Guide for care providers
Sponsor licence: what it costs, who needs one and how to apply
Last reviewed: 16 October 2026
Written for UK care providers. This isn't official guidance, so check the gov.uk guidance on sponsoring workers before you act.
What is a sponsor licence?
A sponsor licence is permission from the Home Office for a UK employer to employ workers who need a visa to do the job. Without one, you can't sponsor anyone from overseas or support a sponsored worker already in the UK to switch or extend.
Holding a licence lets you assign a certificate of sponsorship to each worker you want to employ. The worker then uses that certificate to apply for their visa. In return, you take on sponsor duties, such as keeping records and reporting changes to the Home Office.
Which employers need a sponsor licence
Any UK employer that wants to hire someone on a work visa, such as the Skilled Worker route, needs a licence. That includes domiciliary care agencies, residential and nursing homes, and supported living providers employing care workers or senior carers who need sponsorship.
You don't need one for staff who already have the right to work without sponsorship, for example British or Irish citizens and people with settled status. You'll still need to carry out right to work checks on them.
Since 22 July 2025, care providers can't sponsor care workers or senior care workers (occupation codes 6135 and 6136) who are applying from outside the UK. Workers already in the UK can switch in until 22 July 2028. Anyone switching from a different visa route must have worked for the provider for at least three months first. Other roles, such as nurses, can still be sponsored from overseas. Check what applies before hiring sponsored care workers.
Since 11 March 2024, care providers in England that carry out regulated activities must be registered with the CQC to sponsor care workers.
What a sponsor licence costs
The application fee depends on whether you're a small or charitable sponsor or a medium or large one. You're usually a small sponsor if at least two of these apply: annual turnover of £15 million or less, total assets of £7.5 million or less, 50 employees or fewer. Registered charities count as charitable sponsors and pay the small sponsor rate. Current fees are on the gov.uk page on applying for a licence.
| The fee | What it covers | Who pays it |
|---|---|---|
| Worker licence application fee £611 for small or charitable sponsors, £1,682 for medium or large sponsors | The Home Office decision on your Worker licence application. | The employer. It can't be passed on to the worker. |
| Priority service (optional) An extra £750 | A decision within 10 working days. Places are limited each day and allocated first come, first served. You're told how to request it after you apply. | The employer applying for the licence. |
Immigration skills charge. This is separate from the licence fee and is paid when each certificate of sponsorship is assigned, not when the licence is granted. Small or charitable sponsors pay £480 for the first 12 months, then £240 for each additional 6 months. Medium or large sponsors pay £1,320 for the first 12 months, then £660 for each additional 6 months. The employer must pay it and can't pass it on to the worker.
Certificate of sponsorship. Each certificate costs £525. There's more detail in our guide to the certificate of sponsorship.
What the Home Office requires before it grants one
Key personnel. You must name an authorising officer, a senior person responsible for everyone using the sponsor management system, and a key contact, the main point of contact with UKVI. You'll also need a level 1 user to manage the licence day to day. One person can hold all three roles. New level 2 users can no longer be appointed. At least one level 1 user must be an employee, partner or director, and key personnel must usually be paid staff based in the UK. The Home Office checks them for relevant convictions and immigration history.
HR systems. You need processes that let you meet sponsor duties: monitoring each worker's immigration status, tracking absences and reporting changes within the deadlines. The Home Office may visit to check these exist before it decides.
Record keeping. The sponsor guidance sets out which records you must keep and for how long. See the sponsor guidance on gov.uk.
Genuineness test. The Home Office must be satisfied that your business is real and operating lawfully, and that the roles you want to fill are real vacancies that meet the route's skill and salary rules. For care providers, that usually means showing your registration, contracts and enough work to support the hours you're offering.
How to apply for a sponsor licence
- Check that your organisation is eligible and that the roles you want to fill qualify for the Skilled Worker route.
- Choose your authorising officer, key contact and level 1 user, and confirm each of them meets the Home Office's suitability rules.
- Make sure your HR and record keeping processes can meet sponsor duties before you apply, since the Home Office may inspect them.
- Gather your supporting documents. You'll need to send the documents listed in Appendix A of the sponsor guidance. Care providers in England sponsoring care roles will need to show their CQC registration.
- Complete the online application on gov.uk and pay the application fee for your sponsor size.
- Send your supporting documents and the submission sheet within 5 working days of submitting the online application. Email them to the address on the submission sheet, in PDF, JPEG or PNG format.
- Prepare for a possible compliance visit, and respond promptly to any request for more information.
- Once granted, request your certificate of sponsorship allocation and set up your level 1 user access to the sponsor management system.
The full process is on gov.uk: apply for your licence.
How long it takes, and how long it lasts
Processing time. Most applications are decided in less than 8 weeks. UKVI may visit your business first. With the priority service, you get a decision within 10 working days for an extra £750, if a place is available.
Licence duration. A licence lasts 10 years. It stays in place for that time unless you surrender it or the Home Office suspends or revokes it. Since 6 April 2024, sponsors no longer need to renew their licence every four years.
Renewing, and what gets a licence refused or revoked
Renewal. Licences no longer need renewing every four years, and there's no renewal fee. Licences due to expire on or after 6 April 2024 were extended to 10 years automatically.
Refusal. Applications are often refused for missing documents, weak HR systems or roles that don't look genuine. Unsuitable key personnel, such as someone with unspent relevant convictions, can also lead to refusal. After a refusal there's usually a 6-month wait before reapplying, which can be longer if false documents were involved. The application fee isn't normally refunded. If you think the refusal was a caseworker mistake or your documents weren't considered, you can request a review, but not simply because you disagree.
Revocation. If the Home Office finds you've breached sponsor duties, it can downgrade, suspend or revoke your licence. On revocation, sponsored workers' visas are usually cut to 60 days, or less if they had less time left. For a care provider, that can mean losing a large part of the rota at once. The provider normally can't apply again for at least 12 months.
Lifted monitors sponsor licence compliance for care providers all year round. If you'd like us to check where your licence stands, you can book a call with our team.