Why this matters
Appendix D of the sponsor guidance lists the documents the Home Office expects you to hold for every person you sponsor. A compliance officer can ask for any of them at an announced or unannounced visit. This article covers the records that apply to Skilled Worker and Health and Care Worker sponsors. Route-specific items for sport, creative, religious and Global Business Mobility routes are not covered here.
How long you must keep records
Keep documents for a sponsored individual for the whole period of sponsorship and then until the earlier of "one year after the date on which your sponsorship of the worker ended" or the date "a compliance officer has examined and approved them". Keep the documents you submitted with your sponsor licence application for as long as you hold the licence. Some documents must be kept longer under other legislation, such as right to work evidence under illegal working rules.
Records can be paper or electronic. There is no set storage method, but "you must be able to make them available to us on request". You must also comply with the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR.
Right to work and date of entry
Keep evidence of the right to work check for every person you employ and every person you sponsor, carried out before they start work. Where another organisation employs the individual you sponsor, keep a copy of that organisation's check or carry out your own. From 1 October 2026 the Right to Work Scheme also applies to working arrangements beyond traditional employment, so check the current Home Office employer's guide for who is in scope. See Right to Work Checks for Sponsors.
For individuals aged under 16, keep a screenshot of their live eVisa, as the online check service is not available for them.
If you sponsored an entry clearance visa, keep evidence the individual entered the UK during the visa's validity period. For eVisa-only individuals that is a copy of the passport page with the entry stamp. Where there is no stamp, record the date of entry and check travel evidence such as a boarding pass, but do not keep a copy of it.
Recruitment evidence
If you advertised the role, keep the advert (screenshot, printout or the advert text), where it ran and for how long, the number of applicants and the number shortlisted, and at least one record showing how you chose the successful candidate, such as interview notes or scoring. You do not need to keep the CVs or application forms of unsuccessful candidates.
If you did not advertise, be ready to explain and where possible evidence how you decided the individual was suitable.
In Borderless, record all of this on each sponsored individual's Recruitment process page, which has a Job advert section (with where it ran, the dates, and applicant and shortlist numbers, or a not-advertised explanation) and an Additional evidence section, and shows what is still missing. See What's new: Recruitment process evidence.
If a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) for a care worker or senior care worker was assigned between 9 April and 21 July 2025, keep evidence that you tried to recruit from the displaced worker pool and the steps you took to identify the person you sponsored.
If you sponsored a care worker or senior care worker because they had already worked for you legally for at least three months, keep evidence of that work, such as payslips or their contract.
Salary evidence
Keep payslips showing the individual's name, National Insurance number, tax code, and any allowances and deductions.
Keep evidence of the amount and frequency of each payment and that it reached the individual's own bank account or pre-paid card. Business accounts are only acceptable if they identify the individual: "We will not accept accounts that show only 'wages for personnel'."
Keep a signed contract or written statement of employment particulars showing the parties, start and end dates, job details, hours and "an indication of how much the worker will be paid".
If you provide accommodation or other allowances, keep evidence of their value unless it is already in the contract or payslips. For housing you own, that means a rent valuation from a letting agent or an independent assessment. Allowances generally do not count towards the Skilled Worker salary threshold or going rate.
Skill level evidence
Keep a detailed job description covering duties, responsibilities and the skills, qualifications and experience required.
Keep copies of relevant qualifications and evidence of experience, such as references. If you waived a qualification you had advertised as mandatory, keep your reasons.
Keep any professional registration or accreditation the role requires, such as Nursing and Midwifery Council registration for a nurse.
Other records
A copy of the individual's National Insurance number or evidence of it (a payslip, P45, P60 or HMRC letter), unless they are exempt.
Their UK address, personal email address and phone number, kept up to date.
A record of absences, electronic or manual.
A copy of any DBS check the role requires. See Retaining DBS Certificates for how this sits with the DBS Code of Practice.
For individuals under 18, a letter of consent from a parent or guardian.
Evidence that you gave the individual information about their UK employment rights, such as a signed contract or training records.
What changed in October 2026
Version 10/26, valid from 8 October 2026, redrafted the right to work section for the 1 October 2026 extension of the Right to Work Scheme to other working arrangements. The other changes relate to the Religious Worker route and do not affect care providers.