Mock Audits & UKVI

Compliance Visits
 Mock Audits & UKVI
Compliance Visits

What is the Home Office looking for during an

immigration site visit?
The Home Office is known to carry out random UKVI Compliance Checks before
a decision on your Business Sponsor Licence application is made to ensure that
you are able to carry out your sponsor duties and you have the correct Human
Resources process and procedures in place should you be granted a Sponsor
Licence.

Why will the Home Office conduct a sponsor

compliance visit?
There are many reasons why the Home Office may choose to carry out a
sponsor compliance visit, such as:

• The Home Office receiving

intelligence about the business that they
believe warrants a compliance visit

• The business is subject to a Home

Office action plan and has a B rating

• Another unit at the Home Office

wants to carry out an investigation and
suggests a joint visit with the compliance
unit

Whatever the reason for the sponsor

compliance visit, the key is to always be
‘audit ready’ so your company is prepared
for a Home Office audit.
Compliance duties
UK employers must meet their duties under the prevention of illegal working
regime. Sponsor licence holders have to meet additional compliance duties
under the licence.
The Home Office relies on a range of methods to monitor employers and spon-
sor licence holders, including UKVI sponsor compliance site visits. During a site
inspection, Home Office officials attend the employer’s premises to inspect HR
documents and processes, and to interview employees to verify immigration
compliance.
Sponsor licence holders should expect and be prepared for some form of UKVI
audit at any of the following stages:
• At the pre-licence stage of the licence application process, whereby the
Home Office will look to inspect the organisation’s HR systems and processes
before granting the sponsor licence.
• At any point during the four-year licence validity period.
• After making a licence renewal application.

The sponsor licence holders must be match-fit and prepared for an

inspection at any point.

Once you are a licenced Sponsor, the Home Office reserve the right to carry out
UKVI Compliance Checks to ensure you are complying with sponsor duties and are
taking responsibilities seriously. Understanding the Immigration Rules and Home
Office Policy Guidance & Regulations can be complex and to ensure that your
business is and remains compliant with all immigration requirements, we carry out
mock audits to be prepared.

A sponsor licence compliance mock audit is a replica

of what happens in a real onsite sponsor licence
compliance visit by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI).
Most importantly, because it is only a mock audit, any
problems that are identified will not lead to your
sponsor licence being downgraded or suspended or
revoked. Instead you will have the opportunity to fix
any issues that are discovered before you receive
actual visit from UKVI. As a sponsor licence holder
you may already be aware compliance visit from a
UKVI is due anytime but you may not necessarily
know when. Our audits provide that reassurance.
UKVI Compliance Checks to UK Business Premises
The Home Office can carry out random UKVI Compliance Checks on Sponsors and
these can be announced or unannounced. When Compliance Officers from UKVI visit
they check the following areas:

• The information you have provided is accurate and complete;

• You are able to offer employment;
• You are genuine and trading/operating lawfully in the UK;
• There are no reasons to believe you represent a threat to immigration control;
• You are complying with all sponsorship duties.

Compliance Officers at a Sponsor’s businesses

premises may:
• Photograph the location and premises from which the business is operating from
to verify the information given at the time the Sponsor Licence application was made;
• Speak to migrant workers, employees and members of the team involved in
recruitment of migrant workers to ensure that sponsorship duties are being complied
with;
• Conduct checks on other employees to ensure the business is complying with its
duties to prevent illegal working.
We frequently attend and provide assistance during planned on-site visits by UKVI
Compliance Officers which in our experience reassures the Home Office that the busi-
ness is aware of their sponsorship duties and are compliant.
Suspected Breach
of Sponsor Duties
UKVI may also request further information from Sponsors via telephone, emails and
letters and can also verify information provided to them with government departments
such as HMRC.

If Compliance Officers are not satisfied with their findings, UKVI can either refuse to
grant a Sponsor Licence or if one has been granted they can take action against the
organisation. UKVI may make the decision to prosecute key personnel of the organi-
sation under the Immigration Rules or other legislation if they are found to have
attempted deception.

UKVI want to see that you have the systems and processes in place to maintain
records and compliant practices in accordance with your sponsor licence and Right to
Work duties.

Mock Audits key areas covered:

• Record keeping duties: we can check what records and documents are being
kept, whether they are acceptable, when and how you are checking these documents and
whether you are diarising further required checks.

• Reporting duties: we can check if you are aware of what information or events
you are required to report to the Home Office using the SMS and whether you have been
doing so.

• Immigration law: we can check what systems and processes you have in place to
ensure that you are complying with the current immigration laws such as ensuring you are
employing migrants who are appropriately qualified, registered or experienced to do the
job and whether there is a genuine vacancy to employ the migrant worker.

• Genuine vacancy: while carrying out mock audits, we can interview migrant
workers to establish whether there is a genuine vacancy and establish whether they are
fulfilling their role in accordance with the appropriate SOC code and whether they are
being paid the appropriate salary.

Following a visit to your business premises, we prepare a detailed report of all findings which
will include recommendations to assist you in complying with your sponsorship duties. Our
experience indicates that most businesses do not have the correct procedures in place and all
of our business sponsor clients have found our immigration compliance service invaluable in
being prepared for actual UKVI Compliance Checks.
POST-LICENCE
ASSESSMENT VISITS
Statistically, you are more likely to encounter difficulties with a post-licence assessment rather
than a pre-licence visit. Therefore, it is important that you know what Home Office officials will be
looking for during a post-licence sponsor compliance visit. The areas include whether:

• Your sponsored staff are complying with their visa

conditions and their job roles are consistent with the
standard occupational classification code on their
certificates of sponsorship

• Your business remains a trading business

• Your HR systems are adequate to meet sponsor

licence duties

• The business activities pose a threat to immigration

control

• The original number of certificates of sponsorship

remains necessary

We can’t stress enough how important it is for sponsor licence holders to be in

compliance with their immigration duties at all times under their sponsor licence and
the prevention of illegal working regulations.
Your documents should be a snapshot of your business at any one time.
Penalties for non-compliance

With over 70 % of visits resulting in some form of UKVI action, immigration

compliance is clearly an issue for all sponsors. The Home Office requirements on
employers are onerous, and officials take a dogged and proactive approach to
enforcement. If following an immigration site visit, the Home Office finds grounds for
complaint, your organisation could face punitive action including:
• Fines of up to £20,000 per worker found to be working illegally
• Downgrading of the sponsor licence
• Suspension of the sponsor licence
• Revocation of the licence

This all impacts the organisation’s ability to sponsor points-based visa workers.
 Preparing for Home Office visit
Make record keeping a daily concern

A large part of your sponsor licence and Right to Work duties involves maintaining
accurate records. Records must at any one time be up to date and easily accessible.
They also need to be comprehensive in documenting all relevant aspects of sponsored
workers’ employment, such as absences, work duties, location and pay.
Initial impressions can go a very long way to establish your credibility as a responsible
and compliant sponsor. Poor initial impressions can mean a more detailed and
challenging scrutiny of your personnel files and HR procedures.
This means being able to present comprehensive employee records evidencing a
sustained and consistent approach to immigration compliance. If compliance issues are
uncovered where you are otherwise generally been able to evidence compliance,
depending on the nature of the breach, you may face less severe ramifications in the
context of your wider compliance.

The three steps below will help companies

that maintain hard-copy personnel files
(though they may also keep personnel
information online) show a UKVI auditor, at
DECEMBER the moment they pick up their first personnel
S
1
M T
2 3
W T F
4 5 6
S file, that:
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
• You know exactly who your sponsored
14 15

22
16 17

24
18 19 20
migrants are
21 23 25 26 27

10.1 0 PM
• You are fully aware of your
responsibilities as a sponsor
• You are keeping on top of your
responsibilities

Colour code your files

Make sure that the personnel files for your sponsored migrants are colour-coded in some
way (a particular colour of folder or marked with a sticker.) That way it’s instantly visually
clear to an auditor that you know exactly who your migrant workers are. It also makes it
easier to locate any folder you need. UKVI can turn up unannounced at any time to carry
out an audit, and they’ll usually have a list of the sponsored migrants whose files they
wish to see – if you can’t find a particular file you won’t be giving the right first impres-
sion. We hope you’re far too organised for that to happen, but it’s amazing how often
we’ve seen it occur!
 Include a checklist in each file
UKVI has clear requirements for the documents you must hold on file for every
migrant worker that you sponsor. We’re sure you know the requirements – there’s
probably a list somewhere on your computer, or maybe it’s outlined in a procedure
manual somewhere, or simply in your head – but how can an auditor ensure that you
know, unless they go through every file you have? By printing it out and putting it in
each sponsored migrant’s file anyone opening the file can instantly see that you know
what your responsibilities are and that you’re keeping on top of them.
It’s also a readily-available guide to every member of your HR staff, and if there are
changes in legislative requirements it can be instantly updated.

Maintain an immigration ‘sub folder’

Wading through reams of paper in a personnel folder to find the relevant documents
is not likely to put a UKVI auditor in a good mood. They may even miss some key
documents that are on file because they simply can’t find them, and classify you as
non-compliant in error

A BAD EXAMPLE: ‘I know that copy of the visa isn’t

signed and dated, but there’s another photocopy
somewhere in the file that is’, ‘that copy of the
contract hasn’t been signed, but there’s a signed copy
three sections back’) There’s no such thing as a
perfect way to set up a personnel file.
Every organisation has their own way of doing things,
but we would suggest that as a minimum you maintain
a section that includes:
• A copy of the Certificate of Sponsorship
• A copy of any changes reported to UKVI (salary
or job description / title)
• A copy of passport and visa or biometric
residence permit

Sponsor licence holders must keep all required records until an officer has
examined them, or, if an officer has already examined them, for at least one year
(if an employee works for less than a year, the duration of the employment).
Some documents may need to be held for longer periods to satisfy other
requirements and avoid a civil penalty for illegal employment.
 Key personnel:
You must ensure you have assigned the relevant roles under your sponsor
licence, including the Authorising Officer, Level 1/2 users and key contact.
Key personnel must understand the scope of their role and be adequately
trained to perform their duties.
Whether the same person holds multiple roles, or these are assigned to
different employees – their details must be recorded and kept up to date on
the SMS
Sponsored worker duties
One of the areas officers are likely to investigate is whether the job being performed
by the sponsored worker meets the skilled worker criteria and matches the informa-
tion on the Certificate of Sponsorship. This means the worker should expect to be
interviewed and asked about their daily duties.Ensure records are kept relating to
the worker’s employment, such as their job description.

Remember to notify of changes:

Beyond keeping records, there is a positive duty on sponsor
licence holders to report certain changes to the Home Office
using the SMS portal within certain time limits following the
change.
For example, changes to an organisation’s circumstances must
be reported within 20 days, including where a business
becomes insolvent, changes the nature of its operations or
undertakes a merger with another company.
Organisations are also required to monitor the immigration
status of their employees and report any changes and maintain
records of checks and status accordingly.

If you change company address

If your company has moved address, the Home Office needs to

know. They don’t like turning up for an unannounced audit visit to
find a completely different company in situ (yes, we have heard
of that happening.) It tends to make them nervous about what
else you might have failed to tell them.

If you change your Authorising Officer

It’s essential that you have an Authorising Officer in place at all times. That means if the
current incumbent leaves the company, or relocates overseas, or goes on sabbatical or
maternity leave, you need to appoint someone else to fill the role – even if it’s just a
temporary move. UKVI see the Authorising Officer as their key point of contact with your
company, even if they aren’t involved in the day-to-day work of immigration. They will be
e-mailing your Authorising Office from time to time, and if they get an automatic reply
telling them ‘Mr Smith left the company in 2014, please contact…’ they won’t be happy. In
their eyes if you don’t have an Authorising Officer in place then no one is taking
responsibility for immigration matters.
If you open or close a UK branch

UKVI want to have up-to-date information on your UK sites –

because that’s where your migrant workers will be based.
Unfortunately it can be easy to lose track of what you’ve told
the Home Office, because details of your branches aren’t
published on the Sponsorship Management System. That
means the only way you’ll know which addresses are in your
licence is by keeping clear records and making sure they’re
amended every time you open or close a branch.

If you establish or close an overseas branch, a subsidiary company or a linked entity

It can be even easier to lose track of which overseas companies are covered by
your licence – yet again none of this information is viewable on your Sponsorship
Management System. And if you’re part of a Group with a complex global structure,
we appreciate that sometimes UK HR may be informed rather late down the line
when a new subsidiary in Azerbaijan is established. Usually just at the point that one
of your Managers wants to bring over an employee from there to the UK. Ideally you
should be updating UKVI every time a linked entity overseas is established (or shut
down), and certainly you must have done this before you can consider transferring
an employee from that overseas company to the UK, but if your Group is constantly
opening new overseas branches or companies then we would suggest programming
in the submission of an update to UKVI every quarter, or yearly – it will depend on
how frequent those kind of changes are.

Other significant changes to the company

Takeovers, acquisitions, mergers, TUPE transfers. All of these will have

ramifications for your sponsor licence. This is a much more complex matter, so there
isn’t room to talk through all of the implications here, but in most cases these
changes have to be reported to UKVI, usually within a very tight timescale of 28
days after a change occurs. And you may need to submit a new licence application
in this timeframe too. We would strongly suggest that you take expert advice on
what is needed, at an early a date as possible.

Mock inspections
Immigration audits are highly effective in identifying compliance
risks and breaches. They also help to avoid backlog issues and
alleviate demands on a daily basis by ensuring operations are
geared towards compliance. Take a proactive approach before
the Home Office comes calling and carry out an audit of your
HR systems, documents and processes.
 Be cooperative

As with all dealings with the Home Office, you should be

cooperative if the Home Office is carrying out an inspec-
tion. Being obstructive can in itself result in enforcement
action. Ensure officials are provided access to documents
and systems, that their requests (where reasonable) are
supported and that personnel are available for interview.

We can..
• Ensure your personnel files are compliant
with your legal requirements.
• Carry out a mock audit with your
Authorising Officer and any other key personnel.
• Provide a full audit report which will
highlight areas of non-compliance and make
recommendations for improvements.
• Act as your representative when the Home
Office conducts their visit.

What to do when you receive notice of a sponsor

compliance visit?
If you receive notification of a sponsor compliance visit you have a short window
of opportunity to prepare for the visit by:

• Ensuring your key personnel will be available on the day of the sponsor compliance visit. If they
are not then it may be possible to ask for a short adjournment of the visit to ensure they are available.
Any delay should be used wisely to help prepare for the audit. If the Home Office official has asked to
see named sponsored staff for an interview make sure the sponsored employees and their paper-
work are readily available and that your sponsored staff understand the purpose of the interview

• Reviewing HR files: for all employees and ensuring that right-to-work checks were carried out
correctly, recorded and repeated as required for employees subject to immigration control with
time-limited visas

• Checking the location of all relevant files and paperwork : (if they are not all stored electronically)
as it will not look good if the file the Home Office official asks to see cannot be located or is off-site
Unannounced vs pre-arranged
sponsor compliance visits
The Home Office can carry out either announced or unannounced sponsor compliance
visits to your premises. If you receive an unannounced visit and refuse to agree to the
Home Office entering your premises to carry out the audit then they cannot force entry.
However, they could record the business as non-compliant and this may result in your
sponsor licence either being refused, suspended or revoked.

A sponsor compliance visit is likely to be unannounced if the visit is intelligence-driven

(for example HMRC reporting potential irregularities) or if there have been previous
concerns about sponsor licence compliance. As you never know if you will receive an
unannounced compliance visit, your HR, recruitment and management systems must
be sufficiently robust that you can cope with an unannounced audit.

How long will a sponsor compliance visit take?

The Home Office normally estimates that a compliance visit takes between 2 to 6 hours to
complete. Depending on the reasons for the visit (for example if it is a pre-licence or post-li-
cence visit, the size of your business and the number of sponsored staff) then the visit could
take considerably longer.

The Home Office official will also use the audit to verify the information that they think needs
checking from your sponsor licence application.

Ideally, a mock audit should be a regular occurrence, whether or not the business is selected
for a sponsor compliance visit as a mock audit picks things up early and may reduce the risk of
the Home Office selecting your business for a compliance visit.
 Preparing your key personnel and
sponsored staff
It is sensible to prepare your key personnel and sponsored staff
for potential interviews by a Home Office official during the
audit. Whilst you or your HR director may be used to being
interviewed, your level 2 sponsor management user is not likely
to be. They and your sponsored staff may find the thought of an
interview intimidating unless they are prepared.

Some Home Office officials will identify, in advance of the visit, the sponsored staff they wish to
interview. Home Office officials can also ask for specific paperwork to be available during the
compliance visit. You should not assume that the Home Office official will only interview the named
sponsored staff or that the visit will only focus on any requested documents. You should still fully
prepare for the compliance visit in case additional key personnel and sponsored staff interviews or
HR files are requested on the day of the audit.

Interviews with sponsored staff – what to expect

Unsurprisingly sponsored staff may be anxious about an

interview conducted by a Home Office official as part of
a post-licence sponsor compliance visit. If the compli-
ance visit is announced then you may find that the
Home Office official tells you in advance which spon-
sored staff they want to interview during the visit. The
likelihood is that you will not know which sponsored staff
will be asked for an interview.

Any interviews with sponsored staff may focus on whether their daily work activities fit the
standard occupation code and certificate of sponsorship job description. For example, if you
secured a certificate of sponsorship for a sponsored staff member based on a standard occu-
pation code job description of ‘accountant’ the job functions carried out by the recruited spon-
sored staff member will need to match those expected of an accountant rather than those of
a financial assistant carrying out routine administrative tasks.

Before attending the sponsor compliance visit the Home Office official will have done their
‘homework’ and checked the information held by the Home Office on sponsored staff and
may have used the computerised government records to look at the information on individual
sponsored staff’s job description and the SMS reporting on individual members of staff.
Reviewing your files:

It is essential to review your HR files before

the sponsor compliance visit to make sure
they are accessible and ‘audit ready’. Even if
you only hold electronic HR files it can be
confusing for both HR staff and the Home
Office official carrying out the compliance
visit if there are numerous saved drafts of
employment contracts or if there are dated
and undated copies of right-to-work checks.
A busy Home Office official could easily think
that the correct paperwork is not on file
when it is but just not readily identifiable.

What happens after the sponsor compliance visit?

After a compliance visit, the Home Office official will write a report and make a
recommendation about your sponsor licence. If the audit was a pre-license visit you
will be told if you have been granted a sponsor licence. If the sponsor compliance
visit was a post-licence visit, then your sponsor licence could be:

ED CA
ELL NC
NC ELL
CA ED

POSTPONED

Retained Suspended Revoked Downgraded from a

grade A sponsor
licence to a grade B
sponsor licence

Your sponsor licence should only be suspended or revoked if the Home Office official
concludes there are serious breaches of sponsor licence duties or if the company poses
a threat to immigration control.

If your sponsor licence is downgraded from grade A to B the Home Office will provide an
action plan of the steps required by you to ensure your sponsor licence is upgraded to
grade A. The action plan gives you 3 months to address any Home Office concerns over
sponsor licence compliance. At the end of the action plan period, you may receive a
further sponsor compliance visit to assess whether you have complied with the action
plan. If you have not done so then the Home Office could revoke your licence.
What does it mean to have a licence revoked?
If the outcome of a sponsor compliance visit is the revocation of your sponsor licence
you need to act quickly to assess how the revocation of your sponsor licence will affect
your business and look at your options.

If your sponsor licence is revoked it means:

• You cannot continue to employ your existing
sponsored staff and you cannot recruit new overseas JOB INTERVIEW

workers who require a sponsoring employer

• Your sponsored staff will have 60 days to find a new
sponsor to employ them. If they cannot find a new
sponsor then they will have to leave the UK
There is no right of appeal against a Home Office
decision to revoke a sponsor licence but if you think that
the decision to revoke your licence was unreasonable,
unlawful, or procedurally improper then you can apply to
judicially review the Home Office decision.

What Does A Home Office

Investigation Achieve?
The Home Office typically issues a sponsor license to last for the next four
years. Before the license approval, most sponsors would receive a compliance
visit from the Home Office personnel. When the license is issued, they may get
a post license visit which may be unannounced.

Approved sponsors can go ahead to sign employment contracts with

migrants who have the right to work. The employment contract signed
lasts within the license validity period. Audit visits enable Home Office
officials to discover and penalize companies that employ unauthorized
persons or those who are not employed according to the UK’s
right-to-work processes.
Civil penalties issued by the Home Office following its follow-up
visits to companies that employ illegal workers accrue to about
£10 million in a year. The Home Office penalizes organizations
for illegal employment at about £20,000 per breach. The
sponsorship licenses of errant companies are suspended and
about half of the suspended licenses are fully revoked.

The intensity of Home Office inspection visits

2 makes companies anxious. Home office workers
reserve the right to investigate employers and the
immigration status of their employees. They also
review files and records to check for accuracy
1 and compliance.
Employers are typically more concerned about employee productivity than immigration
compliance, but a compliance visit makes sponsored workers’ record keeping critical to
sustainable business operations. Thus, an organisation’s authorising officer or the
relevant staff must fulfil their sponsor licence duties.
As an employer, if you are suspected of employing illegal workers or non-compliance,
you may be penalised with a hefty fine, your licence may be suspended or revoked and
concerned workers’ visas may also be truncated. This will affect the level of access your
company has to the talent market and may also affect your business’s competitiveness.

What Triggers Home Office Workers Visit?

Home Office workers often choose an unannounced visit for audit runs. However, they are
fully aware that specific circumstances can trigger on-site inspection of some businesses:

High-risk business – public-facing businesses and sectors that handle sensitive

information like healthcare and hospitality industries may be more susceptible to
immigration control t han others.

There is a change in direct ownership – whether through merger, acquisition, takeover or

transfer of staff through their sponsor management system (SMS) account. If the new
sponsor already has a sponsor licence, they still need to notify Sponsorship Operations of
the update.

There is a request for allocation changes – whether follow-on allocation or in-year

allocation, additional routes may mean different expiry dates for the licences.

No compliance visits after obtaining a sponsor licence.

No inspection visit within 3 months after applying for premium sponsor licence.
Sponsor licence has expired and you haven’t applied for a renewal.
Genuine employment checks are required for the tier of sponsor licence.
Compliance visit is required for the category of sponsor licence you applied for.
Never obtained a sponsor licence.

One of the best ways to prepare for a

Home Office survey is to see it coming. As
you are unlikely to receive notice of visit,
you need to assess your readiness every
3 months to be sure of your compliance.
Home Office Audit Compliance Checklist For Employers

1. Assess Your Policies

Your organisation’s internal policy should comply with the UK immigration rules and Right
to Work Act. If your formal internal operations are non-compliant, re-evaluating it to pass
the Home Office inspection may be too demanding because of post-visit adjustments.
Part of your sponsor licence duties is to synergise your policies with the Home Office
requirements and document it. Then make it accessible to everyone in your company and
ensure they understand it.

For instance, any sponsored worker in your company

may sign a document to notify you of change in
circumstances as soon as it occurs, such as a change
in immigration route during the on boarding process.
Note that this does not absorb you of the
responsibility to conduct follow-up confirmation
especially for visa holders with time-limited work
permits.
Also, stay up to date with the Home Office to update
your internal policies as immigration policy and
legislation changes. Remember to carry everyone
along as updates are implemented.

2. Fill Authentic Vacancies

Home Office officials want to confirm that the role you are trying to fill truly exists; will be
done by the applicant; and has not been created only to provide the applicant
opportunity to apply for sponsorship. Ensure that you can prove that the vacancy you
are filling is not a sham, otherwise, it would be illegal working.
To prove an authentic vacancy, companies have to show that they advertised the
position through approved sites and couldn’t fill it. The inspector will need the HR files of
the processes used to determine that the applications received were not suitable for the
role in a process known as the Resident Labour Market Test (RLMT).

3. Seek Expert Advice

Every aspect of the inspection matters. This is why your immigration expert should
be on ground during the investigation. The presence of a legal professional shows
your dedication to maintaining compliance.
Having us on-ground will also guide the scope of operations of the UKVI officials.
Someone on your team or your immigration professional should be responsible for
record keeping duties.
4. Update HR Records
Sponsor licence holders must keep relevant and updated HR files of their sponsored
staff according to sponsor guidelines. The records should include their contact details
and right to work documents.
They also need to have attendance records and a procedure to report attendance issues
through the SMS system to the compliance officials. If a sponsored staff leaves the
organisation, the HR team must keep their records for two years after their exit.

5. Train Your Staff

The authorising officer needs to train the employees attached to their organisation’s
immigration compliance processes. Ideally, this should include a mix of HR staff,
managers and sponsored workers. The more inclusive the training quota, the better for
the compliance expertise in your organisation as a whole.
Consequently, viewing immigration compliance as a general company responsibility is
extremely helpful, compared to having a single individual bear the responsibility.

6. Practice with Mock Audits

When immigration officials are within your business premises, it is too late to prepare
for a visit. You can never go wrong scheduling a mock audit every six months or so.
Check internal policies, review files and conduct mock interviews with the employees
that are likely to be interviewed by the Home Office officials.
When you run a mock audit, ensure your immigration professional is present to assess
every aspect of your compliance, suggest areas for improvement and prepare the
interviewees and other key personnel. Regular mock checks prepare you for
unannounced inspection visits.
7. Keep Proper Records
Sponsor licence holders need to keep proper and accurate records. If there has been any
pre-licence audit, they should be recorded and regularly assessed to understand changing
scope and policies. Records must be easily accessible, relevant and up-to-date.

UKVI inspections generally rely on documentation and evidence. The better you
are at this, the more transparent, accountable and cooperative you appear. Even if
the inspection officers discover an error, your willingness to comply can protect you
from being penalised.

8. Stay Cautious
If you are lucky, you may get a short notice of an inspection, but
it can happen unscheduled. Staying cautious and expectant is
among the necessary sponsor licence duties, but it does not
end with you alone.

The pressure of the surprise or short notice can

cause an authorising officer or other key personnel
to goof during the audit visit. Integrate immigration
compliance into your normal business activities
instead of approaching it as an occasional activity.
9. Strengthen Weak Links
UKVI audit often involves interviewing a sponsored staff to confirm if their work is what they
were hired to do. Your organisation’s employment contract must clearly outline roles and
responsibilities, and legalise them.
Employees must be working in the position listed in the certificate of sponsorship (CoS)
and their job description must not be ambiguous. Adopt HR systems that will discover
overlaps and gaps in tasks and duties so they can be addressed.

10. Maintain Transparency and Accountability

You need to be cooperative to get a favourable outcome from the Home Office inspection
visit. Prepare relevant documents and evidence, attend to the request of the officers and
ensure everyone is available for the inspection exercise.
If you fail to cooperate with the UKVI team when your HR processes are compliant, it may
reflect negatively on your organisation’s ability and your licence may be flagged,
suspended or revoked.
If a sponsor’s licence has been suspended, the Home Office would invite them to address
the issues raised in the suspension letter. It is advisable for sponsors in these situations to
act quickly by speaking to an experienced legal professional before responding to the
invitation.
If the sponsor cannot properly address the concerns raised by the officials about the
compliance visit, their sponsor licence would be revoked.

When Home Office Inspection Fails

If a sponsor’s licence has been suspended, the Home Office would invite them to address
the issues raised in the suspension letter. It is advisable for sponsors in these situations to
act quickly by speaking to an experienced legal professional before responding to the
invitation.

If the sponsor cannot properly address the concerns raised by the officials about the
compliance visit, their sponsor licence would be revoked.

The Home Office may give, refuse, renew, suspend or revoke a sponsor licence
application. A poor audit result may mean that key personnel and business administrators
cannot apply for a licence within 6-12 months based on the reason for the outcome. When
employers lose their sponsor licence, it may influence workers’ visa expiry dates or their
visas may be revoked.

Our opinion:
Sponsor licence mock audit is like insurance policy and provides peace of mind that you
are covered in the event of a real-life UKVI compliance audit. Our mock audit provides the
additional reassurance that the checking process has been carried out by a person who is
independent of your business and, hence is likely to be less prone to bias and will fully
report any problems discovered. We spot any problems that may have gone unnoticed by
you and they can provide clear guidance on how to resolve them in the most effective
manner.
Contact Us
Hari Potru - Immigration advisor
07 93 93 70 70 8