Employers and overseas workers navigating the UK immigration system will often encounter two names: the Home Office and UKVI (UK Visas and Immigration). People sometimes use the terms interchangeably, but they do not mean the same thing. The Home Office is the government department responsible for overall immigration policy and control. UKVI is a department within the Home Office and handles many operational functions and procedural parts of the immigration system.
A useful way to understand the relationship is that the Home Office provides the wider legal, policy, and regulatory framework. The Home Office provides the framework; UKVI is the body that decides sponsor licence applications, decides individual visa applications, and carries out compliance activity. This distinction matters for employers and workers using the Skilled Worker and Global Business Mobility (GBM) routes.
This article covers the three stages (licence application, visa application, compliance) and the two routes, excludes student sponsorship, asylum, settlement, Border Force and Immigration Enforcement, full eligibility criteria, and case-specific advice.
Key Highlights
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The Home Office is a ministerial department, and the Home Secretary lays the Immigration Rules before Parliament under Section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971.
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UKVI is a directorate within the Home Office, formed in April 2013 when the Home Secretary abolished the UK Border Agency.
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Sponsor licence decisions are made under the Workers and Temporary Workers sponsor guidance. The Home Office issues it; UKVI publishes it on GOV.UK, and because it is not part of the Immigration Rules, it is never laid before Parliament.
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Skilled Worker applications turn on Appendix Skilled Worker, so UKVI caseworkers decide each application based on the salary, skill level and English requirements the Home Office has already fixed.
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Global Business Mobility applications turn on Appendix Global Business Mobility Routes, which sets a General Salary threshold and Going rate. The Skilled Workers section explains that the going rate and salary threshold are job-specific figures published per occupation code in Appendix Skill Occupations, that they differ for each code, and that the worker must be paid the higher figure.
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Compliance sanctions run from a B-rating and action plan through suspension to revocation, and revocation carries no right to appeal.
What is the Home Office and What Powers Does It Hold?
The Home Office is the UK government department responsible for a wide range of matters, including immigration, borders, passports, policing, crime and national security. Section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 requires the Secretary of State to lay before Parliament statements of the rules governing who may enter and stay in the UK. Those statements are the Immigration Rules
The Home Office is a ministerial department supported by several agencies and public bodies. Border Force, HM Passport Office, Immigration Enforcement, and UK Visas and Immigration are not separate bodies sitting beneath the department. GOV.UK describes them as organisations within the Home Office, operating as commands and directorates. For sponsored work routes, the Home Office sets the overall immigration framework within which employers and workers operate. This includes the Immigration Rules, sponsor guidance and associated immigration policies and procedures.
Case law – the guidance sits outside the Rules. In R (New London College Ltd) v Secretary of State for the Home Department UKSC 15, the Supreme Court held that the sponsor guidance need not be laid before Parliament under Section 3(2). Lord Sumption reasoned that Section 3(2) covers requirements which, if a migrant fails them, lead to refusal of leave, and the guidance regulated the sponsor, not the migrant. The court also confirmed the Secretary of State’s ancillary power to vet and license sponsors.
What is UKVI and Where Does It Sit in the Home Office?
UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) is a division of the Home Office and is not a separate government department or independent immigration authority. UKVI primarily handles the day-to-day administration of the immigration system. Its stated responsibilities include running the UK’s visa service, deciding applications from people seeking to come to or remain in the UK and deciding applications from employers and educational establishments seeking to become licensed sponsors.
The scale explains why sponsors meet UKVI and not ministers. Home Office recruitment material describes 14 asylum decision-making hubs across the UK and roughly 270 Visa application Centers worldwide covering 145 countries and lists sponsor licence decisions as core UKVI work.
Worked Example 1 – who published your sponsor guidance. Open the GOV.UK page for Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors, part 3. Every GOV.UK publication records the organisation that published it, and on this page that field names UK Visas and Immigration rather than the Home Office. This tells you where to direct a query about the guidance and who will enforce it, but it does not mean UKVI wrote the policy. The Home Office issues the guidance under the Secretary of State’s powers; UKVI publishes, maintains and applies it.
Who Decides Your Sponsor Licence: Home Office or UKVI?
UKVI decides your sponsor licence application, but the Home Office wrote the test against which it applies. A Caseworker checks whether your organisation is genuine, trades lawfully in the UK, and can meet sponsor duties, and may first order a pre-licence visit. The criteria come from Part 1 of the sponsor guidance and Appendix A, both published by UKVI.
Paragraph C1.5 states that sponsorship is a privilege, not a right. The Home Office removed the four-year renewal requirement on 6 April 2024, so a licence now runs indefinitely, except on the UK Expansion Worker and Scale-up routes, which are capped at four years. UKVI publishes sponsors on the public register and removes them if it suspends or revokes their licence.
Work Example – a refused application. A care provider applies for a Skilled Worker licence. The caseworker finds the trading address has no planning consent for that business type. Annex C1(e) makes this a mandatory ground for revocation. The refusal is casework; the rule behind it is policy.
How Are Skilled Worker Visa Decisions Actually Decided?
The Skilled Worker route enables approved employers to recruit eligible workers for qualifying jobs in the UK. The employer must hold the appropriate sponsor authorisation to sponsor a worker under this route. The sponsor assigns a Certificate of Sponsorship through the Sponsorship Management System. The worker applies, pays the fee and health surcharge, and gives biometrics. The caseworker then checks the occupation code, salary, English level and suitability grounds.
The Home Office framework establishes the sponsorship requirements, while UKVI assesses whether an employer should be admitted to, and remain within, that framework.
Who Runs Compliance Checks and Who Sets the Sanctions?
UKVI runs the compliance checks and imposes the sanctions, using a ladder the Home Office designed. Paragraph C7.6 lists what a check can involve: document requests, verification, an on-site visit, a digital check by video conference, and checks with other departments. Paragraph C7.7 confirms regular HMRC checks to test whether you pay what the Certificate says. Visits can be announced or unannounced, and C7.10 requires access to any site under your control on demand, including a client site.
A B-rating carries a three-month action plan you must pay for, and you can hold one only twice in any rolling four-year period.
Worked example – the illegal working penalty. Under section 15 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, an employer must check every employee’s right to work. Paragraph C7.30 states that a breach can attract a civil penalty of up to GBP 60,000 per illegal worker, and that UKVI is then likely to revoke the licence. Annex C1(h) makes revocation mandatory where two or more such penalties stand, and one sits at the maximum. From 1 October 2026, the duty extends to workers’ contracts, individual sub-contractors and online matching services.
How Do You Challenge a Home Office or UKVI Decision?
Your route depends on whether the decision concerns a worker or your license, and the two differ significantly. A refused Skilled Worker or GBM application may carry a right of administrative review under Appendix Administrative Review. That review asks UKVI to correct a caseworking error on evidence it already held; it admits no new evidence and reopens no policy. A licence refusal, suspension or revocation carries no right of appeal and no administrative review.
For licence decisions, the real work happens before the final decision. If UKVI suspends, paragraph C9.11 gives you 20 working days to respond in writing, and there is no oral hearing. That written response is where licences get saved. After a final revocation, the only court route is judicial review, which must be brought promptly and within three months. Judicial review tests lawfulness, rationality and procedural fairness. It does not re-take the decision on the merits.
Worked example – what revocation does to your people. Paragraph C10.10 sets out two outcomes. A worker knowingly complicit in the revocation normally loses all remaining permission; a worker who was not normally keeps 60 calendar days. Assigned Certificates become invalid under C10.12, and unused entry clearance is cancelled under SUI 34.1 of the Part Suitability. The sponsor waits at least 12 months before reapplying, or 24 months after a second revocation.
What Should Sponsors Do Differently on Each Route?
Skilled Worker asks you to defend the role; GBM asks you to defend the corporate link. On Skilled Worker, UKVI’s hardest questions concern the job. Is the occupation code right? Does the salary meet both the general threshold and the going rate? Is the vacancy genuine? Keep a written note of how you matched the role to its code before assigning any certificate.
On GBM, the hardest questions concern the entities. Can you provide evidence of the overseas link and the required group tenure? Have you reported new linked entities, UK or overseas, through the Sponsorship Management System? Paragraph C2.4 makes that duty explicit, and it catches out groups that restructure quietly.
Two housekeeping changes apply to both routes. UKVI is phasing out Level 2 users, and you cannot add new ones after 9 September 2026. Multi-factor authentication becomes mandatory for SMS Users from 3 September 2026. Check who holds SMS access: an inactive Level 1 User leaves you unable to report, and a missed report is a breach.
Conclusion
The Home Office and UKVI should not be viewed as two completely separate immigration authorities.
The Home Office is the government department responsible for the UK’s wider immigration system, policy and regulatory framework. UKVI is part of the Home Office and handles much of the operational work of administering that system, including sponsor licence decisions, visa casework, and sponsor compliance activity.
For employers using the Skilled Worker or Global Business Mobility routes, this distinction matters. The Home Office framework sets the requirements sponsors and workers must meet, while UKVI applies them to individual applications and monitors whether licensed sponsors continue to comply with their obligations.
Need Help With a Sponsor Licence, Skilled Worker or GBM Application?
UK sponsorship involves more than securing a visa. Employers must meet the Home Office requirements at the application stage and continue to comply with their sponsor duties throughout the life of their licence. If your business is applying for a sponsor licence, sponsoring workers under the Skilled Worker or Global Business Mobility (GBM) routes, or needs support with UKVI compliance, Sterling & Wells can guide you through the process. Contact us today to discuss your UK Immigration and Sponsorship requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
No. UKVI is part of the Home Office. It is a directorate within the department, not an executive agency with its own statutory footing, and it was formed in April 2013.
Write to UKVI, which made the decision. There is no appeal or administrative review for licence refusals, suspensions, or revocations. Your options are written representations during suspension, a pre-action letter, and judicial review within three months.
The Home Office sets it. The Statement of Changes AC 997, laid on 1 July 2025 and in force from 22 July 2025, raised the general Skilled Worker threshold from GBP 38,700 to GBP 41,700. Caseworkers apply it but cannot waive it.
Not on the GBM route itself. None of the five categories leads to settlement. A worker wanting indefinite leave must switch to Skilled Worker and meet its requirements, including the salary test at the date of the settlement application.
None is guaranteed. Paragraph C7.9 allows announced or unannounced visits, and may check a sponsor at any time, including before deciding a licence application. Paragraph C7.10 requires access to any site under your control on demand.
