If Your Employer Withdraws Sponsorship: What Happens Next

Why sponsorship ends

Sponsorship can end because employment has ended, because the sponsor has withdrawn the certificate before the visa started, or because the sponsor licence itself has been suspended or revoked. The consequences differ in each case.

Reporting and curtailment

A sponsor is required to report the end of sponsored employment. The Home Office may then curtail the leave, usually giving a period in which to find a new sponsor, switch to another route where the rules allow, or make arrangements to leave the UK.

What the commonly cited 60-day period means

Where leave is curtailed, the Home Office often reduces it to a shorter period rather than ending it at once. The period actually given is stated in the curtailment notice, so the notice, and not general commentary, is what governs your position.

The options usually worth considering

Finding a new sponsor and applying to change employment; switching to a different route where you meet its requirements; or, where there are dependants or long residence, considering whether another route applies. Each has its own requirements and deadlines.

Where a solicitor helps

A solicitor reads the notice, confirms the actual deadline, advises which routes are realistically available on your facts, and prepares any application that follows. Curtailment decisions are made by the Home Office.