Nearly twice as many licences allowing employers to sponsor migrant workers were revoked in the year to June 2025 compared with the previous 12 months, the Home Office said, as ministers point to strengthened enforcement to tackle abuse of the visa system.
Data published by the department show 1,948 sponsor licences were cancelled in the year to June — up from 937 the year before. The department said cancellations were made for breaches including failing to provide promised work, underpaying staff and using the sponsorship system to help migrants circumvent immigration rules.
The Home Office said improved data and intelligence sharing with the police, replacing a regime that relied more on random spot checks, had led to more employers being identified and penalised for breaking the rules. Sanctions available to ministers include licence revocations, financial penalties and closure of businesses, the department said, and are part of a wider package the government is pursuing to address what it describes as "sky‑high migration." Migration Minister Mike Tapp told BBC Breakfast that "a large proportion of asylum claims and illegal migrants are actually visa overstayers" and said some employers were "scamming the system, and bringing people in when they shouldn't be." He added that the licence removals showed the government was delivering on a promise to "ensure British workers come first and have opportunities."
Employers in adult social care, hospitality, retail and construction were among the sectors most frequently cited in the cancellations, the Home Office said. The department said some businesses had exploited workers who depend on their jobs to secure their right to remain in the UK.
Opposition and industry voices reacted cautiously. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp accused the government of failing to address overall migration levels and said sectors such as care and construction remained "hooked on imported labour" because ministers had not done enough to train domestic workers or reform welfare to incentivise employment. Some business groups have warned that sanctions risk harming both firms and the migrant workers they employ, who may depend on those roles for their immigration status.
Commentators outside politics also scrutinised the figures. Alp Mehmet, chairman of the think tank Migration Watch UK, noted that nearly 50,000 organisations hold sponsor licences and argued that higher‑skill visas should require degree‑level qualifications and that employers should prioritise hiring locally before recruiting overseas.
The announcement is one of the first immigration enforcement updates under Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who moved from the Ministry of Justice in a ministerial reshuffle last week, though the Home Office said the increase in cancellations predates her appointment. Mahmood said the UK could suspend visas from countries that do not cooperate with returns of people who have no right to stay.
The Home Office framed the licence cancellations as evidence of "real action to secure our borders," while critics said the measures address abuses of the system rather than broader migration levels. The department said the strengthened enforcement and intelligence work will continue alongside other measures to target exploitation and prevent misuse of the sponsorship route.
The figures come amid continued public and political debate over immigration policy and labour shortages in sectors that have increasingly relied on overseas workers since the UK’s departure from the European Union. The government says tougher compliance checks and wider sanctions will deter employers from abusing the system; opponents say the measures must be paired with training and domestic labour market reforms to reduce dependency on migrant labour.