Unsuccessful applications

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This article explains what to do if your application for a sponsor licence is unsuccessful. It also gives advice on what to do if an existing sponsor licence is suspended or revoked.

Unsuccessful applications

If your application for a sponsor licence is unsuccessful, the reasons for the Home Office’s refusal will help you decide your next steps.

Normally, the Home Office will send you a written decision by email.

Options to challenge a refusal decision

If your application is unsuccessful, you cannot appeal.

You might still be able to do the following:

• Make an ‘error correction request’. This is when you ask the Home Office to review their decision
• Apply again after any ‘cooling-off period’ has ended. This is the time that has passed since the refusal

Error correction request

You can make an ‘error correction request’ if you believe the refusal was the result of a caseworker’s mistake. For example:

• You think the Home Office got the facts wrong
• The Home Office didn’t consider your supporting documents

You must make a request to the Home Office within 14 days from the date of the refusal. You should get a response from the Home Office within 28 days.

The Home Office will not look at new evidence at this stage.

You can make a new application if the Home Office agree there has been a case working mistake. This includes if they did not consider your information properly.

You'll need to pay an application fee again. The Home Office should give you a refund.

Making a new application does not mean that your application will be successful.

If the Home Office maintain the refusal, a cooling-off period starts from the date of the first refusal.

A refusal decision cannot be reviewed a second time under this process.

Reapplying for a sponsor licence

You may be able to reapply for a sponsor licence after any cooling-off period has ended.

You’ll need to check that the reasons your last application was refused or revoked no longer apply.

The cooling-off period ending doesn’t mean the Home Office will accept your application. You must meet the requirements of the application.

Suspension of a sponsor licence

The Home Office can suspend your sponsor licence if:

• You don’t follow your sponsor duties
• You’re not considered eligible or suitable to have a licence

In this case, the Home Office will write to you about why your licence is being suspended.

Any workers that you’re already sponsoring shouldn’t be affected by the suspension.

You cannot give new certificates of sponsorship to workers while your licence is suspended.

You must continue to meet your sponsor duties while your licence is suspended. If your licence expires during this time, you’ll still need to apply to renew it.

Options to challenge a suspension decision

The Home Office should send you a written notice about your suspension. You have 20 working days from the date of the notice to respond.

You can ask for a review of the suspension decision. You can then make arguments in response.

You’ll need to:

• Reply in writing
• Explain why you think the Home Office’s decision is wrong
• Provide supporting evidence, if relevant

The Home Office might be able to give you more time to reply in special situations.

If the Home Office find more reasons to suspend your licence during the 20-working day period, they’ll write to you again. They’ll give you another 20 working days to reply to them. 

The Home Office should send you their final decision within 20 working days of your response. It might take longer if it’s a complicated problem or if they’re waiting for more information from someone else.

They should tell you about the reasons for their delay.

When the Home Office finish their investigation, they can either:

• Restore your licence
• Downgrade your licence
• Revoke your licence

Revocation of a sponsor licence

The Home Office can revoke a sponsor licence if:

• You stop trading
• You don’t meet the requirements of the route(s) you’re licensed for
• You’re not meeting your duties
• You’re a threat to immigration control
• You’ve committed a crime or had a fine
• You’ve acted in a way that is not considered to be good for the UK public

You can find the full list of the reasons for revocation in Annex C1 of the Home Office guidance document on sponsor duties (gov.uk)

Any licence that is revoked will be revoked in all the routes for which you’re licensed.

You won’t be able to sponsor more workers. The Home Office will normally cancel the status of any workers you’re sponsoring.

Options to challenge a revocation decision

If the Home Office revoke your sponsor licence, you cannot appeal.

You might be able to apply for a judicial review of the decision. This looks at whether the Home Office followed the right process and procedures. This is complicated so it’s important you get legal advice as soon as possible.

You might be able to reapply for a sponsor licence after at least 12 months or possibly longer (the ‘cooling-off period’) from the date of revocation.

If you apply again, you need to show you’ve fixed the problems that caused the original sponsor licence to be revoked.

Cooling-off periods

There are different cooling-off periods depending on why your licence was refused or revoked.

There is no cooling-off period if:

• Someone else applied on your behalf
• Documents were not sent by a deadline for reasons you couldn’t control
• You applied to be licensed on the Scale-up route but you don’t meet the definition of a ‘qualifying Scale-up’ sponsor.

There’s a six-month cooling-off period from the date of a refusal decision for any other reason.

There’s a 12-month cooling-off period from the date of a revocation decision.

Different penalties and cooling-off periods apply if you’ve been convicted of a crime or given a fine.

Photo credit: VisitScotland / Luigi Di Pasquale