Companies that sponsor visas in the UK
On 5 October 2026, 121,996 employers held a Skilled Worker licence on the Home Office register of licensed sponsors. That is the official list of companies that can sponsor a work visa. Search any of them with the sponsor check.
Home Office register, 5 October 2026. Companies House data, 1 October 2026.
- employers hold a Skilled Worker licence
- 121,996
- organisations hold a worker or temporary worker licence, on any route
- 127,336
- employers matched to one of 16 sectors with their own page
- 69,759
Companies that sponsor visas, by sector
We matched each Skilled Worker sponsor's registered name to Companies House (data from 1 October 2026) and read its industry codes. 85.9% of sponsors matched exactly one active company. The last row holds the 14.1% we could not match safely (public bodies, partnerships, new sponsors and names shared by several companies) and matched companies in other industries, such as wholesale or recruitment.
| Sector | Skilled Worker sponsors | Share of all sponsors |
|---|---|---|
| Retail | 14,229 | 11.7% |
| Hotels, restaurants and cafes | 12,775 | 10.5% |
| Tech | 10,985 | 9.0% |
| Construction and property | 7,631 | 6.3% |
| Manufacturing | 7,347 | 6.0% |
| Social care | 5,579 | 4.6% |
| Healthcare | 4,785 | 3.9% |
| Finance and insurance | 3,120 | 2.6% |
| Consulting | 2,898 | 2.4% |
| Education | 2,857 | 2.3% |
| Transport and logistics | 2,561 | 2.1% |
| Marketing and media | 2,041 | 1.7% |
| Engineering and architecture | 2,020 | 1.7% |
| Accounting | 1,503 | 1.2% |
| Science and research | 933 | 0.8% |
| Law | 760 | 0.6% |
| Energy and utilities | 510 | 0.4% |
| Other sectors, or not matched | 39,462 | 32.3% |
Companies that sponsor visas, by town and city
The register gives a town for every licence. These are the 15 places with the most Skilled Worker licences.
| Town or city | Skilled Worker licences | Share of Skilled Worker licences |
|---|---|---|
| London | 35,584 | 28.9% |
| Birmingham | 2,984 | 2.4% |
| Manchester | 2,785 | 2.3% |
| Leicester | 1,384 | 1.1% |
| Glasgow | 1,297 | 1.1% |
| Bristol | 1,242 | 1.0% |
| Edinburgh | 1,117 | 0.9% |
| Leeds | 1,046 | 0.8% |
| Nottingham | 1,009 | 0.8% |
| Ilford | 923 | 0.7% |
| Reading | 895 | 0.7% |
| Coventry | 877 | 0.7% |
| Slough | 850 | 0.7% |
| Milton Keynes | 820 | 0.7% |
| Cambridge | 816 | 0.7% |
Sponsor licences by visa route
One employer can hold licences for several routes. The register lists one row per employer and route, so these are licence counts, not employer counts.
| Licence route | Licences |
|---|---|
| Skilled Worker | 123,132 |
| Global Business Mobility: Senior or Specialist Worker | 10,445 |
| Tier 2 Ministers of Religion | 1,962 |
| Creative Worker | 1,585 |
| Charity Worker | 1,531 |
| International Sportsperson | 1,471 |
Show all 18 routes
| Licence route | Licences |
|---|---|
| Religious Worker | 1,433 |
| Global Business Mobility: Graduate Trainee | 623 |
| Global Business Mobility: UK Expansion Worker | 429 |
| Government Authorised Exchange | 247 |
| International Agreement | 134 |
| Scale-up | 93 |
| Global Business Mobility: Service Supplier | 55 |
| Seasonal Worker | 6 |
| Global Business Mobility: Secondment Worker | 6 |
| Tier 2 General | 5 |
| Intra-company Routes | 1 |
| Intra Company Transfers (ICT) | 1 |
A and B ratings
Almost every Skilled Worker sponsor holds an A rating. 88 hold a B rating. The Home Office gives a B rating when an employer needs to fix how it manages sponsorship, and a B-rated sponsor generally cannot sponsor new workers until it is back to an A rating.
| Rating | Skilled Worker sponsors |
|---|---|
| A rating | 121,905 |
| B rating | 88 |
| A rating (Premium) | 2 |
| A rating (SME+) | 1 |
Is this the Tier 2 sponsor list?
Yes. The Skilled Worker route replaced the Tier 2 (General) route from 1 December 2020, so the register now says Skilled Worker where it used to say Tier 2 (General). A few older route names, such as Tier 2 Ministers of Religion, remain on it, but the route for a graduate job is "Skilled Worker".
What people still call the Tier 2 sponsor list is today's register of licensed sponsors for workers, published on gov.uk. An employer that can sponsor a Skilled Worker visa has a row on it with the route "Skilled Worker".
Source: Workers and Temporary Workers: sponsor a Skilled Worker (gov.uk).
How to read the official register
The Home Office publishes the register as a CSV file on gov.uk and updates it most working days. Each row is one employer and one licence route, with five columns:
- Organisation Name
- The employer's registered name. It can differ from the brand name on a job advert.
- Town/City
- The town the employer gave the Home Office.
- County
- Often blank.
- Type & Rating
- Worker or Temporary Worker, and the rating, such as "Worker (A rating)".
- Route
- The visa route the licence covers, such as Skilled Worker.
To check one employer, search for its registered name and make sure the town matches. The sponsor check does this for you against the same file.
Download the data
The sector table on this page is free to reuse as a CSV file: one row per sector, with its Skilled Worker sponsors, its share and the industry codes behind it.
Download sponsors by sector (CSV)Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains Companies House data.
A licence is not a promise
A licence means they can sponsor. It is not a promise that they will. Visavi shows you the evidence per job.
Questions about companies that sponsor visas
How many companies sponsor visas in the UK?
On 5 October 2026, 121,996 employers held a Skilled Worker licence on the Home Office register, and 127,336 organisations held a worker or temporary worker licence on any route.
Is there a list of companies that sponsor visas?
Yes. The Home Office publishes the register of licensed sponsors on gov.uk, and every employer that can sponsor a Skilled Worker visa is on it. You can search it with the sponsor check, or browse it by sector and town on this page.
Is the Tier 2 sponsor list still published?
The Skilled Worker route replaced Tier 2 (General) from 1 December 2020. The list is now the register of licensed sponsors for workers, and Skilled Worker sponsors are the ones with the route "Skilled Worker".
Will every company on the register sponsor me?
A licence means they can sponsor. It is not a promise that they will. Visavi shows you the evidence per job.
How often is the register updated?
The Home Office updates it most working days. The figures on this page come from the copy published on 5 October 2026.
Is this immigration advice?
No. General information only. For advice, talk to a regulated immigration adviser.
Sources
- Register of licensed sponsors: workers (gov.uk)
- Workers and Temporary Workers: sponsor a Skilled Worker (gov.uk)
- Guidance for sponsors part 3: sponsor duties and compliance (gov.uk)
- Companies House free company data product
General information, not immigration advice. Rules change: always check gov.uk.
For advice about your own situation, talk to a regulated immigration adviser. Find a regulated adviser on gov.uk.
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