Immigration Law
Business Immigration Barristers
Specialist advice for employers and sponsored workers on sponsor licence compliance, suspensions and revocations, illegal working penalties and contested Home Office decisions.
Takes about 2 minutes. No obligation.
Barristers regulated by the Bar Standards Board
Employers who recruit from outside the UK usually need a sponsor licence from the Home Office, and with it come continuing duties set out in the Workers and Temporary Workers sponsor guidance: keeping prescribed records, reporting changes in a sponsored worker's circumstances within set periods, paying at least the correct salary for the role, and only assigning Certificates of Sponsorship to genuine vacancies. The rules change frequently, and a process that was compliant a year ago may not be now.
Most day-to-day business immigration is application work, such as licence applications, assigning certificates and Skilled Worker visa applications, and that is often handled efficiently by a Solicitor or an adviser registered with the Immigration Advice Authority. A Barrister adds most value where something has gone wrong or the stakes are high: a compliance visit has raised concerns, the licence has been suspended or downgraded to an action plan, a revocation letter has arrived, or a penalty notice for illegal working has been served.
There is no appeal to a tribunal against the suspension or revocation of a sponsor licence. Before a decision, the employer can make written representations in response to a suspension letter, usually within a short window. After revocation, the remedy is judicial review in the Upper Tribunal or High Court, which must be brought promptly and within three months at the latest, and which tests the lawfulness and fairness of the Home Office's decision rather than re-running the facts. Revocation can also lead to sponsored workers' permission being curtailed, so the knock-on effect on staff needs managing at the same time.
A Direct Access Barrister can be instructed by a company directly, through a director or in-house HR or legal team. The business handles correspondence with the Home Office through the Sponsor Management System, gathers HR records and files any court papers, while the Barrister advises, drafts representations and grounds, and appears at any hearing. Barristers are regulated by the Bar Standards Board and are permitted to give immigration advice; unregulated consultants are not.
What Business Immigration Barristers Do
Licence Suspension and Revocation
When the licence is under threat your Barrister can:
- Analyse the alleged breaches against the sponsor guidance
- Draft representations in response to a suspension letter
- Advise on whether an action plan is likely to be offered
- Prepare a pre-action protocol letter before judicial review
- Draft judicial review grounds challenging a revocation
- Advise on the position of sponsored workers after revocation
Compliance and Risk Advice
Practical advice on:
- Preparing for a Home Office compliance visit
- Right to work checks and the statutory excuse
- Genuine vacancy and salary requirements for sponsored roles
- Record-keeping and reporting duties on the Sponsor Management System
- Duties of Authorising Officers and Key Contacts
- Sponsorship issues on a merger, TUPE transfer or restructure
Illegal Working Penalties
Where a civil penalty has been served your Barrister can:
- Assess whether a statutory excuse was established
- Draft the objection to the Home Office
- Argue for a reduced penalty under the code of practice
- Prepare an appeal to the county court if the objection fails
- Advise on the risk of related sponsor licence action
- Represent the business at any county court hearing
The business files the objection and any county court appeal itself, within the deadlines stated in the penalty notice, using the documents your Barrister prepares.
What the Business Handles
Under Direct Access the company is responsible for:
- Day-to-day use of the Sponsor Management System
- Producing HR files, payslips and right to work records
- Sending representations and letters to the Home Office
- Issuing and serving any judicial review claim
- Keeping sponsored employees informed
- Paying any court or Tribunal fees
How Direct Access Works
- 1
Urgent Triage
You send the Home Office letter, the compliance visit report if you have it, and the relevant HR records. Your Barrister identifies the deadline for representations and the breaches the Home Office is relying on.
- 2
Audit of the Evidence
Your Barrister reviews each allegation against your records, distinguishing genuine failings that need explaining and remedying from findings that are factually wrong or based on a misreading of the guidance.
- 3
Representations
Your Barrister drafts focused representations with supporting evidence, including any steps already taken to fix process gaps. You send them to the Home Office within the stated period.
- 4
Decision on the Licence
The Home Office may reinstate the licence, downgrade it with an action plan, or revoke it. Your Barrister explains what each outcome means for current sponsored workers and future recruitment.
- 5
Pre-Action Letter
If the decision appears unlawful, irrational or procedurally unfair, your Barrister drafts a letter before claim under the judicial review pre-action protocol, asking the Home Office to reconsider.
- 6
Judicial Review
If the Home Office maintains its decision, your Barrister drafts the claim and grounds and represents the business at any permission or substantive hearing. The business issues and serves the claim.
Does your case qualify for Direct Access?
Tell us about your matter and we'll confirm whether you can instruct a Barrister directly, then match you with the right specialist.
Prefer to talk? Call 0800 302 9921. Lines open 8am to 8pm, same-day callback.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can we appeal if our sponsor licence is revoked?
There is no statutory appeal to a tribunal. The routes are representations before the decision, a request for reconsideration through a pre-action letter, and judicial review. Judicial review asks whether the Home Office acted lawfully, rationally and fairly, so it is important to put all relevant evidence before the Home Office at the representations stage.
What happens to our sponsored workers if the licence goes?
Revocation usually means the Home Office will act to shorten the permission of workers sponsored under that licence, unless they were complicit in a breach. Workers are normally given a period to find a new sponsor, switch route or leave. A Barrister can advise both the business and, separately where there is no conflict, affected employees.
We have been told a compliance visit is coming. Should we get advice first?
It is sensible to. A pre-visit review of right to work records, sponsored worker files and reporting history helps you identify and correct gaps before an officer finds them. A Barrister can also brief the Authorising Officer on what is likely to be asked and how to answer accurately.
We received a civil penalty notice for illegal working. What are our options?
You can pay, object to the Home Office, and if the objection is rejected, appeal to the county court. The key question is usually whether you established a statutory excuse by carrying out a prescribed right to work check before employment began. Objection and appeal deadlines are short and set out in the notice, so do not wait.
A Skilled Worker application was refused. Is there an appeal?
No. Refusals under the points-based routes, including Skilled Worker, do not carry a right of appeal. The usual remedy is administrative review, which costs £80 and must be requested within 14 days if the applicant is in the UK, or 28 days if they applied from outside the UK. It only corrects caseworking errors, so new evidence generally cannot be added.
Can a company instruct a Barrister without going through a Solicitor?
Yes. A company can instruct a Direct Access Barrister through an authorised officer or in-house team. The business must be able to handle its own correspondence and court filings. For high-volume application work or where ongoing case management is needed, a Solicitor or registered immigration adviser may be more economical, with a Barrister brought in for the dispute.
Are business immigration consultants allowed to advise on sponsor licences?
Only if they are qualified to give immigration advice, for example registered with the Immigration Advice Authority (formerly the OISC) at the right level, or regulated as a Solicitor or Barrister. Giving immigration advice without being qualified is a criminal offence, so check your adviser's registration.
What does a Barrister charge for sponsor licence advice?
Fixed fees, agreed up front. Advice starts from £250 and court representation from £850, with a clear quote before any work begins.
Licence Suspended or Penalty Served?
Deadlines for representations are short. Get a Barrister's view on the Home Office's case against your business.
Or call us: 0800 302 9921. Lines open 8am to 8pm, same-day callback.