As a licensed sponsor, you must report certain changes to a sponsored worker’s circumstances within 10 working days of the change - this is a legal requirement under the UK’s immigration rules.
You must report the following:
🔁 Work Start & Attendance
Worker doesn’t start the job within 28 days of the start date on the CoS.
Unauthorised absence of more than 10 consecutive working days.
Unpaid or reduced pay absence lasting more than 4 weeks in a calendar year (unless a valid exception applies).
❗️Unauthorised Absence: What to Report
If a worker is absent without permission for more than 10 working days, report it within 10 working days after day 10 of the absence. Include:
Date the unauthorised absence started
If applicable, the return date
If the worker hasn’t returned: any attempts to contact them
Whether you have made or will make salary deductions, and what they are
Whether you plan to continue sponsoring the worker
🏢 Changes to Work Location
You must report if the worker’s normal work location (as stated on their CoS) changes. This includes:
Moving to a different office, branch, or client site not previously declared
Becoming a permanent or full-time remote worker (with little or no workplace attendance)
🧑💻 Hybrid Working
You do not need to report if the worker is moving to a hybrid working pattern (e.g. mix of office and home-based work).
You must still report any changes to:
Their main office location
Any new client sites
Keep internal records of all working patterns.
🏠 Fully Remote Workers
If a worker becomes a contractual home worker (i.e. permanently remote with minimal or no site visits), you must report this.
UKVI may ask why the worker needs to be in the UK if they can work from abroad.
🚫 Not Required:
Temporary or occasional work at other sites or from home
💼 Changes to Employment
Job role, title, or duties change (if within the same occupation code and meets the required conditions).
Promotion within the same occupation code (change of occupation code requires a new visa application)
Pay reductions from the level stated on the CoS (increases do not need to be reported unless it relates to nurses/midwives completing registration).
❌ End of Sponsorship or Other Events
You must report if you stop sponsoring a worker for any reason, including:
Worker’s visa application refused, cancelled, or appeal process completed
Worker declines the job or you withdraw the offer
Employment ends early (before CoS end date). Please see this guidance on how to terminate sponsorships on the Borderless portal.
Legally required professional registration/accreditation is withdrawn (e.g. GMC for doctors)
Unpaid or reduced pay leave exceeds 4 weeks without valid exception
Worker has been granted settlement (Indefinite Leave to Remain) or another visa not requiring sponsorship
Worker resigns, is dismissed, or made redundant
UKVI tells you a reported job or salary change is not permitted
📝 How to Report
Please see this support article for guidance on how to report a change of circumstance for sponsored employees on the Borderless portal.
📍 When Reporting End of Sponsorship or Absence
Also include:
Worker’s last known residential address
Phone number and personal email addresses (if known)
✅ Changes You Do Not Need to Report
Not everything that goes wrong with a sponsored worker is a reportable change. Two questions come up often.
⏰ Persistent lateness or patchy attendance
Lateness on its own is not a reportable event. The reporting duty for absence starts at more than 10 consecutive working days without your permission.
Keep your own attendance and performance records and manage it through your normal HR process.
It becomes reportable if the worker's actual hours or pay drop below what is recorded on their CoS, or if the pattern indicates the worker is not genuinely working in the role you sponsor them for. Report it as soon as you become aware, and in any event within 10 working days.
🛂 A worker's passport has expired
An expired passport is not a reportable change and it does not affect the worker's right to work. Immigration status sits in the eVisa, not the passport.
Your existing right to work check stays valid until the expiry date recorded on it, so there is no need to suspend or end employment while a renewal is in progress. This holds even where the renewal appointment is months away.
Once the new passport arrives, ask the worker to update their UKVI account with the new number and expiry date, and take a copy for your file.
A valid passport is still needed for travel and for any future visa or dependant application, so start the renewal early where an application is coming up. See What Is an eVisa and How Do I Access Mine?.