Sponsor records · Official guidance · Checked 22 September 2026
SMS reporting deadlines: every sponsor window on one page (2026)
Most reportable events give you ten working days. Changes to your organisation give you twenty. Two categories have no window at all and must be reported as soon as reasonably practicable. The deadlines below are taken from Part 3 of the sponsor guidance with the paragraph reference for each, so you can check any row against the source. Checked 22 September 2026.
Last updated .
Worker events
Ten working days from the event
On smaller screens, scroll the table sideways to see every column.
| Event | Deadline | Paragraph |
|---|---|---|
| Worker does not start the role within 28 days | 10 working days after the relevant event | C1.15 |
| Worker absent without permission for 10 or more consecutive working days | 10 working days after the tenth day of absence | C1.19 |
| Absence without pay, or on reduced pay, exceeding four weeks in a year | 10 working days after the change | C1.15 |
| Salary reduced below the level on the certificate of sponsorship | 10 working days after the change | C1.15 |
| Significant change of role, job title or duties, including promotion within the same occupation code | 10 working days after the change | C1.15 |
| Worker’s normal place of work changes | 10 working days after the change | C1.15, C1.21 |
| You stop sponsoring a worker, for any reason | 10 working days after the relevant event | C1.15, C1.26 |
| Offshore worker arrives in or departs from UK waters | 10 working days after arrival or departure | C1.30 |
Taken from Part 3, last updated 2 September 2026 and checked 22 September 2026. Each row is a summary; the paragraph is given so you can read the condition, which may be narrower than the label suggests. Some events are reportable and also require action beyond a report.
Organisation events
Twenty working days from the change
On smaller screens, scroll the table sideways to see every column.
| Change | Deadline | Paragraph |
|---|---|---|
| Organisation details change, including address, name or structure | 20 working days after the change | C2.3, C2.4 |
| Authorising Officer or Key Contact is replaced | 20 working days after the change | C2.3 |
| Merger, takeover or change of ownership | 20 working days after the change | C4.2 |
| Entering administration or receivership | 20 working days after the event | C3.1 |
| Entering a Company Voluntary Arrangement | 20 working days after the agreement | C3.4 |
| Entering liquidation or sequestration | 20 working days after entering liquidation | C3.7 |
| Sole trader entering an IVA or Debt Arrangement Scheme | 20 working days after the event | C3.8 |
| Bankruptcy order or sequestration against a sole trader | 20 working days after the order | C3.10 |
A change of ownership or insolvency event usually raises questions about the licence itself, not only a report. Read the paragraph and take advice; the twenty-day report is the beginning of that process, not the whole of it.
No window
As soon as reasonably practicable
On smaller screens, scroll the table sideways to see every column.
| Event | Deadline | Paragraph |
|---|---|---|
| You know or suspect a worker is breaching the conditions of their stay | As soon as reasonably practicable — no fixed number of days | C1.14 |
| You know or suspect a worker is engaged in terrorism or criminal activity | As soon as reasonably practicable — no fixed number of days | C1.14 |
These two do not get a countdown, and a scheduler that assigns them ten days is wrong. They also carry consequences beyond reporting, so they are a matter for advice rather than a workflow step.
Counting the window
Working days are not calendar days
Most missed deadlines are counting errors, not oversights.
The absence duty has two dates inside it: the tenth consecutive working day of absence is the trigger, and the ten working days run from there. Treating the first day of absence as the trigger produces a report that looks late when it is not, and treating the tenth day as the deadline produces one that is. For record structure, see whether the official system is enough on its own.
- Record the trigger date, not the date you found out, and keep the two separate if they differ.
- Count in working days, excluding weekends and bank holidays, which differ across the UK nations.
- Name one person accountable for each report, and record when it was submitted and by whom.
- Keep the confirmation from the official system, not just a note that someone reported it.
Where the official action happens
Reports, applications and payments are completed in the Home Office systems, not in Soteriaa. A record tracker can hold the dates, the evidence and the follow-up task, and show you what has no record against it. It does not file a report, does not become the official system because the names overlap, and does not confirm that what you filed was correct or in time. The responsible person remains the one named on your licence.
How to use this page
This is a dated, manually checked summary of published official sources, not a live feed and not a complete statement of immigration law. Figures, deadlines and paragraph references were correct against the sources cited on 22 September 2026 and change without notice. Always open the primary source before acting, and refer questions about an individual worker to a solicitor or a regulated immigration adviser. Soteriaa sells document and record-tracking software and makes no compliance determination. Soteriaa provides document and workflow tools, not legal assistance or compliance advice. It helps organise records, evidence and deadlines; it does not determine compliance, certify records or submit official reports on your behalf. You review the information and remain responsible for required checks and submissions.