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ARTICLE · 23 OCTOBER 2026

Reminder Of Changes To The Sponsorship Management System

Lewis Silkin
Lewis Silkin
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Lewis Silkin

Lewis Silkin

Joint managing partners: Jo Farmer, Richard Miskella International offices: Dublin, Hong Kong...

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The UK Home Office is implementing significant changes to the Sponsorship Management System, including the phase-out of Level 2 user access by March 2027 and new procedures for correcting user information for Multi-Factor Authentication purposes. Sponsors must take action to review their user arrangements and ensure continued system access for personnel who manage certificates of sponsorship and worker reporting.

United KingdomImmigration
Sam Koppel
Sam Koppel
Emily Aldridge
Emily Aldridge
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Level 2 users will lose access to the Sponsorship Management System (SMS) from 8 March 2027. Sponsors should review arrangements for Level 2 users before this date. Further information has also been released on how to correct a user's date of birth for SMS Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) purposes.

These developments have recently been incorporated into the Home Office's SMS user manuals.

Phase-out of Level 2 users

Level 2 users' permissions are limited to creating and assigning certificates of sponsorship (CoS) and reporting worker activity on a CoS they have assigned, or that has been transferred to them by a Level 1 user.

Since 9 September 2026, it's not been possible to appoint new Level 2 users. 

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