UK visa sponsor licence checker
Find out whether an employer holds a Home Office licence to sponsor overseas workers for UK visas, and see every change to that licence since June 2021.
Enter at least two characters. The register lists legal entity names, so "Barchester Healthcare Limited" is more likely to match than a brand or trading name.
How to read the result
- Currently licensed: the employer appears in the most recent register edition. It can sponsor overseas workers for the visa routes shown on its page, provided its rating is A. Open the page to see which routes.
- Removed from register: the entry no longer appears, so the employer cannot currently sponsor new visas. Licences are removed on revocation, surrender, expiry, and sometimes temporarily during a suspension. More on what removal means.
- No match: the name has never appeared since June 2021. Earlier editions were published only as PDF and are not searchable here.
What is a licensed sponsor?
A licensed sponsor is a UK employer or organisation that the Home Office has approved to sponsor people from outside the UK for a work visa.
Most UK work visas, including the Skilled Worker visa used for nurses, care workers, engineers, chefs and IT staff, cannot be applied for directly. The applicant first needs a Certificate of Sponsorship from an employer that holds a sponsor licence. The Home Office grants the licence, rates it, can suspend or revoke it, and publishes the list of current holders as the register of licensed sponsors. An employer that is not on the register cannot sponsor a visa. Routes and ratings explained.