How do I check if a company has a valid sponsor licence?

Use our free sponsor licence check tool above. Enter any company name to instantly verify if they hold a valid UKVI sponsor licence. Our data is refreshed daily from the official Home Office register.

How often is the sponsor licence checker updated?

Our sponsor licence checker is updated daily. We pull data directly from the official GOV.UK Register of Licensed Sponsors every day, ensuring you always have access to the most current information about which companies can sponsor UK work visas.

What is the UKVI sponsorship list?

The UKVI sponsorship list, officially called the Register of Licensed Sponsors, is a public database maintained by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). It contains all companies currently licensed to sponsor foreign workers on Skilled Worker, Health and Care Worker, and other visa routes. There are currently over 124,000 sponsors on the register.

What is the difference between an A-rated and B-rated sponsor?

An A-rated sponsor has demonstrated full compliance with UK immigration rules and can actively issue Certificates of Sponsorship. A B-rated sponsor has been found to have compliance issues by UKVI and cannot issue new certificates until they improve. Always verify a company's current rating using our daily sponsor licence checker before accepting a job offer.

How do I check a company's sponsorship licence in the UK?

You can check a company's sponsorship licence in the UK using three methods: (1) Use our free sponsor licence checker tool which searches the official register instantly, (2) Download the CSV file from the GOV.UK Register of Licensed Sponsors website, or (3) Browse our searchable sponsor directory filtered by city and industry. Our tool updates daily from the official Home Office data.

What is the GOV.UK register of licensed sponsors?

The GOV.UK register of licensed sponsors is the official database maintained by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) listing all organisations in the UK that hold a valid sponsor licence. It contains over 124,000 organisations and includes their name, location, licence type, compliance rating, and the visa routes they can sponsor. It is published as a downloadable CSV file on gov.uk.

How to Check Company Sponsorship Licence UK

Q: What is a sponsor licence?

A sponsor licence is permission granted by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) that allows an employer to hire workers from outside the UK on certain visa routes, including the Skilled Worker visa (formerly Tier 2). Without this licence, a company cannot legally sponsor work visas.

Q: Can any company sponsor a UK work visa?

No. Only companies that have been approved by UKVI (UK Visas and Immigration) and hold an active sponsor licence can sponsor work visas. Companies must apply, pay fees, and demonstrate they can meet ongoing compliance requirements.

Instantly check if a company holds a valid UKVI sponsor licence and can sponsor your UK work visa. Our data is refreshed daily.

Data from official GOV.UK Register of Licensed Sponsors • Updated daily

How Does This Sponsor Licence Checker Work?

Enter Company Name

Type the name of the employer you want to verify

We Check the UKVI Register

We search the official UKVI register of licensed sponsors, updated daily

View Results

See if the company can legally sponsor your UK work visa

Daily Sponsor Licence Checker — Why Freshness Matters

Unlike other tools that rely on outdated data, our sponsor licence checker is refreshed daily from the official GOV.UK register. This matters because:

UKVI can revoke or suspend a company's sponsor licence at any time
New companies are added to the register weekly — catch opportunities early
A company's rating can change from A to B (or vice versa) without notice
Accepting a job offer from a company with a revoked licence could jeopardise your visa application

Our daily update cycle ensures you always have the most current sponsorship data available — making this the most reliable free sponsor licence check tool in the UK.

How to Check a Company's UKVI Sponsorship Status

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) maintains the official Register of Licensed Sponsors. Every company that wants to hire a foreign worker on a Skilled Worker visa must first be approved by UKVI and listed on this register.

You can check any company's UKVI sponsorship status by:

Using our sponsor licence checker above (instant, free, daily updated)
Downloading the full CSV from GOV.UK (manual, less convenient)
Browsing our complete sponsor directory with filters by city and industry

Our tool pulls directly from the UKVI data source, so the results you see here are the same as what UKVI publishes — just easier to search and understand.

How to Check Company Sponsorship Licence UK — 3 Methods

Checking whether a UK company holds a valid sponsorship licence is essential before applying for any visa-sponsored role. There are three reliable methods to check company sponsorship licence UK:

Use our free checker above — Enter any company name for instant results. Our data is refreshed daily from the official Home Office register, making this the fastest and most convenient method.
Download the GOV.UK register — Visit the official Register of Licensed Sponsors and download the CSV file. Open it in Excel or Google Sheets and search manually using Ctrl+F (or Cmd+F on Mac).
Search our sponsor directory — Browse 125,522+ sponsors with advanced filters by city, industry, and visa route for a more detailed search.

We recommend using Method 1 (our checker) for quick verification, or Method 3 (our directory) if you're researching multiple companies in a specific area or industry. Method 2 is the official source but requires manual effort each time.

GOV.UK Register of Licensed Sponsors — What Is It?

The GOV.UK register of licensed sponsors is the official, authoritative database maintained by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), a division of the Home Office. It is the definitive source for verifying which organisations in the UK are legally permitted to sponsor foreign workers.

The register contains:

The organisation name of every licensed sponsor
Their town/city and region
Their licence type (Worker or Temporary Worker)
Their compliance rating (A-rated or B-rated)
The visa routes they are licensed for (Skilled Worker, Health & Care Worker, etc.)

As of May 2026, the GOV.UK register contains over 125,522 licensed sponsors. Our tool indexes this exact data daily, presenting it in a searchable format so you don't need to download and manually search through a large CSV file.

Official source: gov.uk/government/publications/register-of-licensed-sponsors-workers

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I check if a company has a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS)?

A company must first have a sponsor licence before they can issue Certificates of Sponsorship. Use our checker above to verify if a company holds a valid licence. If they do, they have the ability to issue CoS documents to sponsored workers.

What is a sponsor licence?

A sponsor licence is permission from the UK Home Office that allows an employer to hire workers from outside the UK on certain visa routes, including the Skilled Worker visa (formerly Tier 2). Without this licence, a company cannot sponsor work visas.

What's the difference between A-rating and B-rating?

An A-rating means the sponsor has demonstrated full compliance with UK immigration rules. A B-rating indicates the Home Office has identified issues with the sponsor's compliance. B-rated sponsors must improve or risk losing their licence.

Can any company sponsor a UK work visa?

No. Only companies that have been approved by the Home Office and hold an active sponsor licence can sponsor work visas. There are currently over 125,522 licensed sponsors in the UK.

Where does this data come from?

All data is sourced directly from the official GOV.UK Register of Licensed Sponsors. We update our database daily to ensure accuracy.

Explore the Full Sponsor Database

Browse 125,522+ licensed UK visa sponsors by city, industry, or visa route.

Browse All Sponsors