Can a UK company sponsor a director’s son or daughter for a Skilled Worker visa?

01 / SMS control

The parent must not assign the CoS to their own child.

Sponsor guidance Part 2, S3.5, prohibits an SMS user from assigning a CoS to themselves, their partner or their close relative. The glossary includes sons and daughters. The guidance says the Home Office will revoke the sponsor licence if it finds this has happened. That is a licence-wide consequence, not merely a defect in 1 application.

Map the Authorising Officer, Key Contact and Level 1 and Level 2 users before allocating the CoS. An authorised SMS user who is not the candidate’s partner or close relative can make the assignment where the licence and route permit it. The parent should not use another person’s login or install a nominal user to rubber-stamp the entry. Preserve who assessed the role, approved the candidate and made the assignment.

S3.6 contains a narrow exception for an Authorising Officer assigning their own CoS under the UK Expansion Worker route when the sponsor has a Provisional rating. It is not a general family business or Skilled Worker exception.

02 / Relationship note

The sponsor note is a disclosure duty, not a substitute for independence.

Under S3.7, an SMS user must add a sponsor note if they know, or could reasonably be expected to know, that the person to whom they assigned a CoS is the partner or close relative of somebody else working for the sponsor. If the director works for the company, an independent user assigning the director’s child a CoS should address this expressly in the note. Check the actual working relationship rather than assuming share ownership alone meets the wording.

The note should identify the relationship accurately and briefly. It does not amount to Home Office approval of the appointment or resolve the genuine-job question. If a CoS was assigned without a required note, take advice promptly on correcting the record; do not invent a recruitment history.

03 / Business need

The job must exist independently of the visa objective.

Appendix Skilled Worker SW 5.5 prevents an award of sponsorship points where the decision maker has reasonable grounds to believe the job does not exist, is a sham or was created mainly to obtain immigration permission. A job title, contract and plausible occupation code are evidence, not conclusive proof.

Set out the work the company needs done, reporting line, client or operational demand, work location, expected output and funding. If the role was newly created, explain why it is needed now. Match the candidate’s qualifications and experience to actual duties, and choose the occupation code by those duties rather than by the most convenient salary threshold.

A founder’s wish to bring a child to the UK is understandable, but it cannot be the main reason the job was created. A board record written after a Home Office query is weaker than dated commercial evidence made when the decision was taken.

04 / Recruitment record

No general advertising requirement does not mean no recruitment evidence.

Appendix D says that, where no formal resident labour market test is required, sponsors must retain evidence of recruitment activity. If the employer did not advertise, it must be able to explain how it identified the worker and, where practicable, show why that person was suitable. An advert invented to make a family appointment look competitive is worse than a candid, evidenced direct appointment.

Record who considered the candidate, what skills were needed, how those skills were tested and why the company chose them. If there was an advertised process, retain the required advert and selection records. If not, preserve the contemporaneous reason for the direct approach, assessment material and credentials. Family succession may be context, but cannot replace evidence of a real role.

05 / Employer or household

The company cannot use its licence to satisfy a director’s private need.

Part 1 of the sponsor guidance, L1.7–L1.8, prohibits sponsorship in a personal capacity, including a role for the personal benefit of someone working for the organisation, or their relative or partner, that is unrelated to the organisation’s wider activities. The Home Office says it will normally revoke a licence used in that way.

Ask who receives the work and pays for it. A genuine company role with company clients, systems and supervision differs from household duties, private investments or services for the director’s family. An employment contract bearing the company’s name cannot convert private work into eligible corporate employment.

06 / Pay and performance

The arrangement must work after the visa is granted.

Check the current Skilled Worker occupation, skill and salary rules before assigning a CoS. The stated hours, work address, duties and pay must correspond to the intended job. Appendix D requires identifiable pay records and written terms; sponsor duties continue throughout employment.

The family relationship makes ordinary controls more important. Someone other than the parent should be able to verify work, performance, absences and changes to the role. If the company cannot fund the salary or the actual work differs from the CoS, the problem may extend to the worker’s permission and the sponsor licence.

Practical questions.