BBC Verify has found that over 1,900 small high street businesses, including convenience stores, vape shops, car washes, barber shops and taxi operators, continue to hold licenses enabling them to sponsor foreign workers under the UK’s skilled worker visa scheme. This discovery comes a year after the Home Office tightened eligibility requirements to primarily restrict the program to graduate-level positions with minimum salaries of £41,700.
The skilled worker sponsorship scheme was introduced following Brexit to allow employers to recruit workers from abroad after European Union free movement ended. Approximately 120,000 businesses currently hold sponsorship licenses. While being registered does not guarantee visa approvals for individual applicants, the continued presence of small retail and service businesses on the register has raised questions about potential system misuse. More than 100 of the identified businesses were added to the register after rules were tightened, though some applications may have been submitted before the changes took effect or represent approvals granted prior to the policy shift.
Government officials have committed to enforcing the regulations rigorously. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood ordered an urgent review two months ago into businesses such as vape shops, barbers and car washes on the skilled worker sponsor register due to concerns over potential system abuse. The Home Office stated that any employers seeking to circumvent the rules would face license revocation. In 2025, the department revoked 3,299 sponsorship licenses compared with 347 in 2023.
The visa scheme has experienced significant changes in recent years. Until July 2025, candidates could qualify with A-Level or equivalent qualifications if earning at least £38,700, but non-graduate professions like shop managers are now ineligible. The Home Office granted 68,067 skilled worker visas in the 12 months through March, representing a 30 percent decrease from the previous year. IT professionals and finance workers comprised the largest share of approvals, while the decline was primarily driven by workers in food preparation and hospitality no longer meeting eligibility requirements. Additionally, BBC Verify identified 60 businesses on the register that had been fined for employing illegal workers between April 2024 and December 2025, with combined penalties totaling £2.5 million.
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