licence and has to keep the records. It is a summary of the position in autumn 2026, not immigration advice. Take advice from a regulated adviser before acting on an individual case.

What has changed

Salary: £41,700, or the going rate if higher

The general Skilled Worker salary threshold is £41,700 a year, or the going rate for the occupation, whichever is higher. Lower thresholds apply in limited cases such as new entrants.

For your records: the salary on the Certificate of Sponsorship is a floor for the whole period of sponsorship. Reduced hours, unpaid leave or a pay cut can take someone below it, and a change in salary is reportable.

Skill level: degree-level roles

Since 22 July 2025 a role generally has to be at RQF level 6 to be sponsored. Medium-skilled roles qualify only if they are on the Immigration Salary List or the Temporary Shortage List. The interim Temporary Shortage List is due to expire on 31 December 2026, and what replaces it had not been confirmed when this was written.

For your records: the job the person actually does has to match the occupation code on their certificate. Job titles drift. Duties drift faster.

Care workers: no new overseas recruitment

Overseas recruitment of care workers closed on 22 July 2025. Care providers can still sponsor people already in the UK in limited circumstances for a transitional period.

English: B2 for new applicants

New Skilled Worker applicants have needed English at level B2 since 8 January 2026. Those extending a visa they held before that date stay on B1.

Immigration Skills Charge: up by about a third

The charge rose in December 2025. For a small or charitable sponsor it is £480 for the first 12 months and £240 for each further six months. For a medium or large sponsor it is £1,320 and £660. On a five-year certificate a larger sponsor now pays £6,600.

You cannot pass the cost on

Sponsors may not recover the licence fee, the Certificate of Sponsorship fee or the Immigration Skills Charge from a Skilled Worker. That has been the rule since 31 December 2024, and it is one a payroll deduction can break without anyone intending to.

For your records: check every deduction and clawback clause that applies to a sponsored worker.

Right to work checks reach further

From 1 October 2026 the right to work regime extends to agency, casual, subcontracted and platform workers. We have covered that in a separate post.

The sponsor management system needs a second factor

Multi-factor authentication was added to the sponsor management system in August 2026. Make sure each of your Level 1 users can still log in, and that you have more than one.

What has not changed

The duty that catches most sponsors is the old one. You must report certain changes about a sponsored worker within 10 working days, and changes to your own organisation within 20. The sponsor duties guidance lists them. The ones that are missed are the quiet ones: a move to a different site, a change in hours, a run of unpaid absence, a worker who did not start.

What is still only proposed

The plan to lengthen the standard route to settlement, known as earned settlement, has been consulted on but is not law. The five-year route still applies. Be careful with any article that describes it as in force.

A sponsor’s monthly check

• Is every sponsored worker paid at or above the salary on their certificate, in every pay period?
• Does each person’s job, site and hours still match their certificate?
• Has anything reportable happened in the last ten working days?
• Whose visa, passport or right to work check runs out in the next 90 days?
• Is anything being deducted from a sponsored worker that should not be?

This is the daily work of the immigration agent: it compares what payroll and the rota say with what each certificate says, counts down the reporting window and drafts the report for your authorised user. It does not advise on visas and it does not submit anything to UKVI. See also our five questions to ask every week.