Self-Sponsorship — this is not a separate visa. Warning: high compliance risk.
It is a scheme: you set up a UK company, it gets a sponsor licence, then sponsors you on a Skilled Worker visa. The Home Office applies ALL the standard Skilled Worker rules plus an additional "genuine vacancy" test. Any breach automatically revokes the visa and the licence.
Why this is risky (2026)
A record figure. Includes small businesses and self-sponsorship schemes.
The pace is accelerating. Compliance visits have increased.
The Home Office and HMRC share RTI data. Discrepancies between CoS salary and PAYE payments are detected automatically.
Since SI 2025/1078 — expressly mandatory revocation ground. You cannot show a salary higher than actual payments.
The genuine vacancy test
The Home Office checks that the role genuinely exists and is needed by the business — not created solely to obtain a visa:
- Real trading: invoices, contracts, bank statements, VAT registration, a lease — all must be genuine
- Genuine business need: the lead developer or director role must be needed by the business, not created "for a visa"
- Market-rate salary through PAYE: £41,700+ paid in full every month through HMRC RTI
Real Year 1 cost (single founder, small sponsor, outside UK)
For a single person without family. With family (additional IHS per member) significantly higher.
When this works
Only when you already have a real trading business with third-party clients, a genuine need for your skilled role, and the business can sustainably carry a £41,700+ salary as a real PAYE expense indefinitely. This is not a start-up scheme — it is for founders whose business is already operating.
When this doesn't work — and fraud
If someone offers a "guaranteed Self-Sponsorship package for £15–25k" — that is a scam. The genuine vacancy test is based on business substance, not paperwork. Real cases: Sukhwinder Singh Kang (October 2024, Southwark Crown Court), Shazia Anjum (December 2025), Syed Ali Shah Gilani (January 2026) — all convicted for immigration fraud connected to sponsor licence schemes.
If you are seriously considering Self-Sponsorship — you need an IAA Level 2+ adviser or SRA solicitor with experience in sponsor licence revocation defence. Do not attempt this alone — the stakes are too high.