How employers can prepare for Home Office Compliance Visits.

A Home Office Compliance Visit is a check undertaken by the Home Office to confirm that the information received from the employer is accurate, that they have followed UK Visas and Immigration’s (UKVI’s) criteria and that they continue to comply with their duties and obligations.

Frequently (but not always) these checks involve Home Office inspectors visiting the employer in person to inspect the employer’s systems and interview key personnel, including the workers sponsored under the licence. The inspections can also be conducted remotely online though.

Compliance visits can take place before the employer’s sponsor licence has been granted and/or at any time thereafter. They can be both announced and unannounced.

The Home Office will conduct an inspection of the employer’s systems, processes and documentation.

Key personnel can be asked to collate certain documents and be questioned about them. They may also request to speak to migrant workers to confirm that their roles, hours of work, and any other conditions attached to their leave continue to be adhered to.

Compliance visits may be carried out prior to a sponsor licence being granted, or afterwards. They can be random but can also be triggered by specific events, for example a change in the employer’s company structure or as a result of alleged wrongdoings within the business.

To ensure that employers are fully prepared for a compliance visit, we offer mock audits to any licence holding body as part of their overall business immigration support services. During a mock audit, immigration specialists will replicate the processes undertaken by real Home Office auditors.

• An immigration specialist attending the employer’s site in person (unless instructed for a virtual audit).
• The specialist will:
  • go through HR system/records to check if compliant with sponsor duties including record keeping and reporting duties;
  • inspect right to work checks records for a selection of employees;
  • inspect a selection of files of sponsored migrants;
  • conduct mock interviews of some sponsored workers;
  • carry out checks to ensure the sponsored employees are abiding by their immigration conditions;
  • carry out checks on whether workers are being sponsored for genuine vacancies and whether employers are complying with the payments as per the Certificate of Sponsorship.

We will then produce a written report setting out the findings and any recommend actions.

The benefits of undertaking a mock audit include:

• identification of any potential breaches, gaps and concerns and suggestions to correct them where possible;
• opportunity to get everything in line for a UKVI/Home Office audit;
• peace of mind over the systems in place;
• awareness of what can be expected during an actual audit.

Our costs for an in-person mock audit, including a review of up to 10 files and a written report start from £3,500 plus VAT depending on the number of sponsored employees and your business requirements.