How every employer here is checked
Every employer is read three ways: its licence on the register, its own words on sponsorship, and its pay against the threshold.
Three lamps, and the strictest one sets the signal
| Lamp | Clear | Ask | Stop |
|---|---|---|---|
| Licence | A matched register row on the Skilled Worker route with an A-rated licence. | A matched row whose route or rating needs a check, such as a Temporary Worker route alone, or a likely row that could not yet be tied to the employer. | No row found after a recorded search, or a B rating. |
| Their words | The employer says yes, in its own words. | It sponsors some roles, sets conditions, or says nothing. | It says it does not sponsor this programme. |
| Pay | The bottom of the published salary is £41,700 or more. | At least £33,400 but below £41,700, or the pay is "competitive" or not published. | Below £33,400. |
The signal shows the strictest lamp: Stop over Ask, Ask over Clear. The going rate for the job's occupation code can be higher than this line. A signal is a reading, not a score, and listing does not mean an employer will sponsor any particular role.
Their words are quoted, linked and dated
For each scheme, a person reads the employer's UK early-careers pages, its FAQ and the programme page, and searches them for sponsorship, visa and right-to-work wording. The most specific sentence is kept in full, with its address and the date it was read.
The plate shows a quote of at most 20 words from that sentence, in quotation marks. When an employer says nothing, the plate says so and lists the pages read. Forums, news stories and other trackers are never the basis of a row.
Every quote carries
- The employer's exact words, unedited.
- A link to the page they came from.
- The date a person read them.
- A saved copy of the page text, kept for the record.
Licences come from this site's own register file
The Home Office publishes its register of licensed sponsors (opens gov.uk) on gov.uk, updated most working days. This site downloads its own copy each week. Licences checked on the register of 7 October 2026.
To match an employer, its trading name and legal entity names are searched in that file and the exact row is copied: name, town, route and rating. If no row matches, the names searched are recorded and the licence lamp reads Stop until a row is found.
121,996
The headline count is the number of distinct organisation names with a Skilled Worker licence in the Home Office register file of 5 October 2026; the files published shortly before and after it give similar totals.
Rows are re-read on a fixed cycle
- Scheme pages: re-read weekly from August to January, monthly otherwise.
- Every tracker row: a full re-check each August.
- Register matches: refreshed with each weekly register file.
- Shortlist and branch line pages: re-read each term.
- Scripts and the tool comparison: re-checked each quarter.
A row not re-read for 60 days shows "Re-check due" beside its date. After 120 days it leaves the tracker until a person reads the employer's page again.
Tools in the comparison are described from their own pages
The comparison of tools and job sites covers the services graduates in the UK use to find sponsored jobs, listed A to Z with no scores and no ranking. Each is described only from its own published pages, with the address and the capture date.
A price or a job count appears only when the tool publishes it. Every entry has a limits line, and every tool is re-checked each quarter.
How AI is used
AI is used for drafting help only. Every fact is checked by a person against its source before publishing.
Editorial standards
- gov.uk first for rules; the register for licences; employers' pages for policy and pay.
- Every figure is bound to a data file with its source and date.
- Two dates on each page: "Updated" and "Checked against gov.uk on".
- A change log on every page that states a rule or an employer fact.
- Logos identify employers on a public register; no endorsement is implied.
Pages are signed by The Get a Visa Sponsor desk, never by an invented person. This site is a playbook, not an adviser. Immigration advice in the UK is regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority (opens gov.uk), which gov.uk confirms is the new name of the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (opens gov.uk) (OISC).
Corrections are logged here, in public
| Date | Page | What changed | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graduate scheme tracker, Investment banks shortlist | Deutsche Bank's licence lamp moved from Stop to Clear. The register lists its UK employer, DB Group Services (UK) Ltd, London, with a Skilled Worker licence and an A rating. Register of 7 October 2026. | The plate said the bank was not on the register. It is listed under the name of its UK employing company, which Companies House and the gender pay gap service confirm. The register snapshot did not change. | |
| Graduate scheme tracker, Investment banks shortlist | Citi's licence lamp moved from Stop to Ask. The plate now names the likely register row, Citi Group, London, with a Skilled Worker licence and an A rating, and says it is not yet confirmed as Citi's. Register of 7 October 2026. | The plate said Citi was not on the register. A Citi Group row is listed, but no public record ties that name to Citi's UK employing companies, so it reads as a check to make rather than a stop. |
Found an error? Write to desk@getavisasponsor.com with the page address. Reported errors are fixed within 2 working days and logged here with the date, the page, what changed and why.
The method above feeds the graduate scheme tracker, every sector shortlist and the plates on the home panel. The steps it supports are laid out in the playbook.
Sources
- Immigration Rules, Appendix Skilled Worker, SW 5.3 (opens gov.uk)
"SW 5.3. The sponsor must be listed as A-rated on the Home Office’s register of licensed sponsors, unless the applicant was last granted permission as a Skilled Worker and is applying to continue working for the same sponsor as in their last permission."
Checked 7 October 2026 - Immigration Rules, Appendix Skilled Worker, SW 4.4 option A; figure substituted by Statement of Changes HC 997 (APP SW2) (opens gov.uk)
"You’ll usually need to be paid the ‘standard’ salary rate of at least £41,700 per year, or the ‘going rate’ for your job, whichever is higher."
Checked 7 October 2026 - Immigration Rules, Appendix Skilled Worker, SW 4.4 option E; figure substituted by Statement of Changes HC 997 (APP SW4) (opens gov.uk)
"You can be paid 70% of your job’s standard going rate if your salary will be at least £33,400 per year and one of the following applies:"
Checked 7 October 2026 - Home Office register of licensed sponsors, file of 5 October 2026 (opens gov.uk)
"This document lists Worker and Temporary Worker sponsors."
Checked 7 October 2026 - UK Visas and Immigration, Register of licensed sponsors: workers (gov.uk publication) (opens gov.uk)
"This document lists Worker and Temporary Worker sponsors. It includes information about the category of workers they’re licensed to sponsor and their sponsorship rating."
Checked 7 October 2026 - gov.uk change history of the register publication (observed, not a stated commitment) (opens gov.uk)
"Register updated."
Checked 7 October 2026 - Find an immigration adviser (gov.uk) (opens gov.uk)
"Use the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA) Adviser Finder to find a registered adviser near you."
Checked 7 October 2026 - Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (gov.uk organisation page) (opens gov.uk)
"Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner is now called Immigration Advice Authority"
Checked 7 October 2026
Updated Checked against gov.uk on
What changed
- 7 October 2026: First published.
This is a playbook, not immigration advice. Before you act, check the rule on gov.uk or ask a regulated immigration adviser or a solicitor.