# UK Licensed Overseas Worker Sponsors (May 2026)

> **141,566 organisations** hold a Home Office licence to sponsor overseas workers. **121,723 (86%)** hold Skilled Worker licences.

Source: Home Office Register of Licensed Sponsors, 29 May 2026.

---

## Sponsors by Visa Route

| Visa route | Licensed sponsors | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Skilled Worker | 121,723 | 86.0% |
| Global Business Mobility | 11,478 | 8.1% |
| Tier 2 Ministers of Religion | 1,901 | 1.3% |
| Creative Worker | 1,577 | 1.1% |
| Charity Worker | 1,531 | 1.1% |
| International Sportsperson | 1,466 | 1.0% |
| Religious Worker | 1,409 | 1.0% |
| Government Authorised Exchange | 245 | 0.2% |
| International Agreement | 136 | 0.1% |
| Scale-up | 92 | 0.1% |
| Seasonal Worker | 6 | 0.0% |
| Intra Company Transfers (ICT) | 1 | 0.0% |
| Intra-company Routes | 1 | 0.0% |

## Top 20 Cities by Number of Sponsors

| City | Sponsors | Share of total |
|---|---|---|
| London | 43,261 | 30.6% |
| Birmingham | 2,990 | 2.1% |
| Manchester | 2,799 | 2.0% |
| Glasgow | 1,336 | 0.9% |
| Bristol | 1,324 | 0.9% |
| Leicester | 1,252 | 0.9% |
| Edinburgh | 1,171 | 0.8% |
| Leeds | 1,055 | 0.7% |
| Reading | 1,014 | 0.7% |
| Nottingham | 979 | 0.7% |
| Cambridge | 915 | 0.6% |
| Milton Keynes | 871 | 0.6% |
| Coventry | 845 | 0.6% |
| Slough | 838 | 0.6% |
| Ilford | 811 | 0.6% |
| Harrow | 733 | 0.5% |
| Liverpool | 713 | 0.5% |
| Bradford | 676 | 0.5% |
| Sheffield | 674 | 0.5% |
| Oxford | 653 | 0.5% |

## Top 15 Counties

| County | Sponsors |
|---|---|
| Surrey | 2,180 |
| London | 2,152 |
| Essex | 2,021 |
| West Midlands | 1,855 |
| Kent | 1,672 |
| Middlesex | 1,453 |
| Berkshire | 1,423 |
| Hampshire | 1,339 |
| Lancashire | 1,093 |
| Hertfordshire | 1,085 |
| West Yorkshire | 1,081 |
| Cheshire | 801 |
| Oxfordshire | 747 |
| Buckinghamshire | 721 |
| West Sussex | 636 |

[Search the full register of 141,566 sponsors](https://www.deported.co.uk/sponsored-workers/) by organisation name or city.

## Context

A sponsor licence allows an organisation to issue Certificates of Sponsorship to overseas workers.
The actual number of sponsored workers at any time is lower than the number of licensees.
The Skilled Worker route (86% of licences) covers medium- to long-term employment above the salary threshold.

## Related Pages

- [Labour Market](https://www.deported.co.uk/labour-market/) | [labour-market.md](https://www.deported.co.uk/labour-market.md)
- [Policy Timeline](https://www.deported.co.uk/policy-timeline/)

---

## All Pages

- [Returns & Deportation](https://www.deported.co.uk/returns/) | [returns.md](https://www.deported.co.uk/returns.md)
- [Foreign National Offenders](https://www.deported.co.uk/foreign-national-offenders/) | [foreign-national-offenders.md](https://www.deported.co.uk/foreign-national-offenders.md)
- [Why People Are Not Deported](https://www.deported.co.uk/not-deported/) | [not-deported.md](https://www.deported.co.uk/not-deported.md)
- [Cost of Deportation](https://www.deported.co.uk/costs/) | [costs.md](https://www.deported.co.uk/costs.md)
- [Asylum Statistics](https://www.deported.co.uk/asylum/) | [asylum.md](https://www.deported.co.uk/asylum.md)
- [Foreign Nationals and Benefits](https://www.deported.co.uk/benefits/) | [benefits.md](https://www.deported.co.uk/benefits.md)
- [Asylum Accommodation Costs](https://www.deported.co.uk/accommodation/) | [accommodation.md](https://www.deported.co.uk/accommodation.md)
- [Labour Market](https://www.deported.co.uk/labour-market/) | [labour-market.md](https://www.deported.co.uk/labour-market.md)
- [Returns by Nationality](https://www.deported.co.uk/nationality/) | [nationality.md](https://www.deported.co.uk/nationality.md)
- [Sponsor Register](https://www.deported.co.uk/sponsored-workers/) | [sponsored-workers.md](https://www.deported.co.uk/sponsored-workers.md)
- [Policy Timeline](https://www.deported.co.uk/policy-timeline/) | [policy-timeline.md](https://www.deported.co.uk/policy-timeline.md)
- [Party Policies](https://www.deported.co.uk/party-policies/) | [party-policies.md](https://www.deported.co.uk/party-policies.md)
- [2025 Annual Review](https://www.deported.co.uk/2025/) | [2025.md](https://www.deported.co.uk/2025.md)
- [2024 Annual Review](https://www.deported.co.uk/2024/) | [2024.md](https://www.deported.co.uk/2024.md)

- [llms.txt](https://www.deported.co.uk/llms.txt) | [sitemap.xml](https://www.deported.co.uk/sitemap.xml)

*Canonical: https://www.deported.co.uk/sponsored-workers/*