Over 1,900 Small UK Businesses Still Licensed to Sponsor Foreign Workers Despite Tighter Visa Rules
- BBC Verify found more than 1,900 small high street businesses, including car washes and vape shops, still hold licences to sponsor foreign workers
- The UK tightened its skilled worker visa rules in July 2025 to limit sponsorship mostly to graduate-level roles paying at least £41,700
- The Home Secretary ordered an urgent review two months ago over concerns about potential misuse of the sponsorship register
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More than 1,900 small high street businesses, including mini-marts, vape shops, car washes, and barber shops, remain on the UK government's skilled worker sponsorship register despite rule changes introduced in July 2025 that were meant to restrict the scheme to graduate-level, higher-earning workers, an investigation by BBC Verify has revealed.
The skilled worker scheme was created after Brexit to allow employers to recruit overseas workers once EU free movement ended. Until July last year, businesses could sponsor workers whose qualifications were equivalent to A-Level standard, provided they were paid at least £38,700.
Source: Getty Images
The rules were then tightened so that most sponsored roles now require degree-level qualifications and a minimum salary of £41,700. Non-graduate professions such as shop managers are no longer eligible.
What the BBC Verify Investigation Found
BBC Verify matched business names and locations against Companies House records and Google listings to identify the types of firms still holding licences. The analysis found more than 1,500 grocery and convenience stores, roughly 150 taxi operators, over 100 barber shops, and dozens of car washes and vape shops still on the register. Around 1,700 of the businesses identified were based in England, more than 140 in Scotland, over 80 in Wales, and just two in Northern Ireland.
More than 100 of those businesses were added to the register after the July 2025 rule changes took effect, though the Home Office noted that some may have applied before the new rules came into force.
Separately, BBC Verify found 60 businesses on the register that had been fined for employing illegal workers between April 2024 and December 2025, with combined fines totalling £2.5 million.
Government Response and Expert Warnings
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood ordered an urgent review into the presence of vape shops, barbers and car washes on the register two months ago, citing concerns over "potential misuse of the system." Health Secretary Yvette Cooper said on Thursday the government will "make sure that the rules are being properly enforced because we cannot have employers getting round the rules or finding different ways to deviate."
A Home Office spokesperson said:
"We have raised the skilled worker threshold and over 100 occupations are now ineligible for new skilled worker visas." The spokesperson added that businesses facing two or more illegal working penalties, or failing to pay a penalty at the first instance, would have their licences revoked. The Home Office revoked 3,299 licences in 2025, up sharply from 347 in 2023.
Dr Madeleine Sumption, director of the University of Oxford's Migration Observatory, said businesses already on the register before the rule changes can continue sponsoring workers already in the UK, but "they can't now bring in a new person to do those jobs."
Immigration lawyer Joanna Hunt of DAC Beachcroft said high street shops would struggle to justify sponsorship at degree level, adding: "A high street shop may find this requirement difficult to demonstrate."
The Home Office said 68,067 skilled worker visas were granted in the 12 months to March 2026, which is 30% lower than the previous year.
Source: Getty Images
8 companies eligible to sponsor foreign workers in Canada
Legit.ng earlier reported that Canada has identified eight high-growth companies that can hire eligible foreign professionals, including Nigerians, through a special work permit pathway that does not require a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), making it easier for skilled workers to secure employment in the country.
The companies are part of Canada's Global Hypergrowth Project (GHP), an initiative aimed at helping innovative businesses attract global talent while supporting their rapid expansion.
Source: Legit.ng
