News Update – 22 May 2026
We end this week with an important report released by Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), Who Stays, Who Leaves? Evidence from Administrative Records on the Skilled Worker Route. The report gives the clearest picture yet of how long migrants remain on the Tier 2 (General), Skilled Worker and Health and Care Worker routes. Using linked Home Office and sponsorship data, the MAC tracked 916,000 main applicants from 2014 to 2024. One important caveat is that the report treats visa expiry as a sign of departure because exit-check data is still incomplete.
These findings matter for immigration advisers helping sponsors and individuals plan for the long term. Stay rates have increased over time: 85% of migrants who entered in 2019 still had valid status after five years, up from 74% in the 2014 cohort. Lower-paid migrants are the most likely to remain, while the highest earners are the least likely. Retention is strongest in health and care, especially among nurses, and weakest in higher education.
Women are more likely to stay than men, in-country switchers are more likely to remain than out-of-country applicants, and migrants aged 45 or over are less likely to stay. By nationality, stay rates are lowest for North American and Oceanian nationals and highest for African, Southern Asian, Western Asian and non-EU European nationals.
For advisers, the report is highly relevant to the government’s earned settlement plans. It suggests that longer qualifying periods or stricter settlement rules would not affect all groups in the same way. Higher earners and those in higher education may be more likely to leave if the offer becomes less attractive, while health and care workers and lower-paid migrants already show strong signs of staying.
The findings also affect the fiscal debate, because earlier modelling did not fully account for lower earners, care workers and younger migrants staying longer. The MAC has said more analysis will follow, including work on settlement, citizenship and student-to-work transitions, which may be especially relevant for academic sponsors.
Additionally, the Home Office has issued the updated version 05/26 of Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 3 – sponsor duties and compliance, replacing version 03/26 with effect from 20 May 2026. The document continues to cover the full compliance lifecycle, from day-to-day sponsor duties through to compliance checks, downgrading, suspension and revocation, including the annexed revocation grounds. Three substantive changes sit at the heart of this update, alongside a series of minor housekeeping amendments that sponsors and their advisors will want to read in the round.
The first set of changes, at paragraphs C7.27 to C7.30 and Annex C2(d), redrafts the right to work check duty to make explicit that sponsors must conduct right to work checks on any worker they sponsor or employ. The intent appears to be the removal of any residual ambiguity about whether the check obligation runs in parallel with sponsorship duties or is subsumed within them, and advisors will want to ensure that sponsor clients hold evidenced, in-date checks on file for every sponsored worker, not least because failures here remain a well-trodden route to compliance action. The second change, at C7.31 and Annex C1(kk), updates reference to reflect the renaming of the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority as the Fair Work Agency, and of the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner as the Immigration Advice Authority. The substantive remit of those bodies is not altered by the rebrand, but cross-references in internal compliance policies, training materials and contractual documents will need updating accordingly.
Of greatest interest, however, is the new revocation ground introduced at Annex C1(oo), which targets organisations established mainly to facilitate the entry or stay of workers who would not otherwise have the right to work in the UK. This is a clear signal that the Home Office intends to take a firmer stance against arrangements in which the sponsorship licence is itself the product, rather than a genuine vehicle for filling labour need within an operating business.
Immigration advisers should use this as a prompt to review due diligence for newer or smaller sponsors, especially where business activity seems limited compared with the number of certificates of sponsorship assigned. With the Fair Work Agency now in place and the Immigration Advice Authority replacing OISC, the move towards more joined-up enforcement across labour standards, immigration advice and sponsor compliance is clear.
Reinforcing that broader enforcement trajectory, this week has seen a coordinated wave of sting operations carried out across the UK by the National Crime Agency alongside Immigration Enforcement, with small businesses appearing to be the principal focus of activity. Early reporting indicates that a significant proportion of those visited have been found to have links to the employment of illegal workers and, more troublingly, to human trafficking.
The message running through both the latest sponsor guidance and this enforcement activity is consistent: scrutiny is becoming more proactive, more cross-agency and noticeably less forgiving of paperwork gaps. Small and medium-sized businesses in particular should not assume that limited size or low certificate volume offers any cushion against attention, and all employers, whether sponsor licence holders or not, would be well advised to ensure that right to work check records, HR files, payroll documentation and any licence-related paperwork are organised, current and immediately retrievable in the event of an unannounced visit.
A reminder on that note that the Home Office enforcement activity has been at its highest recorded level, with visits up 77%: over 17,000 business visits and around 12,000 arrests between 1 July 2024 and 31 December 2025, alongside a tightened list of acceptable right to work documents.
With the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 set to expand the regime further this year, advisors and their business clients face a compliance expectation from UKVI growing more demanding by the quarter.
HJT Training’s 90-minute live webinar Managing Home Office Audits, led by Sacha Wooldridge on Thursday 25 June 2026, equips sponsors with the practical tools to safeguard their licence, workforce and reputation in the event of an audit. For bookings, visit HERE
For assistance with booking or enquiries, contact enquiries@hjt-training.co.uk or 075 4416 4692.
For the full list of updates on media news SEE BELOW
News
Man arrested on suspicion of Organised Immigration offences in Bolton – Greater Manchester Police
Modern Slavery and Organised Immigration Crime (MSOIC) team, also supported by the Criminal and Financial Investigation Department of Home Office immigration, executed a warrant in Bolton following an investigation into organised criminal networks across Greater Manchester. To read the full article, visit here
Four stores targeted as part of ongoing efforts to tackle Organised Immigration Crime. Cheshire Constabulary
Operation Accommodate was led by Detective Sergeant Andrew Manson, of the Western Exploitation Team at Cheshire Police, and as part of the operation the team targeted four stores in Chester and Neston which were suspected of being linked to Organised Immigration Crime. To read the full article, visit here
Burnham ‘backs Mahmood over migration crackdown’ ahead of by-election race with Reform UK – The Independent
Andy Burnham is backing Shabana Mahmood’s stringent efforts to crack down on immigration, his allies say – in an effort to win votes from Reform UK supporters. The mayor of Greater Manchester reportedly wants to “reframe” the home secretary’s changes but backs her attempts to limit legal and illegal migration, according to sources in his team. To read the full article, visit here
Asylum seeker has deportation ticket cancelled after attempting suicide – The Guardian
An Eritrean asylum seeker who was due to be forcibly removed to France today under the “one in, one out” scheme has had his ticket cancelled after making a serious attempt on his life. Other detainees said they believed he had made an attempt on his life because he feared he would be in danger in France due to his specific circumstances had he been forcibly returned there. To read the full article, visit here
UK and France extend ‘one in, one out’ small boats pilot scheme until October – The Guardian
The Home Office is extending a controversial scheme to stop asylum seekers crossing the Channel in small boats. To view the full article, visit here
Why rights groups fear new ECHR declaration could weaken migrant protections – The Guardian
A political declaration aimed at clarifying key aspects of the European convention on human rights was published last week, agreed by all 46 member states of the Council of Europe. Critics fear it will weaken human rights protections for migrants. The ECHR system has become a political battleground, with both the Conservatives and Reform UK pledging to leave the convention if they are elected to government. To read the full article, visit here
Suspected small boat crossing facilitator arrested – BBC News
A man suspected of facilitating the arrival of 19 migrants to the UK has been arrested. The National Crime Agency (NCA) said the 36-year-old, believed to be an Iranian national, was detained during a raid in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, on Tuesday. He remains in custody for questioning. To read the full article, visit here
UK companies linked to payments for small boat crossings, BBC News
People smugglers are directing migrants to pay for illegal Channel crossings using a network of UK-registered businesses, a BBC investigation has found. To read the full article, visit here
Independent Reports
Who Stays, Who Leaves? Evidence from Administrative Records on the Skilled Worker Route, Migration Advisory Committee, May 2026
New research from British Future, published ahead of latest government figures on migration, has revealed a chasm between reality and public perception of net migration, with a substantial portion of the public believing it has increased, despite figures showing a sharp fall. To view the full article, visit here
Home Office Guidance and Policy Updates
Guidance: Living in the UK- applying from overseas has been updated on 20th May 2026. To view the updated Guidance, visit here
Guidance: Updates on the move to eVisas has been updated on 20th May 2026. To view the updated Guidance, visit here
Guidance: Register of licensed sponsors – student has been updated on 20th May 2026. To view the updated Guidance, visit here
Guidance: Register of licensed sponsors – workers has been updated on 20th May 2026. To view the updated Guidance, visit here
Caseworker Guidance: UK ancestry has been updated on 20th May 2026. To view the updated Guidance, visit here
Guidance: Workers and Temporary Workers – guidance for sponsors part 3: sponsor duties and compliance has been updated on 20th May 2026. To view the updated Guidance, visit here
Guidance: Workers and Temporary Workers – guidance for sponsors part 1: apply for a licence has been updated on 20th May 2026. To view the updated Guidance, visit here
Guidance: Sponsor guidance appendix D -keeping records for sponsorship has been updated on 20th May 2026. To view the updated Guidance, visit here
Guidance: Workers and Temporary Workers -guidance for sponsors: glossary has been updated on 20th May 2026. To view the updated Guidance, visit here
Form: CAS allocation further information request form has been published on 19th May 2026. To view the form, visit here
Guidance: Study post licence priority service has been updated on 19th May 2026. To view the updated Guidance, visit here
Form: Study priority service request form has been on 19th May 2026. To view the updated form, visit here
Guidance: Indonesia- tuberculosis test clinics for a UK visa has been updated on 19th May 2026. To view the updated Guidance, visit here
Guidance: Prove your English language abilities with a secure English language test (SELT) has been updated on 18th May 2026. To view the updated Guidance, visit here
Caseworker Guidance Family life and exceptional circumstances has been updated on 18th May 2026. To view the updated Guidance, visit here
Form: Accompanied and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children -statement of evidence has been updated on 18th May 2026. To view the updated Guidance, visit here
Caseworker Guidance: Streamlined asylum processing for children has been updated on 18th May 2026. To view the updated Guidance, visit here
Guidance: Afghanistan- Country policy and information notes has been updated on 15th May 2026. To view the updated Guidance, visit here
Caseworker Guidance: Continuous residence has been updated on 15th May 2026. To view the updated Guidance, visit here
Guidance: China -tuberculosis test clinics for a UK visa has been updated on 15th May 2026. To view the updated Guidance, visit here
Guidance Nigeria: tuberculosis test clinics for a UK visa has been updated on 15th May 2026. To view the updated Guidance, visit here
Guidance Uganda: tuberculosis test clinics for a UK visa has been updated on 13th May 2026. To view the updated Guidance, visit here
Transparency Data: Country Returns Guide has been updated on 12th May 2026. To view the updated data, visit here
By Shareen Khan, Content Writer