Each Spring brings new immigration headlines and related challenges for UK employers. This year is no exception. The backdrop this year is a ramping up of Home Office enforcement action. This is related to increased data-sharing across government systems such as HMRC, PAYE and Companies House to identify compliance and reporting breaches by employers with licences to sponsor migrants.
The other major development is the expansion of right to work checks for all organisations following last year’s Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act. Right to work checks and the large financial penalties they provide protection from are set to be broadened from pertaining to employees to encompass employment “and other working arrangements” during 2026 or 2027. Employers with sponsor licences are the canary in the coalmine for this expansion of right to work practice which has already begun for them.
Below we detail key developments that sponsors must keep on top of, followed by immigration changes that all employers should be aware of.
What new right to work checks do sponsor licence holders need to conduct?
According to new guidance published this month, sponsors must now check the right to work of any worker they “directly engage” as well as their employees, whether they are sponsored or not. According to sponsor guidance updated in April and effective immediately, the government can now revoke a business’s sponsor licence where a sponsor is “employing or engaging” a worker (whether sponsored or not) who does not have the right to work or works in breach of the conditions of their permission.
Many organisations with sponsor licences will not have been carrying out right to work checks on self-employed workers and will be unaware of their status as it has hitherto not been a requirement. This is a massive expansion of right to work duties and sponsors may consider legal advice on how best to protect themselves.
Read more: 2026 right to work changes for employers with a sponsor licence
What new pay period requirements are there for sponsored Skilled Workers?
To allow UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) to intervene faster against sponsors suspected of underpaying staff on Skilled Worker visas without needing to make the comparison against a full year of averaged salary receipts, from 8 April 2026 Skilled Worker salary requirements have been changed so that they must now be consistently paid the correct salary within specific pay periods.
If the amount sponsored Skilled Workers are paid differs between pay periods, there are new rules regarding how UKVI will determine salary across a longer working pattern and also how UKVI will consider situations where a person repays their employer for certain immigration costs. It is important that sponsors are aware of the following requirements as UKVI has a data-sharing agreement with HMRC.
The salary paid in each pay period must equal or exceed the going rate for their occupation code for every hour worked in that period. Subject to permitted salary subtractions and uneven hours, if paid at a frequency of monthly or less, the salary paid over any three-month period must be at least equal to a quarter of the required annual salary. If paid more frequently, the salary paid to the worker over any 12-week period must be at least equal to 12/52 of the required annual salary.
If the worker is sponsored to work a pattern where regular hours are not the same each week, resulting in uneven pay, the sponsor must confirm the working pattern and the salary over any 17-week period must be at least equal to 17/52 of the required annual salary. The sponsor must confirm any permitted salary subtractions taking place over a shorter period than the length of time the applicant is being sponsored for, to account for differences in their salary records.
New duties to read the entire sponsor guidance
Sponsors are now required to read the entire UK Visas and Immigration sponsor guidance documents including Part 1, 2 and 3, the appendices, the route specific guidance and the glossary, and to remain aware of its contents.
These documents run to several hundred pages and often change with little notice. UKVI expects sponsors’ Level 1 Users to log into the Sponsor Management System at least once a month to review the message board. This should detail updates and we recommend this check is diarised monthly.
Ensure workers are aware of employment rights
Sponsors have a responsibility to comply with wider UK law, including UK employment law. The guidance has now been updated to specifically require sponsors to ensure workers understand their employment rights. It is worth reviewing documents provided to ensure they include details of rights such as health and safety, minimum wage and trade union memberships.
Asylum seekers may now work in more skilled roles
Asylum seekers who have waited over a year for their claim to be decided can request permission to work. Employers do not need to sponsor them. Up to 26 March 2026 they were only able to work in occupations on the UK Immigration Salary List. Eligible asylum seekers are now permitted to work in a role that appears on Appendix Skilled Occupations of the UK Immigration Rules as long as it is RQF skill level 6 or above (i.e. degree level in job skill level, not necessarily academic attainment).
Mandatory refusals for 12-month sentences, even if suspended
A 12-month or above custodial sentence is now mandatory grounds for refusal of a visa application or renewal, even if the sentence was suspended, however long ago the sentence was handed down and wherever in the world sentencing took place. There are no transitional provisions so this may affect those who were already granted permission to work in the UK when it comes to renewing their visa or applying for indefinite leave to remain.
There may be exceptions where a conviction abroad is for something that would not be criminalised in the UK and there may be some slim human rights grounds to appeal.
Youth Mobility Scheme
While negotiations continue between the UK and EU over a reciprocal temporary visa scheme for young people, this month quotas for some of the nations the UK already has a Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) agreement with increase. The YMS allows people aged 18 to 30 from eligible countries to live and work in the UK without the need for sponsorship for up to two years (though for some nationalities this is now up to three years and up to the age of 35), and in return, for young Brits to live and work in the participating countries. Applicants from Hong Kong, Taiwan and India must first apply for selection in a ballot. These are the 2026 quotas:
- Andorra – 100 places
- Australia – 38,500 places
- Canada – 10,000 places
- Hong Kong – 1,000 places
- Iceland – 1,000 places
- India – 3,000 places
- Japan – 6,000 places
- Monaco – 1,000 places
- New Zealand – 8,000 places
- Republic of Korea – 5,000 places
- San Marino – 1,000 places
- Taiwan – 1,000 places
- Uruguay – 500 places
B2 English language requirements
The English language requirement for settlement (indefinite leave to remain) in most categories under the Immigration Rules is being increased from CEFR B1 to B2. These changes take effect on 26 March 2026. However, the amendments contain transitional provisions which mean that these changes will only affect settlement applications lodged on or after 26 March 2027. B2 is in line with the English requirements for Skilled Worker, Scale-up Worker and High Potential Individual applications from 8 January 2026.
Global Business Mobility – Secondment worker: from 8 April 2026, applicants applying in this route will need to have worked outside the UK for their overseas employer for a cumulative period of at least six months (down from 12 months) before entering the route.
Seasonal Workers: applicants for a Seasonal Worker visa must not have been in the UK as a Seasonal Worker in the four months before applying. The relevant date used as a reference to calculate the period of time spent in the UK will now be the start date, as stated on the Certificate of Sponsorship, instead of the date of the visa application.
Visa brake: Afghan nationals may no longer lodge Skilled Worker applications from abroad, when applying as a main applicant. There is also a temporary brake on entry to the UK on a Student visa for Afghan nationals, as well as those of Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan.
Get advice on your spring 2026 immigration obligations
If you’re an employer navigating this year’s immigration changes, now is the time to ensure your processes are up to date. The stakes are high, non-compliance can mean losing your licence to sponsor migrant workers entirely. Claire Merritt and our Employment team work closely with immigration law specialists to provide joined-up advice for employers. To discuss your position, contact our Employment team here.
Claire Merritt, Partner, Employment Team, Paris Smith
In conjunction with Vanessa Ganguin, Managing Partner, Vanessa Ganguin Immigration Law
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