The Home Office may suspend an organisation’s sponsor licence whilst making further enquiries, if they suspect any breach of sponsor duties and/or if the organisation pose a threat to immigration control.
Impact of Sponsor Licence suspension
Suspension of Tier 2 licence can have devastating consequences for an organisation and should not be taken lightly. The organisation will not be able to sponsor new migrants and will be temporarily removed from the public register of sponsors during the period of suspension. The current migrant workers under sponsorship will be able to work during the suspension period.
The common reasons for suspension include failing to adhere to the Resident Labour Market Test requirements, Employees working on job description as not stated in their CoS, Not paying the right salary or making variations without meeting reporting obligations, failing to keep proper HR and Recruitment records, Unable to monitor employees working efficiently etc.
Suspension Response
Sponsored organisations are usually served with a formal suspension notice, which gives them 20 working days to respond and appeal the decision, after which the Home Office will withdraw the sponsor licence.
It will be critical to address the Home Office’s reasons for the suspension, and it is advisable to get the help of an expert immigration lawyer at this time to establish whether there is a factual error in these grounds or whether they can be refuted with supporting evidence.
Based on this written response, the Home Office will make a final judgement on whether to cancel or reinstate the licence; as a result, it is critical that all mitigating considerations are properly stated.