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Fairhill Solicitors Recognised as an exceptional immigration law firm by our clients, Fairhill Solicitors deals with a wide range of UK immigration issues.

We work with businesses and private individuals solving their sophisticated legal issues in the most efficient way.

💸 Investing in the company sponsoring your Skilled Worker visa? The Home Office could count that investment AGAINST your...
12/10/2026

💸 Investing in the company sponsoring your Skilled Worker visa? The Home Office could count that investment AGAINST your salary.

Yes, you read that correctly.

You could be earning the salary stated on your Certificate of Sponsorship, investing your own money into the business and still find that your salary falls short under the Immigration Rules.

Here is why. 👇

1️⃣ Your payslip is not necessarily the final number.

Under Appendix Skilled Worker SW 14.2A, certain payments made to your sponsor or a related organisation must be averaged over the sponsorship period and deducted when assessing your qualifying salary.

2️⃣ Buying shares does not automatically protect you.

Investing in the company is not exempt simply because you are becoming a shareholder. The additional-benefit exception does not cover investments.

3️⃣ Not everything counts towards your salary.

The assessment generally focuses on guaranteed basic gross pay. Bonuses, overtime and allowances cannot simply be added to make up a shortfall. Your occupation code, working hours and applicable salary rules also matter.

4️⃣ Owning the business does not change the calculation.

So-called self-sponsorship is not a separate visa route. Even if you are a founder, director or shareholder, your sponsored role must be genuine, eligible and properly paid.

Before investing, check where the money goes, how the payment is classified and whether your qualifying salary will still meet the relevant threshold.

Would you have expected a business investment to affect your visa salary? 👀

For advice on your individual circumstances, speak to Fairhill Solicitors.

📞 +44 (0) 20 3878 3181
📩 [email protected]



Skilled Worker salary rules • Appendix Skilled Worker SW 14.2A • investing in your sponsor • shareholder Skilled Worker visa • self-sponsorship UK • qualifying salary • Sponsor Licence compliance

08/10/2026

🚨 Here are 4 things every UK sponsor needs to understand:

1️⃣ A salary reduction is not always permitted.

Even a temporary reduction in a sponsored worker’s pay or hours can create a serious compliance problem. The Home Office may compare actual payroll payments with the salary recorded on the Certificate of Sponsorship.

2️⃣ Health-related exceptions are not a free pass.

Certain periods of sickness or temporary reductions in hours for health reasons may be permitted. But the circumstances must meet the relevant rules, be properly documented and reported where required. An occupational health assessment may be needed, and applicable hourly pay requirements must still be met.

3️⃣ One revocation can affect your entire workforce.

If the Sponsor Licence is revoked, the company loses its ability to sponsor workers. Existing sponsored employees will normally face visa curtailment, potentially leaving them just 60 days, or less if their permission expires sooner, to secure another route or leave the UK.

4️⃣ The Home Office may revoke despite the consequences.

Even where losing sponsored staff could seriously disrupt services, affect employees or threaten the survival of the business, those consequences may not prevent revocation.

⚠️ Your payroll team could discover a £200 discrepancy. Your immigration team could discover a much bigger problem.

Audit sponsored workers’ pay every month. Compare basic salary against each CoS. Investigate discrepancies immediately and obtain advice before reducing hours or pay.

Who checks your sponsored workers’ payslips: HR, payroll or nobody? 👀

Speak to Fairhill Solicitors before a payroll issue becomes a Sponsor Licence crisis.

📞 +44 (0) 20 3878 3181
📩 [email protected]

I am Sergii Kupriienko, UK Immigration Solicitor and Managing Partner of Fairhill Solicitors. Follow for real immigration cases and practical advice for UK employers.



Sponsor Licence revocation • 60-day visa curtailment • sponsored worker salary reduction • HMRC payroll checks • Certificate of Sponsorship • Home Offi

🚨 “They are not our employee. They are a contractor.”From 1 October 2026, that answer may not get an organisation as far...
05/10/2026

🚨 “They are not our employee. They are a contractor.”

From 1 October 2026, that answer may not get an organisation as far as it expects.

The expanded Right to Work Scheme now covers certain arrangements involving workers, individual subcontractors and online matching platforms.

And for businesses, there are three things worth checking now.

🏷️ Calling someone a “contractor” is not enough.

The label in the contract does not necessarily determine whether the scheme applies. What matters is the substance of the arrangement and how it actually operates.

🔗 Liability can travel along the supply chain.

In certain subcontracting arrangements, responsibility may extend beyond the organisation directly engaging the individual carrying out the work.

The widened civil penalty and extended liability provisions apply where the employment commenced, or the relevant contractual arrangement was entered into, on or after 1 October 2026. Existing Right to Work obligations continue to apply.

🔐 You can delegate the check. You cannot simply delegate the responsibility.

Staff and other individuals acting under an employer’s control and direction can conduct checks on its behalf. But the employing entity remains responsible for ensuring the prescribed check is completed correctly and a statutory excuse is established.

So now is a good time to ask:

Who actually works for your business – beyond the people sitting on your payroll?

Review your contractors, casual workers, subcontracting arrangements and online labour platforms, as well as who conducts and records your Right to Work checks.

If you are unsure whether the new rules apply to your arrangements, speak to Fairhill Solicitors.

📞 +44 (0) 20 3878 3181
📩 [email protected]



Right to Work checks • contractors UK • individual subcontractors • illegal working civil penalty • statutory excuse • subcontractor liability • employer Right to Work duties • Home Office compliance

02/10/2026

🚫 Defined CoS rejected? You cannot simply ask for an Administrative Review.

And for growing businesses, that makes getting the evidence right particularly important.

A company may genuinely need a new manager or specialist because it is growing. The directors can no longer manage everything themselves, workloads increase and responsibilities need to be separated.

But UKVI may ask a very different question:

“If you managed without this role before, why do you need it now?” 👀

And a job description plus the correct salary may not be enough to answer it.

The Home Office may request detailed evidence of the commercial reality behind the vacancy, including:

📈 workload projections
👥 staffing records
📅 project timelines
📑 contractual arrangements
⏱️ calculations showing how much work actually exists for the role

A strong Defined CoS request should therefore explain why the role has arisen now, what the employee will actually do, why existing staff cannot absorb those duties, how the salary will be funded and how the position fits the company’s growth.

And here is the difficult part:

⚠️ There is no Administrative Review against a Defined CoS rejection.

Depending on the circumstances, the business may need to submit a stronger fresh request or consider a legal challenge where there are grounds to challenge the decision.

So if your Defined CoS has been rejected, do not simply submit the same request again and hope for a different answer.

Speak to Fairhill Solicitors first.

📞 +44 (0) 20 3878 3181
📩 [email protected]

I am Sergii Kupriienko, UK Immigration Solicitor and Managing Partner of Fairhill Solicitors. Follow for real Sponsor Licence cases and practical UK immigration advice.



Defined CoS rejection • Defined Certificate of Sponsorship • no Administrative Review • Sponsor Licence UK • genuine vacancy • small business sponsorship • Skilled Worker recruitment • UKVI CoS request

⏳ Imagine spending years working towards ILR… only for the finish line to potentially move.5 years or 10 years? For some...
30/09/2026

⏳ Imagine spending years working towards ILR… only for the finish line to potentially move.

5 years or 10 years? For some people already living in the UK, we still do not have the final answer.

On 15 September, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood confirmed that Earned Settlement is intended to become a new model of settlement, rather than simply an adjustment to the existing system.

Under the proposals consulted on, the standard qualifying period would move from 5 → 10 years for most migrants, with the possibility of reducing or increasing that period depending on factors such as contribution, integration and immigration history.

But there is one huge unanswered question:

🚨 What happens if you are ALREADY on a 5-year route?

Transitional arrangements are still being considered. Some cohorts could potentially retain their existing 5-year pathway, while different arrangements could apply to others.

And there is another important point: the Immigration Rules that apply are generally those in force when an application is made, rather than when someone first arrived in the UK.

So right now:

5 years? Possibly.
10 years? Possibly.
Final answer? Not yet. ⏳

If you are already approaching settlement, do not assume either that your route will definitely remain at five years or that it will automatically become ten.

The final rules and transitional protections have not yet been published.

Have questions about your route to ILR? Speak to us about your individual circumstances.

📞 +44 (0) 20 3878 3181
📩 [email protected]

I am Sergii Kupriienko, UK Immigration Solicitor and Managing Partner of Fairhill Solicitors. Follow for practical UK immigration updates as the new settlement rules develop.



ILR 5 years or 10 years • Earned Settlement UK • 10-year ILR proposal • transitional arrangements • Skilled Worker ILR • UK settlement rules 2026 • Indefinite Leave to Remain

28/09/2026

You have an A-rated Sponsor Licence. The occupation code is correct. The salary meets the rules. UKVI can still refuse your Defined CoS.

For many small businesses, obtaining a Sponsor Licence is no longer the finish line.

It can be the beginning of another assessment.

A Defined Certificate of Sponsorship is required where a Skilled Worker is applying from outside the UK. But holding a valid Sponsor Licence does not automatically mean UKVI will approve the request.

The Home Office may look beyond the occupation code and salary and ask whether the business credibly needs this particular worker at all.

That can mean examining:

• Is this role appropriate for the size and business model of the company?
• Is there genuinely enough work for the position?
• Does the company’s trading activity support the vacancy?
• Can the business financially sustain the role?
• Is the vacancy sufficiently clear and secure?

And this is where smaller businesses can struggle.

A perfectly genuine company may have fewer employees, lower turnover and less extensive trading history than a large organisation. That does not necessarily mean the vacancy is not real, but it can mean more scrutiny and more evidence may be needed to demonstrate why it exists.

So if you are planning to recruit a Skilled Worker from overseas, do not treat the Defined CoS request as an administrative step after obtaining your Sponsor Licence.

You may still need to prove the commercial reality behind the role.

If your Defined CoS has been rejected, or you are preparing a request, speak to us before submitting again.

📞 +44 (0) 20 3878 3181
📩 [email protected]

I am Sergii Kupriienko, UK Immigration Solicitor and Managing Partner of Fairhill Solicitors. Follow for real Sponsor Licence cases and practical UK immigration advice.



Defined Certificate of Sponsorship • Defined CoS rejection • Sponsor Licence UK • Skilled Worker overseas • small business sponsorship • genuine vacancy • UKVI Sponsor Licence • Certificate of Sponsorship

🔐 Your Sponsor Management System login is no longer just an IT issue. It is a sponsor compliance issue.The Home Office i...
24/09/2026

🔐 Your Sponsor Management System login is no longer just an IT issue. It is a sponsor compliance issue.

The Home Office is changing how employers manage access to the Sponsor Management System (SMS), and sponsors need to review their accounts now.

Three changes matter:

1. MFA is being rolled out.
Every SMS user needs their own access and authentication method. Passwords and MFA codes must not be shared between colleagues.

2. Level 2 Users are disappearing.
No new Level 2 Users can be appointed from 9 September 2026. Existing Level 2 Users will need to be upgraded to Level 1, where eligible, or deactivated by 8 March 2027.

3. Inactive accounts matter.
Sponsors are expected to actively manage who has access to their licence rather than leaving old or unnecessary users sitting on the system.

The worst time to discover a problem?

When you urgently need to assign a Certificate of Sponsorship.

Check your SMS now: who has access, whether you still have Level 2 Users, whether contact details are current and whether you have enough trained Level 1 Users if somebody leaves or becomes unavailable.

Sponsor compliance is no longer just about the workers you sponsor. The Home Office is also looking at how you control the licence itself.

Not sure whether your Sponsor Licence setup is compliant?

Comment “SPONSOR” below and I will reach out to arrange a free 10-minute introductory call.

📞 +44 (0) 20 3878 3181
📩 [email protected]

I am Sergii Kupriienko, UK Immigration Solicitor and Managing Partner of Fairhill Solicitors. Follow for practical Sponsor Licence updates and real case insights.



Sponsor Management System • SMS login • MFA Sponsor Licence • Level 1 User • Level 2 User • Certificate of Sponsorship • Sponsor Licence compliance • Home Office sponsor duties

21/09/2026

The UK allows Graduate visa holders to build businesses. But when that business later wants to sponsor its founder, the same connection can attract Home Office scrutiny.

That is the real tension in the current approach to so-called “self-sponsorship”.

The Graduate route permits self-employment and gives talented graduates an opportunity to establish businesses in the UK.

Some of those businesses become genuine operating companies: they pay taxes, rent premises, employ staff and create jobs for British workers.

But when the founder later needs sponsorship and the company applies for a Sponsor Licence, their immigration future being connected to that business can become an important part of the Home Office’s assessment.

That does not mean self-sponsorship is dead.

But the commercial reality of the business matters more than ever.

A company that exists mainly on paper, is funded only by its founder and was established shortly before that founder’s visa expires may now be exceptionally vulnerable to refusal.

A genuine trading business with a real commercial purpose, however, needs to be able to prove that reality.

If you have built a UK business and are now considering sponsorship through that company, speak to us before applying.

📞 +44 (0) 20 3878 3181
📩 [email protected]

I am Sergii Kupriienko, UK Immigration Solicitor and Managing Partner of Fairhill Solicitors. Follow for real Sponsor Licence cases and practical UK immigration advice.



Graduate visa business • UK self-sponsorship 2026 • founder sponsorship UK • Sponsor Licence for business owners • Graduate to Skilled Worker • Sponsor Licence refusal • Home Office scrutiny

⏳ A fee waiver request could buy you time. From 8 October 2026, switching to a different visa route could change that.We...
17/09/2026

⏳ A fee waiver request could buy you time. From 8 October 2026, switching to a different visa route could change that.

We have seen applicants use a fee waiver request as a bridge between visas, particularly where their existing permission was approaching expiry and timing was critical.

But the Immigration Rules are changing.

From 8 October 2026, if you make a fee waiver request in relation to one immigration route but then submit your application on a different route, you will no longer benefit from the earlier fee waiver request date.

For example:

Fee waiver → Family route
Application → Skilled Worker route

The relevant application date will be the date the Skilled Worker application is actually submitted, not the earlier fee waiver request date.

Why does that matter?

If your existing permission expires in between, the consequences could be significant. Depending on your circumstances, this may affect your immigration status, section 3C leave and future applications.

So if you have previously heard about using a fee waiver request as a “bridge”, do not assume the same strategy will work after 8 October.

If you have suddenly lost your current visa route, need to switch, or want to understand your options without unnecessarily losing progress towards ILR, speak to us before your current permission expires.

📞 +44 (0) 20 3878 3181
📩 [email protected]

I am Sergii Kupriienko, UK Immigration Solicitor and Managing Partner of Fairhill Solicitors. Follow for practical UK immigration updates and real case insights.



Fee waiver UK • 8 October 2026 Immigration Rules • visa expiry • section 3C leave • switching UK visa • Skilled Worker visa • Family visa • continuous residence • ILR UK

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