As a registered sponsor, immigration compliance is compulsory. There are onerous duties in relation to the reporting of migrants’ whereabouts and any change of circumstances. There is also an array of work visa types, each with its own requirements and responsibilities you need to meet.
We can offer training, guidance and support throughout the duration of the licence to ensure compliance with all sponsor duties.
Employing illegal workers can result in imprisonment of up to five years and an unlimited fine if you do not conduct sufficient Right to Work checks.
The Home Office expects employers to verify and retain documents in an organised system to ensure continuing compliance. Your obligations do not end once the individual starts employment. If you fail to carry out the compliance checks properly, you can be fined up to £60,000 per illegal worker.
We can assist by providing relevant training and advice to ensure checks are completed correctly in line with the Home Office guidance.
Our team will ensure that you maintain ongoing compliance with your sponsorship duties and employing migrants generally. If we identify any issues in regards to non-compliance, our team will work with you to improve your processes, recommend new procedures or best practices to ensure compliance. We can provide in-house training to your staff. We can also take on the key roles in your licence to assist with your compliance duties.
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There are many duties within the following five areas:
We can assist, either through training or management, with the above areas of duty.
If the Home Office conducts a compliance visit and finds that a sponsor is non-compliant, this can result in penalties including imprisonment, fines, licence downgrading and licence revocations.
No. But it is highly recommended as immigration lawyers are specialists in the field, know the ins and outs of the law, and stay up to date with the ever-changing immigration law landscape. Whether you want to hire a migrant as a once-off or as a regular occurrence, there is a lot that goes into hiring them, and a specialist lawyer can do it quicker and with less risk.
Right to work checks are mandatory in order to have a statutory defence for hiring illegal workers.
You can do an online check using the online service – https://www.gov.uk/view-right-to-work.
The online right to work checking service sets out the information you require to complete the check. In some circumstances, it will not be possible to conduct an online check (i.e. British, settled persons); in these cases, you should conduct the manual check or use a Home Office-approved identity service provider.
Individuals must first provide a share code to the employer to conduct the online check. The individual will generate a 9-character share code to pass to the employer. The employer should then enter the share code and the individual’s date of birth to access the online check.
The employer must then check that the photograph on the online check is the individual presenting themselves for work. This can either be in person, or by video call.
The employer must retain evidence of the online right to work check. This should include the ‘profile’ page confirming the individual’s right to work, showing the photo, and date the check was conducted.
You must carry out an online video call to satisfy yourself that the person is who they say they are. You do not need to see the physical documents as the right to work information is provided directly from the Home Office systems at the time the check is conducted.
You must carry out a repeat right to work check on all migrants with a time limit on their visa. The check must be carried out by the expiry of the initial visa and show that they continue to have permission to work beyond the expiry date of their visa.
You should obtain a Positive Verification Notice (PVN) from the Home Office. This will confirm that the individual has a pending application and a right to work whilst the application is under consideration.
A PVN can be obtained online via this link: www.gov.uk/check-job-applicant-right-to-work
There are varying penalties available if you are found to be hiring illegal workers and you have not carried out the correct right-to-work check. You can be sentenced to 5 years imprisonment and pay an unlimited fine if found guilty of employing someone who you knew or had ‘reasonable cause to believe’ did not have the right to work in the UK.
