What happens to my visa if my employer's sponsor licence is revoked?
GOV.UK's page for employees says: "You’ll have to leave your job and leave the UK if your employer loses their sponsor licence - unless you make a new visa application to stay in the UK." If you’re already in the UK, it says your "visa is limited to 60 days (or however long you have left on the visa if it’s less than 60 days)". It adds: "If you’re involved in the reasons why your sponsor lost their licence, your visa will be withdrawn and you’ll have to leave the UK immediately."
If you’re already in the UK
GOV.UK's page for employees says what happens next:
You’ll have to leave your job and leave the UK unless you make a new visa application within that time
Browse jobs from licensed sponsors
Check an employer on the sponsor register
The sponsor guidance is written for employers and gives more detail. It calls your visa your permission. It starts with this sentence:
If we revoke your licence, we may cancel (or shorten) the permission of any workers you are currently sponsoring on the Worker and Temporary Worker routes.
It then describes two groups of worker. The first group, in its words:
The worker was not actively or knowingly involved (complicit) in the reasons for revocation.
We will normally cancel (shorten) their permission so they have only 60 calendar days’ left.
We will not normally cancel the worker’s permission if, at the time we consider cancellation action, they have no more than 60 calendar days’ permission remaining.
In either case, the worker will have to leave the UK or face enforced removal if, at the end of the 60 calendar days (or by the time their permission expires if it was not shortened), they have not made an application for permission to stay on a route for which they qualify
What if the Home Office believes the worker was complicit?
The second group in the sponsor guidance, with its own example:
We believe the worker was actively and knowingly involved (complicit) in the reasons for the revocation of your licence – for example, if the worker agreed that you would arrange a non-existent job for them to enable them to come to the UK.
We will normally cancel all of their remaining permission, so that they have none remaining.
This means that they will have to leave the UK immediately or face enforced removal.
Will I be told, and what if I have applied or not travelled yet?
On telling workers, the guidance says:
We will notify all your sponsored workers of the revocation promptly, as it will affect their circumstances and they may wish to take action to address any resulting changes that will happen to their immigration status. We will not disclose to them any reasons why your licence has been revoked.
On an application still waiting for a decision (a live application):
If workers who have a live application do not vary the basis of their application (for example, to work for a different sponsor) before we make a decision, we will refuse it.
On certificates of sponsorship, the record a sponsor assigns for one job:
If your licence is revoked, any Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) you have assigned automatically become invalid. This means any application for entry clearance made on the basis of that CoS will automatically be refused.
On entry clearance, which is permission granted before you travel:
Where a worker has already been granted entry clearance to the UK when we revoke your licence, and they have not yet travelled to the UK, their entry clearance will be cancelled
GOV.UK's page for employees adds:
Check the status of your sponsor’s licence on the register of sponsors before you travel - your sponsor will not be listed if they’ve lost their licence or it’s suspended.
On staying after permission ends:
We will take enforcement action against any sponsored worker who was granted permission under the Worker or Temporary Worker routes and remains in the UK after their permission has expired. This may result in the worker being detained and removed from the UK and any application they make to come to the UK within the next 10 years being refused.
Suspended, revoked or surrendered: what changes for the worker?
These are three different actions. Each row uses GOV.UK's own words from the sponsor guidance, checked on 9 November 2026.
| Licence | Current workers (GOV.UK extract) | Register entry (GOV.UK extract) |
|---|---|---|
| Suspended (C9) | "will not be affected, unless or until we decide to revoke your licence" | "remove your entry from the public version of the register of sponsors during the suspension period" |
| Revoked (C10) | "we will normally cancel the permission of any workers you are sponsoring" | "Your organisation’s details will be removed from the public register" |
| Surrendered (C6) | "If you do have any sponsored workers, we will revoke your licence and cancel the workers’ permission in the UK." | "we will remove your entry from the register of licensed sponsors" |
The full sentences behind the shortened extracts:
Workers you are sponsoring at the time of the suspension, and who have valid permission to enter or stay, will not be affected, unless or until we decide to revoke your licence.
If your licence is suspended, it is suspended in all routes in which you are licensed and we will remove your entry from the public version of the register of sponsors during the suspension period.
You will not be able to sponsor any more workers and we will normally cancel the permission of any workers you are sponsoring. Your organisation’s details will be removed from the public register of Worker and Temporary Worker sponsors.
Once we have accepted your request to surrender your licence, we will remove your entry from the register of licensed sponsors: workers on GOV.UK.
In all three cases the guidance says the entry comes off the public register, for a suspension only while it lasts. So an employer missing from the register is not proof that its licence was revoked. This page does not list revoked employers.
What it means for your job search
Common questions
Is there a list of revoked sponsor licences?
This page does not list employers. GOV.UK's page for employees says your sponsor "will not be listed if they’ve lost their licence or it’s suspended." The sponsor guidance also removes a surrendered licence from the register, so a missing name is not proof of revocation.
How long do I have if my sponsor's licence is revoked?
GOV.UK's page for employees says, if you’re already in the UK, your "visa is limited to 60 days (or however long you have left on the visa if it’s less than 60 days)". It adds: "If you’re involved in the reasons why your sponsor lost their licence, your visa will be withdrawn and you’ll have to leave the UK immediately."
Will the Home Office tell me if my employer's licence is revoked?
The guidance says: "We will notify all your sponsored workers of the revocation promptly". It also says: "We will not disclose to them any reasons why your licence has been revoked."
Does my visa change if my employer's licence is only suspended?
The guidance says: "Workers you are sponsoring at the time of the suspension, and who have valid permission to enter or stay, will not be affected, unless or until we decide to revoke your licence."
What if I have a visa but have not travelled to the UK yet?
For a revoked licence the guidance says: "Where a worker has already been granted entry clearance to the UK when we revoke your licence, and they have not yet travelled to the UK, their entry clearance will be cancelled".