Between 1 July and 29 October 2026, 4,603 organisations joined the Home Office Register of Licensed Sponsors and 3,657 were removed, a net gain of 946. The register stood at 127,383 licensed organisations on 29 October 2026. October was the first month in this series where removals (1,099) outnumbered additions (1,096). Source: Tarve's daily comparison of the gov.uk Register of Licensed Sponsors (Workers and Temporary Workers), checked 29 October 2026.
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Browse the register: licensed sponsors by city and route · London · Manchester · Birmingham
Earlier months: May 2026 · June 2026 · February to April 2026 revocations
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TL;DR: register changes, July to October 2026
- Added: 4,603 organisations in four months (1,417 in July, 959 in August, 1,131 in September, 1,096 in October).
- Removed: 3,657 organisations (861, 727, 970, 1,099).
- Trend: the net monthly gain fell from +556 in July to -3 in October.
- Register size: 127,383 licensed organisations on 29 October 2026; about 96% hold a Skilled Worker licence.
Method: each organisation is counted once by name across the Worker and Temporary Worker registers. "Removed" means the organisation no longer appears on the published register; the register does not say whether a licence was revoked, surrendered or allowed to lapse.
Monthly totals
| Month | Organisations added | Organisations removed | Net change |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 2026 | 1,417 | 861 | +556 |
| August 2026 | 959 | 727 | +232 |
| September 2026 | 1,131 | 970 | +161 |
| October 2026 | 1,096 | 1,099 | -3 |
| Four months | 4,603 | 3,657 | +946 |
The figures are higher than the May and June posts in this series because we now count organisations across both registers and compare the register every day rather than between two snapshots. The direction is the same: well over a thousand organisations join most months, and most months several hundred leave.
What the trend says about sponsorship in 2026
Three things stand out. First, the Skilled Worker route dominates both columns: more than nine in ten additions and removals are Skilled Worker licences, with Global Business Mobility (senior or specialist worker transfers) a distant second. Second, London is roughly 30% of additions and a quarter of removals, broadly its share of the register. Third, October's removals were the highest in the series, which is consistent with the Home Office's stated focus on compliance action against sponsors, particularly in care and in small businesses. Our sponsor licence compliance guide explains the most common reasons a licence is revoked.
Month by month
July 2026: 1,417 added, 861 removed
Organisations added by route:
- Skilled Worker: 1,333
- Global Business Mobility: Senior or Specialist Worker: 113
- Tier 2 Ministers of Religion: 23
- Religious Worker: 16
Organisations removed by route:
- Skilled Worker: 840
- Global Business Mobility: Senior or Specialist Worker: 94
- Creative Worker: 15
- Global Business Mobility: UK Expansion Worker: 9
Most additions were in London (461), Birmingham (32), Manchester (29), Leicester (22), Bristol (12). Most removals were in London (230), Manchester (17), Birmingham (15), Leicester (14), Leeds (10). 5 of the organisations removed held a B rating at the time; the rest were A-rated, which is a reminder that a rating says nothing about whether a licence will still be there next month.
Download: organisations added in July 2026 (CSV) · organisations removed in July 2026 (CSV)
August 2026: 959 added, 727 removed
Organisations added by route:
- Skilled Worker: 910
- Global Business Mobility: Senior or Specialist Worker: 58
- Tier 2 Ministers of Religion: 12
- Global Business Mobility: UK Expansion Worker: 8
Organisations removed by route:
- Skilled Worker: 705
- Global Business Mobility: Senior or Specialist Worker: 49
- Charity Worker: 8
- Creative Worker: 8
Most additions were in London (284), Birmingham (16), Glasgow (14), Bristol (12), Manchester (9). Most removals were in London (203), Birmingham (18), Manchester (18), Leeds (8), Leicester (8). 0 of the organisations removed held a B rating at the time; the rest were A-rated, which is a reminder that a rating says nothing about whether a licence will still be there next month.
Download: organisations added in August 2026 (CSV) · organisations removed in August 2026 (CSV)
September 2026: 1,131 added, 970 removed
Organisations added by route:
- Skilled Worker: 1,041
- Global Business Mobility: Senior or Specialist Worker: 66
- Tier 2 Ministers of Religion: 21
- Global Business Mobility: UK Expansion Worker: 15
Organisations removed by route:
- Skilled Worker: 948
- Global Business Mobility: Senior or Specialist Worker: 47
- Creative Worker: 9
- Charity Worker: 8
Most additions were in London (346), Manchester (23), Birmingham (19), Glasgow (14), Edinburgh (13). Most removals were in London (236), Birmingham (22), Manchester (13), Leeds (12), Leicester (11). 0 of the organisations removed held a B rating at the time; the rest were A-rated, which is a reminder that a rating says nothing about whether a licence will still be there next month.
Download: organisations added in September 2026 (CSV) · organisations removed in September 2026 (CSV)
October 2026: 1,096 added, 1,099 removed
Organisations added by route:
- Skilled Worker: 1,050
- Global Business Mobility: Senior or Specialist Worker: 56
- Religious Worker: 9
- Global Business Mobility: UK Expansion Worker: 8
Organisations removed by route:
- Skilled Worker: 1,079
- Global Business Mobility: Senior or Specialist Worker: 89
- Creative Worker: 13
- International Sportsperson: 8
Most additions were in London (323), Manchester (26), Birmingham (19), Glasgow (15), Nottingham (14). Most removals were in London (294), Manchester (33), Birmingham (26), Bristol (12), Leeds (12). 2 of the organisations removed held a B rating at the time; the rest were A-rated, which is a reminder that a rating says nothing about whether a licence will still be there next month.
Download: organisations added in October 2026 (CSV) · organisations removed in October 2026 (CSV)
How to use this data if you are job hunting
A licence on the register is a precondition for sponsorship, not a promise of it. Use the monthly additions as a list of employers that have just invested in the ability to sponsor and may be hiring; use the removals to check that an employer you are talking to still holds a licence before you accept an offer. Every job on Tarve is checked against the live register each day, so a job from an organisation that has been removed does not stay listed.
Frequently asked questions
How many UK companies have a sponsor licence in 2026?
127,383 organisations held a licence on the Register of Licensed Sponsors on 29 October 2026, counting each organisation once across the Worker and Temporary Worker registers. About 96% of them hold a Skilled Worker licence.
Why would a company be removed from the sponsor register?
The published register only shows presence or absence. An organisation disappears when the Home Office revokes its licence, when the licence is surrendered, or when it expires without renewal. Revocations usually follow a compliance visit or reporting failures; the compliance guide lists the common causes.
Where does this data come from?
From the gov.uk Register of Licensed Sponsors: Workers, which the Home Office publishes as a spreadsheet and updates most working days. Tarve downloads and compares it daily. The CSVs linked above are the organisations added and removed in each month, with town, route and rating as shown on the register.
Will this tracker continue?
Yes. The next update covers November 2026 and will be published in the first week of December, with the same CSV downloads.
The Tarve team researches UK visa sponsorship directly from official gov.uk and Home Office sources — the register of licensed sponsors, the Immigration Rules, and published salary and going-rate data — to produce clear, regularly updated guides for international professionals. Tarve is an independent information and job-search service, not a regulated immigration adviser.
Figures and rules on this page are taken from official gov.uk and Home Office publications and were last verified on 2 November 2026. Tarve is an independent information and job-search service, not a regulated immigration adviser: guidance here is for information only, and you should always confirm the current rules on gov.uk.