Sponsor Licence Revoked: What to Do in Your 60 Days

If your employer's sponsor licence is revoked while you are in the UK, GOV.UK says your Certificate of Sponsorship is cancelled and your visa will normally be limited to 60 days, or the time already left on it if that is shorter. You must leave the sponsored job and either make a new visa application within the permitted time or leave the UK.

The exact deadline in your Home Office notice matters more than counting 60 days from a rumour, an employer announcement or the day you happened to read an email.

Revocation and suspension are not the same

The official guidance for employees whose sponsor loses its licence distinguishes the two situations.

If the licence is revoked

For a worker already in the UK:

• the CoS is cancelled;
• permission is normally curtailed to 60 days or the remaining permission, whichever is shorter; and
• the worker must leave the job and the UK unless they make a new visa application in time.

If the Home Office decides you were involved in the reasons for the revocation, GOV.UK says your visa can be withdrawn and you may have to leave immediately. Do not assume everyone receives a full 60 days.

If the licence is suspended

Suspension alone does not produce the same result. GOV.UK says a sponsored worker who is already working can keep working while the licence is suspended. A pending extension application supported by that sponsor is normally held until the suspension is resolved. The position can then change if the licence is reinstated or revoked.

Confirm which event has actually occurred before resigning, starting unauthorised work or making an application based on the wrong assumption.

What the 60-day period does and does not mean

The period is an opportunity to make a new immigration application or arrange departure. It is not permission to keep working for a sponsor whose licence has been revoked, and it is not a guarantee that a new sponsor or visa will be approved.

For a Skilled Worker change of employer, finding a company is not enough. The new role must be eligible, the new employer must be able to sponsor it, the employer must assign a new CoS, and you must submit a valid application to update your permission before your actual deadline.

What to do, in order

1. Establish the event and your deadline

Keep the Home Office notice, check the contact details are genuine, and review your eVisa or UKVI account. Note the exact expiry or cancellation date stated for you. The public sponsor register can show that an organisation is no longer listed, but it cannot replace your individual notice or explain whether the licence was suspended, revoked or changed for another reason.

If the notice is unclear or you believe the deadline is wrong, get advice from a regulated immigration adviser or immigration solicitor promptly.

2. Stop relying on the old sponsorship

After revocation, follow the Home Office instruction to leave the sponsored job. Do not assume that the old CoS, an unexpired employment contract or outstanding wages preserve your right to work for that employer.

Keep employment records and seek separate employment-law advice if wages are unpaid or you have been exploited. Immigration status and an employer's obligations to pay money already owed are different issues.

3. Identify every realistic immigration option

Consider both:

• a new eligible job with a licensed sponsor and an application to update your Skilled Worker permission; and
• any different immigration route for which you genuinely qualify.

Do not wait until the final days to find out that a role, salary, occupation code or proposed sponsor is not eligible.

4. For a new sponsored job, finish the application steps in time

Verify the exact legal employer against the official register of licensed Worker and Temporary Worker sponsors, confirm the role and salary rules, obtain a new CoS, and submit the correct application before your curtailed permission expires.

The official change-of-employer guidance says you should not start the new job until the new permission is confirmed. It also says that leaving the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man while the application is pending will withdraw it.

Save the submission confirmation and payment evidence. If timing or application validity is in doubt, take regulated advice rather than relying on the fact that an online form was started.

Care workers in England: use the regional support offer

International Care Workers and Senior Care Workers in England on the Health and Care Worker visa can contact the government-backed regional support offer for workers affected by sponsor-licence revocation. The service can include help understanding status and employment rights, finding a new sponsoring employer, financial-support signposting and wellbeing support. The GOV.UK page provides the regional contact details.

This offer applies to adult social care workers in England; social care is devolved elsewhere in the UK.

Avoid scams targeted at people under deadline pressure

Revocation creates exactly the urgency scammers use. Warning signs include payment for a "guaranteed" sponsor match, a CoS offered for sale, pressure to transfer money before an interview, and a recruiter who will not let you verify the offer through the employer's independently sourced contact details.

A place on the sponsor register does not authenticate the person contacting you. Verify both the employer and the specific vacancy.

How to spot a sponsorship scam

Search licensed sponsor companies now

Sources and verification

This guide was checked on 3 August 2026 against:

• GOV.UK: employees if a visa sponsor loses its licence;
• Home Office sponsor compliance guidance, especially the consequences of suspension and revocation;
• GOV.UK: update a Skilled Worker visa after changing job or employer; and
• Department of Health and Social Care: support for international adult social care workers affected by revocation.

This is general information, not legal advice. Individual notices, immigration histories and application options differ. If a sponsor's licence has been revoked or your permission curtailed, get regulated advice about your own deadline and options as soon as possible.